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Defined Contribution Plans
The Oregon State Treasury has put forth a proposal in support of its state-run plan for private-sector workers who don’t have a plan at work — that could affect private-sector 401(k) plans.The proposal is intended to implement recent changes in state law that will require Oregon employers that don’...
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Most workplace retirement plans allow participants to take a loan against their retirement plan balance — but administering the option carries risks for plan fiduciaries. Here are what the IRS has identified as the most common plan loan failures.A plan loan is a taxable distribution unless the loan...
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At a Feb. 3 U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference, “The Shifting Paradigm of Retirement,” a panel of experts addressed the changing dynamics of the workforce and its financial wellness.“We know that millions of Americans are facing financial issues,” said panelist Prudential Senior Vice President...
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House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) says that Congress is “seeking ideas” on how to increase saving, including retirement saving. Brady made his remarks at the Financial Services Roundtable’s Jan. 25 meeting, “Breaking Down the Barriers to Financial Security,” held in...
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The most common DC match turns out to not be the one that participants were more likely to get, according to a new report.Altogether, the most common match rates for employee contributions (with various limits on the maximum employee contribution matched) were 50% and 100%, both used by about 37%...
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People often talk about the significance of the “free” money associated with the company match in retirement savings — but there’s another source of “free” money that is often overlooked.I’m talking about the so-called Saver’s Credit, more precisely the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit. It’s...
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The IRS on Jan. 13 announced that the last day of the remedial amendment period (RAP) for 403(b) plans is March 31, 2020. The American Retirement Association had recommended in a Feb. 23, 2016 letter to the IRS that it provide an initial restatement period of three years for employers adopting pre-...
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A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds a number of factors influencing the cost of providing those benefits beyond wages.According to “Defined contribution retirement plans: Who has them and what do they cost?,” the BLS reports that in March 2016, the overall employer cost for...
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House Ways & Means Committee Republicans have broken into tax reform working groups — and retirement is on the “menu.”Ways & Means Committee Republicans have organized into informal tax reform working groups, but “not in the traditional sense,” Tax Notes reports, citing committee chair...
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The 2017 media-bashing of the 401(k) is off to an early start.The most recent is a Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) whose headline notes that “The Champions1 of the 401(k) Lament the Revolution They Started” (the third-most read article on the WSJ site as I write this).It’s fair...
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A new survey finds that Americans are feeling better about their financial situation — though that may be dampening their enthusiasm for good financial resolutions.According to Fidelity Investments’ eighth annual New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 45% say they are in a better financial situation...
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It was another year of double-digit gains for the average account balance of consistent 401(k) participants.An analysis by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that the average account balance for younger (25-34), less tenured (1-4 years) workers rose by nearly one-third...
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The Treasury Department has blown out the candles on the first birthday cake for myRA, the retirement plan the federal government implemented in November 2015. The retirement toddler earned a mixed report card according to a recent report.According to 401kspecialistmag.com, myRA’s Treasury parent...
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Most 401(k) plans offered investment menus that included options proprietary to the plan’s recordkeeper, but proprietary investments accounted for a smaller share of total 401(k) assets, according to The BrightScope/ICI Defined Contribution Plan Profile: A Close Look at 401(k) Plans, 2014.While...
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Not many clicks of the clock are left before 2017 begins. Resolutions are a traditional part of the new year, and recent suggestions from several financial management and consulting firms highlight some steps that plan sponsors can take in 2017.Remember that absent action by the incoming Trump...
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One certainly could argue that many Americans act as though at retirement some kind of benevolent elf will drop down their chimney with a bag full of cold cash from the North Pole.They behave as though, somehow, their bad savings behaviors throughout the year(s) notwithstanding, they’ll be able to...
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It’s conventional wisdom that defined contribution plans are widespread. They may be more prolific than other retirement plans, but they are nowhere near universal — at least according to a recent report by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).In “Defined contribution...
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While the markets were volatile before and after the November elections, consistent 401(k) participants saw solid growth in their portfolios last month.The average account balance for younger (25-34), less tenured (1-4 years) workers — where smaller balances mean that contribution flows generally...
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Elections, it is said, have consequences. And the retirement industry is among those for whom the results that became clear in the early hours of Nov. 9 signals that change is on the horizon. In the Nov. 15 ASPPA webcast, “What the Election Means to the Retirement Industry,” Brian Graff, CEO of the...
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The IRS has released the 2016 required amendments (RA) list for individually designed qualified retirement plans. It issued the list on Dec. 13 in Notice 2016-80.The list identifies certain changes in qualification requirements that became effective in 2016 that may require a retirement plan to be...
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