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Nevin Adams

A new report claims that participants and plan sponsors are keen on ESG – but apparently not enough to do much about it. The report, by Cerulli Associates, cites a 2018 survey of 1,000 active 401(k) plan participants among which “more than half” agreed with the statement, “I prefer to invest in... READ MORE
The Maryland Senate Finance Committee has overwhelmingly voted to recommend the rejection of a pending fiduciary bill. In fact, 10 out of the 11 committee members voted in favor of a motion to consider Maryland Senate Bill 786 – The Financial Consumer Protection Act of 2019 – as “unfavorable.”... READ MORE
Ever since passage of the Economic Growth Tax Relief and Recovery Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions – as much as $6,000 in 2019.  The provision was designed to allow workers to “catch up” on contributions... READ MORE
While noting that the case “presents novel legal questions concerning state-mandated retirement savings accounts,” and “implicates a significant body of judicial and regulatory interpretations of ERISA,” a federal judge has ruled – for the moment – that California’s state-run auto IRA retirement... READ MORE
The parties in one of the oldest excessive fee suits have finally come to terms. Those parties – Tussey v. ABB – settled for $55 million which, if approved by a federal judge, would bring to conclusion litigation that was filed in 2005 by Schlichter Bogard & Denton.  The suit had alleged that... READ MORE
A federal appeals court has affirmed summary judgment in a class action suit involving 270,000 plan participants across more than 13,000 plans. The suit was filed in 2015 by plaintiff John Teets, a participant in the Farmers’ Rice Cooperative 401(k) Savings Plan, which had contracted with Great-... READ MORE
Concluding that “DOL’s Final Rule stretches the definition of ‘employer’ beyond what ERISA’s text and purpose will bear,” a federal judge has thrown the Labor Department’s association health plan rule for a loss.  The association health plan (AHP) rule, finalized last June, claimed to make... READ MORE
A federal appeals court has affirmed summary judgment in a class action suit involving 270,000 plan participants across more than 13,000 plans. The suit was filed in 2015 by plaintiff John Teets, a participant in the Farmers’ Rice Cooperative 401(k) Savings Plan, which had contracted with Great-... READ MORE
What’s in a fund name? More – and less – than you might imagine.  According to a new paper by academics at Kansas State, Saint Louis University and Seton Hall, along with a researcher at the Ipsos Behavioral Science Center, when a participant searches through her plan’s menu of investment options... READ MORE
There are plenty of good reasons to save, but we all know that it can be tough to start. In that spirit, here are four things that those who aren’t (yet) saving for retirement should know. It’s never too late to start saving for retirement. Perhaps you think there’s no point at some point – maybe... READ MORE
There were three interesting reports published over the past week, which offered insights into ways to increase savings (or not), how to retain those accounts (or not), as well as an updated perspective on how all those comings and goings are adding up. The first to grab my attention was the... READ MORE
Nevada may be gambling with access to brokerage services for residents, based on the reactions of a number of brokerages to the Silver State’s proposed fiduciary regulation. According to published reports, Morgan Stanley says it would halt its brokerage services in Nevada entirely if the state... READ MORE
In recent weeks, the headlines have been full of stories about tax refunds – or, perhaps more accurately, the lack of tax refunds.  It’s the kind of thing that might not normally find its way into the headlines, but this particular situation has struck a chord – both because it includes people who... READ MORE
Democrats in both houses of Congress have introduced legislation that will tax financial transactions – including those in your 401(k). "It's called the Wall Street Tax Act, but it's really a Main Street savings attack," said Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association. The Wall... READ MORE
Plan fiduciaries have asked the nation’s highest court to weigh in on when ERISA’s three-year statute of limitations begins – and if disclosure alone is enough to start that clock.  In asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, plan fiduciaries at Intel said the question presented was “... READ MORE
A recent headline in The Wall Street Journal started off: “Forget the 401(k).” And then, unintentionally, proceeded to explain why that would be… nuts.  Not that the author (Jason Zweig) didn’t throw in some digs at the subject, making a glancing reference to what he termed “the rigid and often... READ MORE
We recently celebrated Valentine’s Day; perhaps you saw one of those increasingly ubiquitous advertisements for a certain online florist. Now, I’ve used that particular service on many an occasion over the past several years; they are not only convenient, they deliver a quality product, and on... READ MORE
“Fiduciaries that manage employer-sponsored benefits plans will likely get sued no matter what they do.” Thus begins a request from a number of retirement industry groups – including the American Retirement Association – that the U.S. Supreme Court weigh in on a controversial fiduciary case. Said... READ MORE
It is customary when sharing (or reading) the portents of a survey to focus on the actions that respondents say they have, or will undertake. But what about the things they say they will not do? Human beings gravitate toward “norms,” of course. Plan sponsors, certainly those conscious of the... READ MORE
A managed account provider and a recordkeeper platform have been sued for conspiring to direct participant savings to expensive, affiliated funds. Plaintiff Kimberly Davis worked for Palace Entertainment in Greensboro, NC and Riverhead, NY, and participated in its 401(k) retirement plan that... READ MORE

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