Many plan providers struggle with deciding how many investment options to offer in their retirement plans. While people generally like to have lots of options when making other decisions, having too many plan options can potentially lead to poor investment decisions by plan participants. In addition, increasing plan options can also increase plan costs, as well as the administration associated with the plan. Choice Overload … Continue reading Too Many Choices: How Many Investment Options Should You Offer?

Your retirement plan is a valuable resource for your employees and serves as a vehicle to attract and retain top talent. Ensuring plan success is crucial. Examining plan analytics can help evaluate its success. Plan analytics you should explore: Median age, tenure and savings rates of plan participants These analytics can be helpful to determine which age groups are not strongly participating and may be … Continue reading Use Plan Analytics to Evaluate Your Retirement Plan

Target date funds (TDFs) — which rebalance investments to become more conservative as a fixed date approaches — are a convenient way for plan participants to diversify their portfolios and reduce volatility and risk as they approach retirement, making them an increasingly popular choice. However not all TDFs are created equal, and selecting and monitoring them can pose unique challenges for plan sponsors and fiduciary … Continue reading Target Date Funds and Fiduciary Obligations

Over 40 percent of employers now offer at least a small retirement plan match to employees, who can help manage their financial wellness by taking advantage of this offer. Even if your employer only matches a small percentage, you’re losing money by not participating. But before you sign up for your company’s retirement plan, it’s important to know how to make the most of it. … Continue reading Participant Memo: Take Advantage of Your Company’s Retirement Plan Matching Program

A plan fiduciary plays an important role in the organization’s financial health. Not only do they oversee the fiduciary process, but they identify and serve the best interests of a retirement plan’s participants and beneficiaries. Here are 10 important responsibilities to keep in mind. Limit liability: As a fiduciary, it is imperative that you understand ERISA so you can keep yourself and your business safe … Continue reading Top Ten Fiduciary Responsibilities

1. Don’t Cash Out Retirement Plans When Changing Employment When you leave a job, the vested benefits in your retirement plan are an enticing source of money. It may be difficult to resist the urge to take that money as cash, particularly if retirement is many years away. If you do decide to cash out, understand that you will very likely be required to pay … Continue reading Participant Corner: Four Tips for Increasing Your Retirement Dollars

Cybersecurity concern has grown in recent years as breaches of databases mount. This year, in a breach of Capital One’s database, hackers accessed over 100 million credit card applications. This followed a $700 million settlement against Equifax concerning the 2017 breach of its database in which hackers accessed 147 million accounts. In the past, when unauthorized withdrawals were made from plan accounts, the record keeper … Continue reading Cybersecurity – Berman v. Estee Lauder, Inc: Who is Responsible When Cyber Theft Occurs

As an employer, you’re responsible for keeping your company’s retirement plan in compliance at all times. Additionally your plan document should be reviewed on an annual basis and administered accordingly. The IRS offers useful tips for plan sponsors, helping you to stay compliant, informed and prepared to provide the best possible retirement plan for your employees – here are some highlights. It’s very important to … Continue reading Keeping in Compliance: IRS Tips for Plan Sponsors

Recently the Bell vs. ATH Holding Company, LLC (a subsidiary of Anthem, Inc.) lawsuit settled. This is frequently referred to as the “Anthem Settlement” (the “Settlement”). The Settlement received quite a bit of attention from both the industry and mainstream press for a number of reasons, not the least of which include the size of the 401(k) plan ($5.1 billion), the size of the monetary … Continue reading Anthem Settlement Awards Participants More than $23M

Synopsis Anthem plan participants alleged that plan fiduciaries did not perform due diligence on funds being used in the plan Parties reached a settlement that includes more than $23 million awarded to participants in addition to certain plan enhancements including: requirement to provide a participant communication on money market funds; conduct a recordkeeper RFP within 18 months of the settlement; and engage with an independent … Continue reading Anthem Settlement