Roth 401(k) Option Availability Increases With Company Size
Large employers also tend to include more features in their retirement plans, a Transamerica study of employers finds.
Administration
Plan Sponsors See Struggles if Moving to Roth-Only Retirement Savings
Forty percent of CIEBA members said it would be very or extremely difficult to explain the Rothification of 401(k) plans to participants.
Providers, Call Centers Strive to Educate Against Hardship Withdrawals
This time of year is a peak time for hardship withdrawal requests, providers say, and call center staff and provider websites can help educate participants about implications and...
Equity Returns Gave Pension Funding a Boost in July
Providers that track pension funding status note that interest rates could affect funding levels for the rest of this year.
Helping Retirement Plan Participants Get the Full Company Match
Best-in-class plan design in addition to financial wellness programs can get retirement plan participants to maximize their savings opportunity.
Plan Design, Education Can Help Limit Participant Loans
Educating retirement plan participants about the consequences of taking loans from their account balance, as well as a few plan design changes, can limit the amount of loans...
New Contribution Strategies Needed to Improve Public Pension Funding
A study by the CRR finds that state and local pension funding is expected to improve in 2017 due to strong market returns, but a new approach to...
Some DB Plans Changing Accounting Measures
Most companies used a single weighted average discount rate to measure the interest cost and service cost components of benefit cost, but PwC found, beginning in 2015, many...
Maryland Pension System Further Reduces Return Assumption
State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp says, “Recognizing that both the inflation experience and expectations for future inflation remain lower than the rate currently assumed, the Board felt it...
Cost Considerations When Freezing Your DB Plan
Just because a plan is frozen, doesn’t mean fees will go away altogether.
Advisers Responding to Plan Sponsor Demands
More advisers are offering services pertaining to financial wellness and HSAs.
Plan Sponsors Using Plan Design and Other Tools to Increase Employee Engagement
“Participant engagement growth has also been driven in part by employers making education more accessible with onsite meetings, webcasts and personal consultations,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch says.
DCIIA Calls on Sponsors to Use Automatic Tools More Robustly
The organization has issued a report analyzing what is working in DC plans and how the existing tools can be leveraged further.
Scrutinizing Plan Fees Can Save Plan Sponsors and Participants Money
One adviser explains that if a plan has $1 million in assets, even a single basis point reduction in fees among 20 participants can, on average, save each...
Aon Divests Company Stock from 401(k)
Effective April 1, the Aon Stock Fund was discontinued as an active investment option in the plan.
Mercer Puts Forth Ideas for Addressing the Savings Gap
One suggestion is to give individuals access to smart tools, default options and advice that can help them increase their financial literacy and achieve success.
There Is No Single 'Right' Measurement for DB Plan Funding
The purpose of the measurement determines which number is “right,” according to the American Academy of Actuaries.
Pension Funded Status Sees Decline for June and Q2 2017
Still, funded status is up for the year, according to one firm’s estimates.
The Move to Online Participant Communications May Not Be Best
Most participants tended to skim through online material, whereas those who read written content gained a thorough, enhanced understanding, research finds.