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Plan Sponsors Should 'Definitely' Have Cyber Liability Insurance: PSCA National
At Day One of the PSCA National, ARA CEO Brian Graff and EBSA Assistant Secretary Lisa M. Gomez discussed a wide range of topics, including the many misunderstandings about cyber liability insurance (which could be a huge fiduciary failure) and the ESG rule. This session follows Graff and Gomez's previous conversation on an episode of D.C.... Read More >>
Leakage: A Big Concern but Not a Big Problem
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. We hear a lot of concern in the industry about leakage from the system in terms of loans, distributions, and missing participants and there are some solutions underway to help address it (particularly with automatic rollovers). We can recognize “leakage” from the system in terms of cash outs, loans, and... Read More >>
(K)rypto?
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. Last year the Labor Department issued a “Compliance Assistance Release” regarding the inclusion of cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans – we asked members at that time in a QOTW if they would consider Cryptocurrency as an investment option in their plans and though a handful were considering it, the overwhelming... Read More >>
‘Sharp Declines’ in Financial Progress: Report
Employees’ financial situations and mental health are bearing the brunt of the burden of a year where economic uncertainty and inflation have upended saving and spending habits, according to a new report. With market declines across asset classes in 2022 and the potential for a recession dominating news coverage, 70% of respondents say they’... Read More >>
SECURE 2.0 a Step in Right Direction, But Participants Yearn for More
Various provisions under the SECURE 2.0 Act strongly resonate with employees amid considerable changes in retirement expectations, financial conditions and workforce demographics, but the findings of a new survey suggest that more can be done to promote retirement security. And even though nearly half (47%) of respondents believe they are on... Read More >>
Could Employer Contributions Actually Lead to Leakage?
I recently stumbled across an academic study that claimed to find a correlation between higher employer contribution rates and leakage. I will confess to a certain skepticism at that finding. There are, after all, a well-established series of things that contribute to leakage, broadly defined as distribution of retirement savings prior to... Read More >>
Customized Plan Education
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. In light of the recent completion of PSCA’s Annual Signature Award competition recognizing retirement plan education and communication campaigns, we wondered how prevalent customized campaigns such as those submitted to program are. Forty-two percent of respondents stated they provide general/stock... Read More >>
Auto Escalation in Plans
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. Automatic features are known to help boost plan participation in 401(k) plans and while automatic enrollment is now used in a plurality of plans (and the majority of large plans), auto-escalation has been slower to take hold. According to PSCA’s 65th Annual Survey (2021 plan data) only 40 percent of... Read More >>
Benartzi Makes a Call for Smart Defaults: NAPA 401(k) Summit
The man who was instrumental in encouraging behavioral finance-focused default structures in 401(k)s now cautions that those defaults need to be “smart.” Speaking at the NAPA 401(k) Summit, professor Shlomo Benartzi — who, along with Richard Thaler authored and advocated the Save More Tomorrow structure back in the mid-1990s (which was... Read More >>
Use of FinTech in Financial Wellness Programs
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. There is a growing dialogue around the use of technology-based financial education (i.e., FinTech) and financial wellness programs. We know that some recordkeepers provide technology based programs, but were curious what the take-up rate of these programs are and if plan sponsors are providing this... Read More >>