Showing entries from 2017.
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Dec 2017My Letter to Santa, 2017 Edition
Dear Santa: Last year, in anticipation of my official designation as a member of your Nice List, I made a number of requests, or “wishes,” as you refer to them, on behalf of the retirement plan community. I was surprised and extremely grateful for your thoughtful response, especially given …
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Dec 2017The Senate Tax Bill and Last-Minute Controversy Over - 403(b)?
On December 1st, I was eagerly awaiting the vote on the Senate Tax Reform bill, which, as indicated in our recent article on the subject, contained provisions that would have eliminated most of the special contribution limits that apply to 403(b) plans. My wait ended up being quite long, as th…
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Dec 2017My Favorite Twitter Feeds
Regular readers of this blog know that I am an active Twitter user, and, since starting to tweet in March, I have amassed a fairly decent following by sharing our home-grown content, as well as the best content from other retirement-related Twitter feeds. But who do I follow? Well, pretty m…
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Nov 2017Proprietary Funds: The New Lightning Rod for 403(b) Plans?
In the world of 403(b), variable annuities have been a lightning rod for criticism by anyone paying attention. And, for good reason, with the caveat that there are some variable annuities offered by low-cost providers that shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest. However, in the large 403(b) p…
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Nov 2017Retirement Plan Tax Changes: Was I Psychic?
In a recent blog entry on tax reform, I proposed some changes to retirement plan law that could help raise revenue. Now, when I wrote those suggestions, I was fairly confident that neither the House nor the Senate proposal would incorporate any of them. However, either by coincidence, psychic pow…
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Nov 2017Some "Top of Mind" Thoughts on the Tax Reform Proposals
On November 2, 2017, the House released its version of a tax reform proposal, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. On November 9th, the Senate issued its markup of the Act, which was substantially different from the House version, particularly with respect to retirement plan changes. The next step will likely…
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Nov 2017Tax Reform: The Retirement Plan Tax Changes that I Would Recommend
Last week, the House introduced the much-anticipated Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Those who work closely with retirement plans, including retirement plan sponsors and advisors like myself, have been waiting with bated breath to see how the House suggests raising revenue to pay for income tax cuts - …
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Nov 2017Confessions of a Non-Saver
At the risk of offending some of my audience, I have a bit of a secret to reveal: I am a non-saver by nature. Yes, you read that correctly - I am a non-saver. I know what you’re saying: “He works in the Retirement Plan Industry! How in the world is he not a saver? Is he just not very bright?” …
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Oct 2017Failure to Log In: The Dirty Little Secret of Many Retirement Plans
Recently, I received study results from a recordkeeper that tested some of their retirement plan communication initiatives on their own employees. Now, employees who work at a retirement plan recordkeeper are presumably more engaged than your average retirement plan participant. However, when this r…
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Oct 2017The Retirement Fun House: The Battle to Engage Participants
In light of the fact that this week is National Retirement Security Week, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what recordkeepers are doing on the front lines to motivate retirement plan participants to save, invest wisely, and otherwise ensure that their retirement is, well, secure.&…
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