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Feb 2020Decumulation Confusion: Social Security Claiming Strategies
In Part 1 of our decumulation series, we discussed the oft-overlooked topic of decumulation, or the spending of retirement plan assets during retirement years. In Part 2, we explored annuities as a decumulation strategy and the associated confusion for retirees. In Part 3, we examined the 4% rule, a…
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Feb 2020Revisiting the 2019 Retirement Plan Trends
A little over a year ago, I made predictions as to the 2019 hot trends for retirement plan sponsors. So, how did I do? Let’s take a look at how the predictions fared: An increased focus on non-savers — Verdict: No — I’m a bit annoyed that I struck out with this one, as it likely would h…
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Jan 2020The Beginning of the End for Asset-Based Retirement Plan Recordkeeping Fees?
In The Top Retirement Plan Trends for 2020 we discussed the migration of retirement plans from traditional percentage of assets-based recordkeeping fees to per-participant fee structures. By implementing a per-participant model, recordkeeping fees do not snowball as plan assets grow (which only stan…
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Jan 2020For Plan Sponsors with Choice: Is a 403(b) or 401(k) Plan Right?
Some organizations, like 501(c)(3) tax-exempts, have a choice in the type of retirement plan they offer. For many of these plan sponsors, a 403(b) plan makes the most sense; but for some, a 401(k) may be the right choice. Below are some of the primary factors that may help determine which type of re…
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Jan 2020The SECURE Act Facts: What You Need to Know Now
To the surprise of many, significant retirement plan legislation, known as the SECURE Act, was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019, thanks to its attachment to a must-pass budget appropriations bill. While comprehensive coverage of the Act will be the feature of upcoming thought …
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Jan 2020The Retirement Plan Terms to Avoid
At a recent That 401(k) Conference, I had pleasure of viewing a presentation on a defined contribution plan language study from Invesco that, to be frank, floored me. Common retirement plan terms, used by me and many others, scored terribly when deployed in participant communications – with some eve…
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Dec 2019Retirement Plan Committee Members: Why You Shouldn’t Be a Heat or Snow Miser!
My favorite holiday animated special is not Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (although I love me some Bumble) or Frosty the Snowman. It’s The Year Without a Santa Claus, hands down. And no, it is not due to the admittedly lame plot of Santa wanting to cancel Christmas because he feels—wait for i…
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Dec 2019Five Features that Retirement Plans Can Do Without
There are many retirement plan features (such as automatic enrollment, automatic escalation, QDIAs, and well-designed loan provisions, to name a few) that add tremendous value to both plan sponsors and participants. However, there are also numerous plan features that I find to be relatively useless,…
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Dec 2019Why the Road to Zero-Revenue Sharing Can Be Bumpy
Revenue sharing refers to the practice of investment providers sharing revenue with recordkeepers in exchange for performing some of the duties that the investment provider would typically have to do. Since the concept is difficult to explain to participants and has been the focus of litigation, an …
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Nov 2019How Much Does My Retirement Plan Cost?
Here’s an exercise for you: navigate to your recordkeeper’s website and see if you can determine the exact amount you are paying for your retirement plan. If you’re a plan fiduciary or someone who works with retirement plan benefits, you already know this cost, but play along anyway - you may be sur…
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