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Preparing and paying for retirement is a key factor behind employers providing financial employees with financial education, and in motivating those employees to take advantage of it, says a recent study.
In “Financial Education for Today’s Workforce,” the International Foundation of Employee...
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While workers are now more secure in their retirement preparations than before the Great Recession, they still face a number of shortcomings, says a new report.
The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies report, “A Retirement Security Retrospective: 2007 Versus 2017” illustrates the resilience...
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Pension indicators showed improvement last month, according to Hartland. The consulting firm found that pension liabilities are down and employer contributions increased during September.
Hartland’s Grant Guyuron reports that pension liabilities fell 1.1%-1.7%, according to the FTSE Pension...
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In what has traditionally been a bad month for stocks, the average 401(k) balance continued to gain ground in September.
According to estimates from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) based on the actual contribution records and investment choices of several million...
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Nearly one-third of Americans do not have an accurate handle on the state of their own finances, thinking they are either better or worse off than they actually are, according to a new study.
Prudential’s first ever Financial Wellness Census, which surveyed more than 3,000 U.S. adults, explores...
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Academics have long agonized over something they call the annuitization puzzle.
Simply stated, the thing academics can’t quite understand is the reluctance of American workers to embrace annuities as a distribution option for their retirement savings. Some of that is because they assume workers...
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There are many factors that affect a plan participant — or a prospective plan participant who has yet to join — and influence choices regarding retirement saving. A professor argues that employers and plan administrators would do well to be mindful of a factor many do not consider: individuals’...
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ASPPA is always providing information and insights that will be valuable to its members! Following is a summary of upcoming webcasts and events.
Live Webcasts
ASPPA Webcast: Operating Under the IRS Pre-Approved Plan Document Program
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
2:00 - 3:40 p.m. ET
Speaker: Richard...
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The latest issue of ASPPA’s Plan Consultant magazine has been posted on ASPPA Net.
“The Cybersecurity Issue” features a trio of in-depth feature articles on the growing threat that cyber crime poses to the retirement industry. The cover story, “Defensive Measures,” profiles steps that several...
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On Oct. 5, 2018, the American Retirement Association (ARA) filed a comment letter with Carol Weiser, Acting Benefits Tax Counsel at the Treasury Department, with recommendations on the implementation of updates to life expectancy and distribution period tables for purposes of required minimum...
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A program letter from the heads of the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TE/GE) division provides an update on the compliance, data, process and casework strategies the division plans to focus on in the coming year.
Not surprisingly, implementing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will...
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The American Retirement Association has formally requested relief for taxpayers and service providers adversely affected by Hurricane Florence.
Specifically, the letter requests:
Relief for taxpayers who would like to use their retirement assets in qualified retirement plans to alleviate...
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The American Retirement Association is urging Congress to approve legislation providing victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria access to their 401(k) and similar plan savings without incurring IRS penalties and taxes.
The ARA has been making the case that legislation should mirror the...
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Defined contribution plans are the most common among private sector workers, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It found in a study it conducted in March that DC plans were the kind of retirement plans in which a majority of workers in all sectors but one that it measured...
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Legislation has been introduced in the U. S. House of Representatives that would create a parallel government-run retirement savings program – and one that could undermine the 401(k), particularly for small business owners.The Portable Retirement and Investment Act of 2018 (H.R. 6990), just...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final rule amending its regulations on guaranteed benefits and asset allocation. The amendments incorporate changes the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) made to the rules for participants with certain ownership interests.
Before...
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The Oregon Retirement Savings Board (ORSB) on Oct. 9 will consider proposed changes to the rules for OregonSaves, the state-run retirement savings program for private-sector workers in the Beaver State.The proposed rule changes were drafted with the assistance of a rulemaking advisory committee...
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The Internal Revenue Service has released a new revenue procedure updating the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) – and an announcement that beginning next year, all Voluntary Correction Program filings will have to be done online. This revenue procedure updates the system of...
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Just when you thought retirement plan projections couldn’t get any worse…
Last week the National Institute on Retirement Security released a report – “Retirement in America | Out of Reach for Most Americans?” that claimed that the median retirement account balance among all working individuals is...
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Informing plan participants is not a suggestion. And much has been said of the need to make information provided to plan participants more readily understandable. But a specialist in retirement education and employee benefits communication has suggested that something else is in play in...
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