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An early preview of Vanguard’s How America Saves 2024 finds that plan sponsors are continuing to make improvements to their plan designs.   The report reveals that 60% of plans with an automatic enrollment design defaulted their employees into the plan at a rate of 4% or higher—which is a new... READ MORE
Following through on its warning, the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18 announced that two investment advisers have settled charges with the commission for making “false and misleading statements” about their purported use of artificial intelligence (AI). The firms—Delphia (USA) Inc.... READ MORE
Litigation against a plan sponsor inevitably draws in the plan’s investment advisor and can cause significant costs and disruption. Here’s what to do. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) litigation continues at a rapid pace and with massive settlement numbers. Most recently, General... READ MORE
What's in the episode? Defined contribution plans, and 401(k)s specifically, are increasingly under attack, criticized by think tanks and academics for perceived (yet easily refuted) flaws. What—and who—is behind the effort? Are the criticisms resonating and why are they happening now? Does the... READ MORE
It’s official! We are proud to announce our list of 2024 NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams with assets under advisement over $100 million. Unlike other lists, this one focuses on firms (or in a wirehouse environment—teams) located in one physical location and the defined contribution portion of their... READ MORE
In what may come as no surprise, a new survey that looks at plan sponsor attitudes toward retirement plan management finds that plan sponsors that use outsourced fiduciaries highly value the service as an important backstop. When asked what resources they currently use to help manage fiduciary... READ MORE
Nationwide is teaming up with Morningstar Retirement to help advisors meet retirement plan participant needs by offering a new managed account service that merges custom retirement strategies with direct advisor involvement. Consequently, financial advisors who work with institutional and... READ MORE
It’s increasing, but is it enough? Stubbornly high inflation has The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) raising its 2025 COLA estimate to 2.4%, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (and increase of 3.2%) released Tuesday. While it’s still very early, the one percentage point... READ MORE
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek…and yet, just look at what has happened to these guys and gals… In Woodland Hills, California, they’re building a new walking bridge across some busy highways here…but you probably won’t be using it…  From somewhere in the UK, George... READ MORE
Tom Hansen and Tony Michael didn’t like the limitations of the recordkeeping software available on the market, so they built their own. The proprietors of inVesti Financial developed inVesti-RKS (Record Keeping Services) platform and successfully integrated this week with UMB Bank and Matrix... READ MORE
In a lengthy filing (109 pages), Yale University says the plaintiffs who lost their excessive fee case in a jury trial shouldn’t get a “do over.” More specifically, the Yale fiduciary defendants in that case have filed the aforementioned brief stating that the Second Circuit need not concern... READ MORE
The IRS has confirmed that they expect to fix a system-wide glitch that has resulted in improperly withheld refunds of erroneous penalties related to Form 8955-SSA filings.  Kelsey Mayo, the American Retirement Association’s Director of Regulatory Policy, reports that some plan sponsors’ refunds... READ MORE
Retirees are generally happier in retirement than in the workforce, but like many things in life, there are gaps between expectation and reality according to the latest MassMutual Retirement Happiness Study. "The happiest retirees invest not just in their financial futures but also in their social... READ MORE
It’s been several years since the pandemic began, and its impact is still felt, as many Americans now opt for a non-traditional approach to retirement. According to Fidelity Investments, 66% of respondents say the pandemic made them more “intentional” about focusing on their personal passions and... READ MORE
Millennials are defining retirement by independence rather than age.  Accroding to a recent survey from IRALOGIX, over half say retirement is defined not by age 65 but by financial independence where they can indulge their lifestyles without relying on traditional employment.  When asked if they... READ MORE
A new study finds that people who rely on "deferred tax" accounts to save for retirement may exhaust their savings faster than people who use "currently taxed" accounts. In the U.S., some retirement savings instruments are deferred tax (DT) accounts, in which users pay taxes on the money only when... READ MORE
In a recent article published by NAPA titled “Litigation Landscape: Targeting TDFs, ‘Meaningful’ Markers and Pre-Litigation Letter Campaigns,” authors Bonnie Treichel and Nevin Adams both highlight the importance of proper documentation by plan sponsors to mitigate litigation risk.  Many other... READ MORE
An excessive fee suit decision that starts out noting that the “defendants are fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan that, between 2016 and 2022, substantially reduced the recordkeeping fees charged to plan participants” doesn’t bode well for the plaintiffs. And in fact, the very next sentence—from U.S.... READ MORE
As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, I’m reminded of a trip my younger brother and I made with my grandparents to the Great Smoky Mountains.  Now, my grandparents had made many trips to that area, but it was a new experience for me and my brother. To this day I remember a hotel that had a pool with a... READ MORE
Add the Evergreen State to those that provide retirement plan coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not. Well, soon.  Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) introduced SB 6069, the measure creating Washington Saves, on Jan. 9, 2024. The Senate passed it on Feb. 12; the House initially... READ MORE
Harkening back to the early days of the administration, President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget, once again, proposes significant tax increases on corporations and upper-income taxpayers, including a proposal to limit how much taxpayers are allowed to accumulate in their retirement plans.... READ MORE
While it may come as no surprise, a new survey finds that nearly all Americans (97%) agree that the financial professional who provides one-time recommendations or other one-time advice about retirement investments should be required to act in their client's best interest. This includes a... READ MORE
The decision about when to claim Social Security retirement benefits is a topic that is well covered in the financial press since most American retirees either are currently receiving retirement benefits or can expect to do so. Research typically suggests that retirees, especially healthier... READ MORE
  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) received the fiduciary rule, listed as Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary, from the Department of Labor (DOL) on Friday. The OMB will review its costs and benefits within 90 days. However, the compressed two-month... READ MORE
The Standard is expanding its retirement plan investment solutions with the introduction of professionally managed accounts that provide personalization to help employees work toward their retirement goals, according to an announcement by the firm. The TargetPro Portfolios solution creates... READ MORE

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