Ted Godbout

DOL’s Khawar Outlines SECURE 2.0, Fiduciary Priorities

By Ted Godbout 7/31/2023

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Ali Khawar on July 25 shared with delegates at the 2023 NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum the key priorities of the department, including new guidance on SECURE 2.0, an update to the fiduciary rule, and... READ MORE

DOL Guidance on Abandoned Plans Lands at OMB

By Ted Godbout 7/26/2023

New regulatory guidance that would permit bankruptcy trustees to use the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Abandoned Plan Program has been submitted to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The new guidance, which was submitted to the agency on July 19, apparently will be... READ MORE

The Caregiving Conundrum: How Unpaid Caregiving Affects Retirement Readiness

By Ted Godbout 7/24/2023

Unpaid caregivers serve a vital function in taking care of a family member or close relative, but new research published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) finds that it can take a toll on retirement preparedness. Based on findings from the 33rd annual Retirement Confidence Survey... READ MORE

Many Americans Delaying Retirement When Saving for Family Members' College

By Ted Godbout 7/20/2023

New research by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) looks at the challenges that families face—particularly the impact on their retirement plans—when saving for both their retirement and a family member’s college education. Serving as the research arm of the SOA, the SOA Research Institute conducted a... READ MORE

Numerous Gen Xers Have Virtually Nothing Saved for Retirement: Study

By Ted Godbout 7/17/2023

As Generation X becomes the country’s next generation on deck to retire, a new report finds that many of those born between 1965 and 1980 are woefully unprepared for retirement. When looking at median retirement savings levels for Gen X, the bottom half of earners has only a few thousand dollars... READ MORE

How Alts Can Boost DC Plan Participant Returns

By Ted Godbout 7/7/2023

In asking whether a lack of asset diversification in DC retirement plans has been a potential missed opportunity, the findings of a new study suggest the answer is yes. More specifically, the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives (CRI), in conjunction with CEM Benchmarking, set out to... READ MORE

How Asset Managers Are Addressing the DC Plan Retirement Income Challenge

By Ted Godbout 7/5/2023

With an increasing number of plan sponsors apparently wanting to retain plan assets post-retirement, retirement income initiatives in 401(k) and other defined contribution (DC) plans have increased in recent years. According to a 2022 Cerulli survey of DC plan consultants, 58% of their plan... READ MORE

Young Adults Have Little Expectation of Fully Retiring

By Ted Godbout 6/26/2023

Against a backdrop of outstanding student loans and rising consumer debt, only about half of young adults believe they will be able to retire at the age they want, according to the findings in a new survey. Conducted by Georgetown University, in partnership with Bank of America, the Young... READ MORE

Gen X Feeling the Retirement Squeeze

By Ted Godbout 6/26/2023

For those born between 1964 and 1978, planning for the new retirement reality is particularly challenging. Unlike Millennials, who still have plenty of time to save before retirement, and Boomers, many of whom are already in retirement, Generation X is realizing that retirement is getting closer... READ MORE

Financial Uncertainty Forcing Investors to Rethink Retirement Timing

By Ted Godbout 6/26/2023

Investors grappling with ongoing inflation, high interest rates and an unstable economic environment are considering delaying their retirement plans, according to Nationwide’s eighth annual Advisor Authority. The survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute finds that a quarter (25%) of pre-... READ MORE

Cracking the Code of Longevity Risk

By Ted Godbout 6/26/2023

Limit spending, work longer, maximize contributions, buy annuities, delay claiming Social Security, buy long-term care insurance, increase equity allocations, or relocate to cheaper housing. These are just some of the messages that retirement savers are bombarded with about how to personally manage... READ MORE

Vanguard: 401(k) Participation Rate Hits Record High

By Ted Godbout 6/23/2023

In a nod to plan sponsors that improved plan design and introduced new automatic features despite a volatile economy, Vanguard reveals in its just-released How America Saves report that it saw record highs in participation, deferral rates, and the use of professionally managed allocations in 2022... READ MORE

Legislation to Quash ESG Use in Retirement Plans Resurfaces

By Ted Godbout 6/22/2023

The ongoing battle over the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions for retirement plans continues. The latest salvo comes from Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Rick Allen (R-GA), who on June 21 reintroduced their Ensuring Sound Guidance (ESG) Act (H.... READ MORE

DOL Confirms New Fiduciary Rule Release Date

By Ted Godbout 6/15/2023

After months of speculation, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) newly released Spring 2023 regulatory agenda confirms that a fiduciary rule rewrite could be released later this summer; it also provides other key insight for the department’s regulatory plans for the coming months. In fact, the fall... READ MORE

House Passes Bill to Protect Against Senior Investor Scams

By Ted Godbout 6/14/2023

Legislation that seeks to strengthen protections and safeguards from financial predators scamming senior investors out of their savings passed the House of Representatives June 5 by a unanimous voice vote. With older Americans reportedly losing up to $36 billion[1] each year to scams, the Senior... READ MORE

Virtual Education Hits New Heights

By Ted Godbout 6/12/2023

A report from Schwab Retirement Plan Services shows that worker attendance at educational sessions about 401(k) plans and other financial topics reached new heights in 2022, with virtual live and on-demand sessions driving the most participation. Participant attendance was up by 5.4% year-over-... READ MORE

Cracking the Code of Longevity Risk

By Ted Godbout 6/9/2023

Despite Information Surplus, Investors Feel Anxiety, Decision Paralysis

By Ted Godbout 6/9/2023

Today’s investors are exposed to more information than any previous generation, with access to data and research that would have been available only to financial professionals in the past, but that does not necessarily lead to improved knowledge or understanding, a new study finds. To get a... READ MORE

U.S. Senate Clears Debt Limit Legislation for Biden, Averting Default

By Ted Godbout 6/2/2023

Acting with a sense of urgency to avoid a first-ever federal debt default, the U.S. Senate late June 1 approved legislation to suspend the federal debt limit until 2025, clearing the measure for presidential signature, expected today. The Senate vote on the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R.... READ MORE

Debt Limit Catastrophe One Step Closer to Being Averted

By Ted Godbout 6/1/2023

Amid threats of the economy crashing and 401(k)s plummeting, the House of Representatives late May 31 approved legislation to suspend the federal debt limit until 2025. Facing a June 5 deadline to avoid a first-ever federal default if Congress does not act, the House approved the Fiscal... READ MORE

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