Disclosing Retirement-Plan Fees
HR leaders and plan fiduciaries should begin planning now for regulations that take effect next summer, which require more transparency from service providers of defined-contribution and...
View ArticleNew Regulations on Service Provider Fee Disclosure Obligations
Plan fiduciaries should prepare for compliance with new regulations that will require service providers to pension, 401(k) and other retirement plans to disclose information to assist plan fiduciaries...
View ArticleIRS Announces Pension Plan Limits for 2011
The Internal Revenue Service announced on October 28, 2010, cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2011. In general,...
View ArticleDOL Releases Groundbreaking Final 401(k) Fee Disclosure Rule
The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Thursday its long-anticipated and groundbreaking final rule on fee disclosures for 401(k) plans. Click here for more...
View ArticleWhen Revenue Sharing Exceeds Reasonable Costs
Since fiduciaries have a legal duty to pay no more than reasonable compensation, and since there is a duty to ask, the failure to take any steps may be found to be a fiduciary breach, subjecting plan...
View ArticleEmployee Education Boosts 401(k) Participation
Due to changes made in late 2009, a Milwaukee-based firm was able to make significant gains in the number of employees making full utilization of its 401k program and other retirement programs. Click...
View ArticlePlan Administrators Should Prepare Now to Comply with New Participant...
A sweeping new set of participant disclosure requirements will take effect for most 401k and 403(b) plans later this year. The regulation creates a new ERISA fiduciary duty for administrators of all...
View ArticleNew Year's Resolutions Defined Contribution Plan Sponsors Should Make
Mercer has published its "10 for 2011" checklist of New Year's resolutions that US defined contribution plan sponsors should make now to address investment and plan-design concerns, fulfill fiduciary...
View ArticleEmployers Offering Workers More Help to Meet Retirement Goals
According to a report released by Aon Hewitt companies have little confidence that workers are taking the actions necessary to meet their retirement savings needs. Some are taking steps to help. Click...
View ArticleTop 5 Ways to Get Started With a Retirement Plan
These are the first steps to start building your retirement plan. Click here for more information.
View ArticleERISA Fidelity Bonds—Who Needs Them, and Who is Responsible for Securing Them?
ERISA requires that every fiduciary of, and every person who handles funds or other property of, an employee benefit plan, be bonded. This seems like a simple enough proposition. And yet, although the...
View ArticleFee Disclosure: What 401k Plans Can No Longer Hide
Employers and employees will gain a much better understanding of the behind-the-scenes workings of 401k and other defined contribution plans as the result of two regulations issued by the Employee...
View ArticleFive Reasons Your Business Is Not Too Small for a 401(k)
There are a lot of amazing benefits to working for a small business. But what is commonly missing is, well, the employee benefits. In fact, it's estimated that only about 15-20 percent of businesses...
View ArticleLinking 401(k) Participation to Open Enrollment
When employers present employees with an easy, one-click option to enroll in or make a contribution change to their 401(k) plan during the annual health benefits process, the result is significant...
View ArticleAn Improved Economic Forecast Brings Out the Old and the New in 401k...
As the economy starts to stabilize, retirement plan experts say plan sponsors need to emphasize certain elements of their retirement education and advice programs to get workers back on track and...
View ArticleCustomer Service Pays Off for Plan Providers
Firms offering retirement services to large and small employers are learning that attention to detail, an improved communication with the plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can...
View ArticleMaking sense of plan participant disclosure rules
Information must be shared with plan participants before their initial participation in the plan, annually and quarterly. So anyone eligible to participate in your 401k plan after Jan. 1, 2012, will...
View ArticleBenchmark Your 401k Plan - 2011
Many plan sponsors want to know how their 401k plan stacks up to the typical or average plan. This is often the first question asked when attempting to determine whether an effort should be made to...
View ArticleDC Plans Are a Key Factor in Income Security
New research from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) shows that being eligible to participate in a defined contribution retirement plan at work is a key factor in whether...
View ArticleBest Practices in Employee Financial Education for Different Generations
When designing financial education programs for employees, companies that keep in mind generational differences in viewpoints, learning styles and adaptation to technology build more effective...
View ArticleDOL to Make Fee Disclosure Rule Deadline Official
The DOL published an interim final 408(b)(2) regulation on July 16, 2010, requiring retirement plan service providers to disclose comprehensive information about their fees and potential conflicts of...
View ArticleFive Characteristics of a Great 401(k) Plan
It is not that hard to enhance a 401(k) plan to be great. This article outlines five characteristics of a great 401(k) plan, keeping in mind that the goal of all great 401(k) plans is to provide...
View ArticleToo Many Choices Impair 401(k) Decisions
When individuals are faced with too many options they become paralyzed and don't make the best decisions -- even when it comes to 401(k) options, according to a new study co-authored by Columbia...
View ArticleRegulations and Costs Shaping Future of 401(k) Plans According to FRC Study
Continued scrutiny by regulators and legislators on the fees and outcomes of defined contribution (DC) plans is pressuring revenues at organizations that provide the products and services to these...
View ArticleEight Tips for Conducting Successful Retirement Plan Education Programs
If you are offering a 401k plan to your employees, but not sharing the value of the plan or how to use it properly, you aren't really committing to a solid retirement program. The most successful...
View ArticleWhy ETFs Are 401k Plans Next Big Thing
Exchange-Traded Funds are quickly becoming popular in 401k plans. Why you ask? Well, there are three big reasons. Click here for more information.
View ArticleDOL Further Delays Service Provider and Participant Fee Disclosure Deadlines
The U.S. Department of Labor recently extended the deadlines for two major disclosure rules: the service provider fee disclosure rule and the participant fee disclosure rule. Despite the extensions,...
View ArticlePrepare Your Clients for Upcoming 401(k) Regulations
A new regulation set forth by the Department of Labor states that 401(k) plan vendors will have until April 1, 2012, to disclose fees to plan sponsors, while plan sponsors will have until May 31, 2012,...
View ArticleAction Can Reduce Fiduciary Risk When Stock Markets Swoon
The stock market's plunge not only rattled the confidence of 401(k) participants, it increased the liability risk faced by retirement plan committees and other plan fiduciaries. This article addresses...
View ArticleSix Ways to Limit Your Chances of a Visit from the DOL
The Department of Labor is in the process of adding hundreds of investigators to its staff. And since DOL investigators are responsible for enforcement of fiduciary, reporting and disclosure...
View ArticleThe Top Three Retirement Plans for Small Business
On a recent business trip, I had a lively conversation with a small business owner who was on a mission to start a retirement plan. He wanted a good place to save some money tax deferred and to take...
View ArticleFinal Regulation Relating to Service Provider Disclosures Under Section...
U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration February 2012 The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires plan fiduciaries, when selecting and monitoring service...
View ArticleIRS Announces Plan Limits for 2012
On October 20, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for Tax Year 2012. In general,...
View ArticleWho's On The Hook For Decisions Made in Your 401(k)?
Wal-Mart recently agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by its employees who claimed it failed to properly supervise the company 401(k). There have been other similar suits out there...
View ArticleWill Savers Yawn at 401(k) Fee Disclosures?
Participants will soon find out how much they are paying in fees for 401(k) and other defined contribution plans. Click here for more information.
View ArticleChanges to Final Fee Disclosure Rule
The operative language of the final 408b-2 service provider fee disclosure rule (29 CFR §2550.408b-2) reflects certain modifications to the interim final rule (IFR) that was published in the Federal...
View ArticleA Reasonable Approach to Fee Reasonableness
The question of fee reasonableness has gained added importance because of a series of class-action lawsuits in which plan participants have accused plan sponsors of failing to ward off excessive plan...
View ArticleKnow Your Role: Am I a "Settlor" or a "Fiduciary"?
When making decisions about benefit plans, plan sponsors should at least take some time to consider what role they are playing. The distinction between "settlor" functions and "fiduciary" functions can...
View ArticleApple Leading Charge in All-ETF 401(k) Plans
Apple is not just an innovator in the technology sector, but it's also an innovator in how it manages its company sponsored 401k retirement plan. The firm now has the bulk of its 401k assets in ETFs....
View ArticleDOL Issues Q&A Guidance on Fee Disclosure Rules
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued on Monday guidance to help plan administrators and service providers comply with the requirements of new rules 408(b)2 and...
View ArticleRules for Retirement Plan Fees Have Some Companies Scrambling to Comply
Even though the first regulation has providers like Fidelity doing a lot of work, companies shoulder a lot of responsibilities too. Experts say larger plans are ready for the change, but many midsize...
View ArticlePlan Sponsors and Plan Fiduciaries: It's Time to Comply with the New...
Employers and plan fiduciaries should keep in mind that the new rules are in addition to the general fiduciary duty to exercise prudence in the selection and monitoring of service providers, and in...
View ArticleFive Steps to a Better IPS for the 401(k)
For many years, ERISA lawyers argued the merits of creating an investment policy statement for 401(k) plans. Click here for more information.
View Article3 Reasons to Fear 408(b)(2)
Isn’t it funny that within a week of the industry complaining to delay the implementation of 408(b)(2) because of the lack of the much promised FAQ guide on the part of the DOL, the DOL comes out with...
View ArticlePlan Administrators and the Risk of Personal Liability: A Primer
Many fiduciaries taking on the role are not high enough up the corporate food chain to clearly have enough power to control for and avoid potential problems in the plans they have been charged with...
View ArticleRecent Case Emphasizes Importance of Fiduciary Decision Making Process
The decision making process of a retirement plan fiduciary has always been important. However, the recent district court decision in Tussey v. ABB, Inc., which levied a $35.2 million judgment against...
View ArticleCommon Mistakes Plan Sponsors Should Avoid
Plan sponsors should use the “highest standard of care” when it comes to retirement plans, but according to one attorney, several common mistakes prevail. Click here for more information.
View ArticleIs your 401(k) safe in a rollercoaster market?
Volatile markets can leave investors seriously on edge, especially as they get closer to retirement, and those who are already retired may be even more worried about losing money — and may start to...
View ArticleTake Control of Your 401k Plan With an Investment Policy Statement
An Investment Policy Statement is a soup-to-nuts blueprint for the plan, its administration and its ongoing maintenance. But a good IPS doesn't stop there. It is a living, breathing document that...
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