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John Ortman
By John Ortman | 5/28/2013
Interest among plan sponsors in automatic enrollment, step-up deferral rate solutions and target date funds continues to increase, according to Mesirow Financial's 2013 Retirement Plan Survey Report. The results of the survey confirm three top initiatives plan sponsors are considering to keep their...
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By John Ortman | 5/24/2013
Ever left an industry conference disappointed that the workshops didn’t fully address the things you really wanted to learn about? Then you’re going to like this — it’s a unique opportunity to help shape next year’s NAPA 401(k) Summit, March 23-25, 2014 in New Orleans.NAPA has launched an...
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By John Ortman | 5/23/2013
Gina Gurgiolo of the Multnomah Group offers a sprightly rundown of the most common Form 5500 audit traps — that is, responses on the 5500 that are most likely to draw attention from the IRS or DOL. The traps include:• Incompleteness• Inconsistencies• Disappearing participants• “Other” assets• Late...
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By John Ortman | 5/17/2013
When it comes to identifying the main drivers of 401(k) plan leakage, plan loans come in a close second to the cardinal sin, frivolous early distributions (the dreaded Bass Boat Factor). In a recent blog post, Adam Miloro of Longfellow Advisors traces the tax ramifications of plan loans and the...
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By John Ortman | 5/9/2013
The number of plan sponsors offering individual financial counseling and advice jumped from 50% in 2011 to 61% in 2012, according to the 12th Annual 401(k) Benchmarking Survey conducted by Deloitte, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) and the International Society of...
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By John Ortman | 5/8/2013
Not that long ago, most widely accepted predictions held that as Baby Boomers inched toward a retirement funded largely by their 401(k) plans, most of them would seek a one-on-one relationship with a financial advisor to manage their nest eggs. Instead, research firms say a fairly steady or even...
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By John Ortman | 5/3/2013
Suffering from Frontline Fatigue? We are too, but there is one more thing we recommend you read before we all move on. Over at the FiduciaryNews website, Christopher Carosa has put together a four-part series of commentaries on the “Retirement Gamble” show that aired on the PBS “Frontline” show...
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By John Ortman | 5/2/2013
Writing in the Journal of Pension Benefits, Pentegra’s Pete Swisher offers a comprehensive primer on who can get paid from ERISA plans — as well as how much, in what form, and by whom. The 15-page article is not about disclosure, but about the many ways that fiduciaries, service providers and other...
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By John Ortman | 5/2/2013
The convergence of two circumstances has made tax reform “somewhat more likely” in the months ahead, says Brian Graff, CEO/Executive Director of ASPPA and NAPA. In this month’s Washington Update video, Graff notes that Congress will have to revisit the issue of raising the debt ceiling, likely...
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By John Ortman | 5/2/2013
Following are the top 10 most-read posts on NAPA Net last month:1. Retirement Plan Services are Not Orange Juice2. Obama, with Estimated $5 Million Pension, Pushes $3 Million Cap on Retirement Savings3. Frontline Promises to Blame Financial Services Industry for Retirement Issues 4. Cap on...
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By John Ortman | 5/2/2013
While they’ll never eclipse 401(k) plans in terms of sheer numbers, cash balance plans continue to grow in popularity. The number of plans grew from 1,500 in 2001 to 7,500 in 2010 — an average annual growth rate of around 20%, according to Sage Advisory Services.Following the industry’s time-tested...
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By John Ortman | 4/26/2013
Highlights of our posts and commentary on NAPA Net the week of April 22 included:
Defending the Industry
• Advisors who focus on or lead with the fact that they are fiduciaries can actually destroy trust, says Michael Kitces.
• We haven't been focusing enough on the critical value proposition...
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By John Ortman | 4/26/2013
In a video interview with NAPA Net, Don Trone, GFS, discusses the new Leadership Center for Investment Stewards and the boot camp program he developed in conjunction with the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point.The video is now posted on the new NAPA Network video channel, here.One more...
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By John Ortman | 4/25/2013
Recent anti-401(k) stories in the popular media — most recently this week’s “Retirement Gamble” episode of PBS’ "Frontline" show — have promulgated a meme that misrepresents plan advisors’ role in helping plan participants achieve the goal of a dignified retirement.How seriously do retirement plan...
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By John Ortman | 4/23/2013
The 2013 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award was presented to the advisory team at Fiduciary Consulting Group at PSA in Hunt Valley, MD, during a session of the 12th annual NAPA/ASPPA 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas. Jania Stout, Retirement Plans Practice Leader at PSA, received the award on behalf of the...
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By John Ortman | 4/23/2013
In a video interview with NAPA Net, Marc Robinson, founder of the SaverNation cash-back rewards program, explains how this innovative plan optimization feature helps plan participants and plan sponsors boost plan contributions — and how plan advisors can use it as a door opener and key...
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By John Ortman | 4/22/2013
One of the highlights of the 2013 NAPA/ASPPA 401(k) Summit, held March 3-5 in Las Vegas, was a video introduction to the first general session of the conference. In the video, a series of plan advisors addressed the theme of this year’s Summit — “Make an Impact” — as well as what it means to be a...
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By John Ortman | 4/19/2013
This week’s posts and commentary on the NAPA Net portal included:
Reg/Leg
• More reactions from players in the industry to President Obama’s proposed $3 million cap on retirement savings — from Brian Graff, CFOs, and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).
• The SEC is working on proposed new rules to reduce...
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By John Ortman | 4/19/2013
There’s a new feature on the NAPA Net web portal — a video channel we call “NAPA Network.” The new NAPA Network page is here. It can also be found by clicking on the “Videos” link in the top nav bar.Currently there are six short videos on NAPA Network:• Don Trone on investment stewardship and the...
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By John Ortman | 4/18/2013
Like a restaurant, a DC plan can structure its investment “menu” in many different ways. The trick is to come up with a menu of investment choices that best suits the plan. While that may sound simple in theory, in practice the complexity of the process of creating the right investment menu can...
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