Showing entries from 2017.
17
Aug 2017Trends that Matter
In our most recent issue of Trends that Matter, participant engagement and fiduciary responsibility were the hot issues for retirement plan sponsors. While those trends remain current, others have emerged that should be top of mind with plan sponsors. The nonprofit sector is reacting …
Read more10
Aug 2017Vacations and Work
As I briefly references in last year's Top of Mind on My Week Without a Smartphone, I am not one who subscribes to the theory that working during vacation is evidence of a lack of work/life balance. In fact, I am on vacation as I write this! And I do not feel that it negatively impa…
Read more03
Aug 2017The 403(b) Monk and What We Can Learn from Him
I recently Tweeted about a fascinating New York Times article on Doug Lynam, a Benedictine monk who left the monastery to become—wait for it—a 403(b) advisor! And others apparently share my fascination with this story, as this has become my most popular Tweet in my brief Twitter ca…
Read more26
Jul 2017Catching Up with OregonSaves
Back in March, I wrote about OregonSaves, the first state-run auto-IRA program in the nation, which at the time was scheduled to be rolled out in pilot form on July 1, 2017. The pilot program was implemented right on schedule, and Jeff Snyder recently caught up with Lisa Massena, Executive Direct…
Read more20
Jul 2017Back to Basics: Moving Your Retirement Plan Money
Welcome back to Back to Basics! In this edition, we will define some basic terms associated with moving funds into/out of/within a retirement plan. Distribution — Also known as a withdrawal, this is the primary method for receiving retirement plan assets as taxable income. &nbs…
Read more13
Jul 2017Another Comment Period on the Fiduciary Rule
On June 29th, while you were no doubt busy preparing for the Fourth of July holiday, the Department of Labor (DOL) decided it would be a good time to issue yet another request for comment on the fiduciary rule. Releasing items on a Friday, or just in advance of a holiday weekend, has been a co…
Read more06
Jul 2017The Importance of Retirement Investing Over Saving for Older Employees
You‘ve heard the same message from many people, including myself: due to the time-value of money, the earlier you start saving for retirement, the better off you will be when you retire. When building retirement wealth, the critical factor is the age at which you commence retirement savi…
Read more29
Jun 2017Catching Up with Recordkeeper Technology
I spend a lot of my on-the-job time researching the recordkeeping platforms of retirement plan sponsors. In the course of my research, as of late, I have come across an interesting phenomenon. For lack of a better term, I will call it technology lag. Recordkeeper technology, for the most pa…
Read more22
Jun 2017Mutual Fund Trading Costs: The Most Important Fee You’ve Never Heard Of?
What if I told you that there is a fee present in mutual funds that is NOT included in the fund's published expense ratios and is often not publicly disclosed by the fund companies, since the SEC does not require its disclosure? You might laugh, but it is true. These added fees are known as tr…
Read more15
Jun 2017Alternate Fee Calculation/Allocation Models
By now, most retirement plan sponsors have an understanding of the two primary methods used by recordkeepers to charge fees to plans and participants: As a percentage of plan assets - Typically expressed in hundredths of a percent, or basis points (e.g., ten basis points = one-tenth of one …
Read more