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The American Retirement Association is urging Congress to approve legislation providing victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria access to their 401(k) and similar plan savings without incurring IRS penalties and taxes.The ARA has been making the case that legislation should mirror the relief... READ MORE
Today we are pleased to unveil our first-ever list of Top DC Advisor Firms.Since their inception, NAPA’s various industry lists have been a valuable Who’s Who of who matters in the world of retirement plans and retirement plan advisors. Today we open another chapter – the NAPA Top DC Advisor Firms... READ MORE
A majority of both active and passive portfolio managers believe that the ongoing shift toward passive strategies will continue for many years, new survey results show.To address this ongoing movement, active managers should be experimenting with new products, alternative data sets and other... READ MORE
Legislation that would repeal the DOL’s fiduciary rule would have a negligible effect on federal revenues, say multiple cost estimates.The Affordable Retirement Advice Act for Savers (H.R. 2823), introduced by Rep. David Roe (R-TN) on June 8, 2017, would repeal the fiduciary rule. The bill also... READ MORE
The IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have extended some forms of relief for victims of Hurricane Irma in Georgia, which had been affected by the storm as it churned northwest from Florida. The relief applies in all 159 counties in the state.The IRS said on Sept. 19 that Form... READ MORE
CAPTRUST has expanded its reach with the addition of Davidson & Garrard (D&G), a registered investment advisor based in Lynchburg, VA.The announcement comes less than a month after the announcement of CAPTRUST’s merger with Tampa, FL-based investment advisor CapTrust Advisors.Founded in... READ MORE
The ERISA consultants at the Retirement Learning Center Resource regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs and qualified retirement plans.A recent call with an advisor in Maryland is representative of a common inquiry involving rollovers.... READ MORE
Another excessive fee suit – this one involving a not-so-jumbo plan – claims that 401(k) plan fiduciaries “severely mismanaged the Plan in a myriad of ways,” notably by, in the plaintiff’s words, “imprudently incorporating funds on its menu that were excessively expensive.”While the plan involved... READ MORE
A new report contends that robo-advisors’ “goal-based” advice falls short of a “best interest” standard for fiduciary advice.The paper, “Are Robo-Advisors Fiduciaries?” by attorney Melanie L. Fein argues that only “those investment advisers and broker-dealers whose advice meets the prudent investor... READ MORE
Running the plan and investing its assets in a way mindful of environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns is a practice some pension plans follow. But a recent commentary questions whether that complements — or compromises — fulfilling fiduciary responsibility.In a commentary that recently... READ MORE
Suggesting that it’s time to change the return-on-investment (ROI) conversation with respect to financial wellness programs, a recent paper contends that a more effective way to prove a program’s value is by measuring employee engagement.Ernst & Young explains that creating a suite of benefits... READ MORE
While having children leads to a moderate increase in the likelihood of being at risk of retirement preparedness, the influence of children is considerably smaller than other factors, says the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR).A recent CRR issue brief, “The Impact of Raising... READ MORE
In about a month, the IRS will announce the new contribution and benefit limits for 2018 – and that could be good news even for those who don’t bump against those thresholds.These are limits that are adjusted for inflation, after all – designed to help retirement savings (and benefits) keep pace... READ MORE
The official numbers are still about a month off, but benefits consultant Mercer has estimated what the benefit and contribution limits for 2018 might be.Changes in those limits are based on the year-to-year increase in Q3 CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), which Mercer says are... READ MORE
A federal district court judge has granted summary judgement to participant-plaintiffs in a case where plan fiduciaries failed to comply with their diversification elections in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) prior to the company stock collapsing.In the case (Bryant v. Community Bankshares... READ MORE
August brought a notable uptick in 401(k) trading activity among defined contribution plan investors, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index.There were three days of above normal trading activity in August, matching the total number of above normal days from January through July. Ironically... READ MORE
Recent reports indicate a surge in adoption of cash balance plans in recent years, particularly among smaller employers. In this week’s reader poll, we’d like to know what you’re seeing – and doing.The number of new cash balance plans adopted by employers increased by 17% in 2015 – rising to 17,812... READ MORE
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has issued a risk alert highlighting compliance issues with advisers’ communication of performance results, recommendations and accolades.The alert draws on what the SEC says were most frequently identified in deficiency letters recently... READ MORE
A suit that claims two plans paid “approximately $1 million in excess recordkeeping fees in 2014, and again in 2015” has taken another step forward.The lawsuit filed earlier this year in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota alleged that Essentia Health “permitted the Plans’ service providers to... READ MORE
While we know it shouldn’t be all about fees, it’s clear that fees can – and should – have an impact on provider selection.Asked to quantify a basis point differential that might justify changing providers, a quarter of respondents to this week’s reader poll put it in the 10-15 basis point range,... READ MORE
In analyzing relationships between the age structure of the population and investment returns, the researchers found some evidence that a population with more retirees than workers increases the supply of savings and drives down investment returns, according to a compilation of research reviewed in... READ MORE
A new spending bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives contains a sentence that seeks to do away with the fiduciary regulation – with language that some might find eerily prophetic.The bill, which would fund government operations for fiscal 2018, makes a brief, but powerful statement... READ MORE
Your website, or as we also call it, your “digital storefront,” is the first place most people visit when looking for information about you. Let’s make it HGTV-worthy!Here’s three easily implemented ideas.Cover the Whole ScreenThe most common computer screens are between 20 to 24 inches. Take a... READ MORE
While more Americans are feeling financially secure compared to five years ago, most significantly underestimate their projected life expectancy, how much they will need to cover health care costs in retirement and how much life insurance they will need, according to new survey results.The survey... READ MORE
While both men and women overwhelmingly agree they are not saving enough for retirement, their overall savings habits and reasons given for not saving enough appear to be starkly different, according to a new study.MassMutual’s internet-based Middle America Men & Women Finances Study polled 1,... READ MORE

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