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Defined Contribution Plans
There’s good news and bad news in Fidelity Investments’ year-end 2022 analysis of savings behaviors and account balances.
First the bad news. Fidelity’s analysis shows that average account balances for 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs all dropped by more than 20% from year-end 2021 to year-end 2022. The...
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Despite (or maybe because of) SECURE 2.0’s passage, 401(k)s face increasing attacks, with the latest salvo coming from an opinion piece published in Politico.
Social Security is just one part of the retirement system, notes the piece, provocatively titled “Before Slashing Social Security, Cut 401(...
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Are retirement plans SECURE? American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff, NTSA Executive Director Nathan Glassey, and ARA Director of Federal and State Legislative Affairs Andrew Remo at the Feb. 26 opening session of the 2023 NTSA Summit in Tampa, FL discussed Washington’s take on that. And,...
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Total costs for 401(k)s, once again, declined for both small and large retirement plans, with investment fees leading the decline — though smaller plans are still paying slightly more.
This is according to the 23rd edition of the 401k Averages Book, which reveals that total investment costs...
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The IRS has issued an update to the 2022-2023 priority guidance plan.
The IRS had released the initial plan on Nov. 4, 2022, setting forth guidance priorities for the 12-month period from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023 (the plan year).
To Be Done
The IRS says in the updated list...
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While average account balances decreased by 20% in 2022, participant behavior in retirement plans mostly remained positive, as most continued to maintain a long-term view on their retirement savings goals.
Why? Continued adoption of automatic enrollment over the last two decades and the use of...
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It's time for Valentine's Day — and, as usual, there’s been the typical seasonal promotions for flowers, candy, and even pajamas.
I’ve been pretty good over the years remembering those type events — anniversaries (wedding AND dating), birthdays and, yes — Valentine’s Day. But sometimes the time...
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Newly released data from year-end 2022 shows that the volume and dollar amount of 401(k) loans and hardship withdrawals decreased, but there were some nuances to the findings.
In a new quarterly report that draws on data from more than 3 million 401(k) plan participants, Bank of America’s 401(k)...
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Employee participation in retirement plans could be better, by some measures. How to improve it has long been a topic of discussion — and knowing what employees are looking for in a plan is a key factor in bringing that about.
It’s the Economy, S_____
What employees want can be a bit of a moving...
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While the original SECURE Act increased tax credits for small employer plans, SECURE 2.0 significantly increases the available tax credits—including some that could cover the costs of operating/administering a small plan for up to three years.
Here is an overview of the small employer tax credits...
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Enactment of the SECURE 2.0 Act, ongoing industry innovations, and the aim to provide greater personalization are among the many opportunities that plan sponsors have to align DC plan features, practices and investments with participant needs.
Indeed, the need for greater personalization of the...
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More public-sector employees have access to retirement plans than their counterparts in private industry, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Same is true regarding participation.
In its Feb. 1, 2023 The Economics Daily, the BLS provides a snapshot of access to, and participation in,...
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SECURE 2.0 is a reality now — and two industry experts offered their insights in a Jan. 25 webcast as the dust settles.
American Retirement Association Director of Regulatory Affairs Kelsey Mayo, who also is a Partner at Poyner Spruill LLP, and American Retirement Association Director of...
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Just four years after striking an excessive fee settlement, a fund company has been sued again — for allegedly not making the changes to its 401(k) lineup the settlement contemplated.
The defendants in the case are Allianz Asset Management of America, and the (new) participant-plaintiffs are Chad...
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Asked about their views on defined contribution plans, an overwhelming majority of respondents in a new survey say they value the investment opportunity 401(k) plans provide and are opposed to changing the tax preferences or investment control in those accounts.
In fact, nearly 9 in 10...
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With the markets taking a beating throughout much of 2022, 401(k) investors apparently sought the safety of fixed income through their trading activity, yet equities were still very much in demand, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index.
The firm’s 2022 observations show that 184 out of...
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Legislation that would create a state-run multiple-employer retirement saving plan in the Show Me State is before the Missouri House of Representatives.
HB 155, introduced by Rep. Michael O’Donnell on Jan. 4, would establish the Show-Me MyRetirement Savings Administrative Fund, a multiple-employer...
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A recently unveiled settlement in a 401(k) excessive fee suit has hit a snag.
In fairness, the announced settlement was only a “partial” settlement—one that plaintiffs Wendy Berry, Lorri Hulings, and Kathleen Sammons announced with regard to claims against Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. as...
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Three parties have been sued as fiduciaries in a case involving theft of a 401(k) balance—a federal judge just let one off the case.
The participant-plaintiff whose account was stolen is one Paula Disberry, who worked for Colgate-Palmolive from December 1993 to March 2004, in England, Mexico and...
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Loaded up with a fresh set of plaintiffs, a familiar plaintiffs’ attorney is having yet another “go” at plan fiduciaries in an excessive fee suit.
The law firm in question is none other than Capozzi Adler PC[1] (and Johnson Fistel LLP), which filed a similar (identical?) suit against this same...
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