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Rothification Redux?
Failure to Reform Federal Spending = An Endless Loop Which Puts Benefits Tax Preferences At Risk Think we are done with attempts to curtail benefits tax preferences? Think again. Last week, President Trump released his $4.4 Trillion proposed budget for the 2019 federal fiscal year (October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020). That spending level is... Read More >>
Roth 401(k) Isn’t News
According to PSCA’s 61st Annual Survey, Roth 401(k) provisions are now as commonplace as automatic features1 - so much so that neither was a presentation topic at the PSCA 2019 National Conference. A Saturday or two ago, I was struck by the matter-of-fact nature of a Wall Street Journal, “When to Save for Retirement in a Roth 401(k).”2 Roth 401(k... Read More >>
Setting Savings Goals Through an Income Lens
As a plan sponsor, the aggregate savings needs of your employee population should be an important consideration in plan design. To gain perspective on these needs, let’s look at how an individual might think about savings goals. When we ask ourselves how much we need to save for retirement, for most retirement savers, it boils down to quality of... Read More >>
Make It So Easy A Caveman Can Do It*
Did you miss PSCA’s 2019 National Conference? If so, you missed out on two timely presentations on investments: Philipp Meyer-Brauns, Ph.D., senior researcher at Dimensional Fund Advisors, spoke on “Retirement Investing at the Summit,” which was a discussion of the impact of market volatility on retirement saving and investment1, while Clearstead... Read More >>
Misleading Plan Sponsors Regarding Plan Loans Hurts Participants – Part 2
Don’t try to insulate participants – they themselves must be financially responsible, accountable. As a plan sponsor, do you have misgivings about offering plan loans? In the first of two posts, I challenged benefit professionals to a debate over the reasons some use to encourage plan sponsors to limit or avoid liquidity via plan loans. In this... Read More >>
Misleading Plan Sponsors Regarding Plan Loans Hurts Participants
Myths, Misdirection, Misrepresentations Here is my challenge to any and every benefit professional or any plan participant: There is no valid reason to curtail access to qualified plan loans. Disagree? Let’s debate. Send in your reasons. I will respond in a future blog post – and – if necessary, I will confirm when you are right and when I am... Read More >>
Narrowing Retirement Savings Gaps
How Eligibility and Vesting Impact Retirement Savings Historically, workers experienced significant gaps in retirement benefits due to eligibility and vesting provisions. Throughout the past 45 years, those gaps have been significantly reduced by a combination of legislation and plan design changes. 61st Annual Survey Results The percentage of... Read More >>
Aggravation or Aggregation
A holistic wellness opportunity to gain a competitive advantage for your plan and participants. I once had a boss who seemed to embrace a motto offered by Albert Einstein: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” She would challenge me: “… If you can’t get it on a single page (or a single screen, slide, etc. ) you are... Read More >>
Are You Answering the Right Questions?
Trends and plan design initiatives to meet the needs of America’s ever-changing workforce. At the 2019 NAPA Summit, I partnered with provocateur Doug Prince, CEO of ProCourse Fiduciary Advisors, and PSCA research committee member, to present results from PSCA’s 61st Annual Survey of 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plans. The American Retirement... Read More >>
Annuitization Anyone?
Looking For a Few “Good” Plan Sponsors, Part 2 My search continues for plan sponsors willing to innovate and help participants who need more retirement income without burdening other participants and the plan with the compliance burdens of an annuity.1 Is There A Need For More Retirement Income? Yes, for some households. However, other households... Read More >>