Defined Contribution Plans

Automatic enrollment can be an effective, low-impact way to increase participation in employer-provided retirement plans — and, in the process, further the real, ultimate goal of boosting retirement readiness. But we were taught that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and that maxim... READ MORE

The American Retirement Association Government Affairs Committee on Dec. 2 filed comments with the IRS providing recommendations on the documentation needed to substantiate a hardship distribution or participant loan.The ARA says in the letter that it generally agrees with the IRS that there should... READ MORE

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has suggested additions to Congress’ and the Treasury Department’s “to do” lists that it believes will boost retirement savings.In “401(k) Plans: Effects of Eligibility and Vesting Policies on Workers’ Retirement Savings,” a report which the GAO issued on... READ MORE

Investment performance turns out to be both the biggest driver of participant satisfaction — and one of the biggest barriers to that satisfaction. But it’s not the biggest barrier.As it turns out, not meeting participants’ expectations regarding website and online capabilities now serves as a... READ MORE

October turned out to be a pretty rough month for stocks — so how did 401(k) participants respond?Not much — as generally turns out to be the case — and those who did respond moved toward fixed income options.October was another light month of trading for 401(k) investors. According to the Aon... READ MORE

Advance copies of the 2016 Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF are now available. The IRS, Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released the advance copies on Nov. 1.It is important to note that the advance copies are for information purposes only — they are not to be... READ MORE

Defined contribution plans have supplanted defined benefit plans as the most prevalent retirement plan offered through places of employment. But that certainly doesn’t mean that they are static. A recent paper argues that those that design, offer and administer them should not rest on their laurels... READ MORE

The IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have announced that they are granting relief to victims of Hurricane Matthew in hard-hit parts of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. They had taken similar action concerning North Carolina on Oct. 12.The IRS made its announcements in SC-2016... READ MORE

A new survey finds that the median retirement savings for those who have access to a 401(k) plan is nearly nine times that of those who don’t.According to the 2016 Wells Fargo Retirement Study, those who have access to a 401(k) plan have a median savings of $87,000, compared with $10,000 for those... READ MORE