A new excessive fee suit claims that plan fiduciaries “abdicated” their responsibilities, allowing the plans’ trustee to “…to lard the Plans with high-cost mutual funds.”The most recent excessive fee suit involves both the 401(k) and 403(b) plans of Allina Health System, which have nearly $2.3... READ MORE

Several years back, a group of us were talking about the rising cost of gasoline, when I quite casually mentioned, “Well, at least we’re not having to wait in lines to buy it.” At which point it was obvious from the reaction of the group that I was the only one who had had that particular... READ MORE

New research finds a shift in demographic trends that could have significant implications for financial planning.The report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College finds that once the whole lifespan of “Mid Boomers” has elapsed, women in that cohort will be found to have spent... READ MORE

A recent survey by Pew Charitable Trusts found strong support among small and mid-sized businesses for automatic IRA programs, multiple employer plans (MEPs)  and online marketplaces sponsored by states.The survey of more than 1,600 small and medium-sized private-sector businesses (those with five... READ MORE

In 2015, NAPA launched its first-ever "Black Book," a directory of the nation’s leading providers in three key service categories for retirement plan advisors: recordkeepers, DCIOs and BD/RIAs. Last year we added TPAs — and this year, we’re expanding it even further.Since its launch, the NAPA Black... READ MORE

Though not invoked with the frequency it once was, calls for improved financial literacy remain a constant refrain as a means to help assure the nation’s financial security.To their credit, academics have managed to work out a fairly short and concise list of questions by which they claim to be... READ MORE

More than 2,000 votes have already been cast – and the leading topic wasn’t even on the list a week ago.On Monday, we opened up voting on topics for the 2018 NAPA 401(k) Summit Agenda. We started out with a great list – but NAPA-Net readers have already added a dozen potential topics for... READ MORE

The stock market has been on a tear of late – 29 record closes for the S&P 500 through July 31, and five of those in July alone. So, how have 401(k) participants responded?Well, according to the Alight Solutions (previously Aon Hewitt) 401(k) Index, July turned out to be the lightest trading... READ MORE

While most small businesses do not offer retirement benefits, the large majority (72%) of businesses that do found it beneficial, citing talent attraction, turnover minimization and personal need among the top reasons, according to recent survey results.In its survey of 318 small- to mid-sized... READ MORE

Though the Retirement Confidence Survey, conducted annually by Greenwald & Associates and EBRI for the past 28 years, generally reveals how dire Americans’ retirement preparations really are (and in many ways, they are), this year’s RCS findings give me some hope that Millennials (or Gen Y) are... READ MORE

The ERISA consultants at the Learning Center Resource Desk, which is available through Columbia Threadneedle Investments, regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs and qualified retirement plans. Responding to a question from an advisor in... READ MORE

The nation’s largest independent broker-dealer just got a whole lot bigger.LPL Financial LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has acquired the independent broker-dealer network of National Planning Holdings, Inc. As of June 30, 2017, the member firms of the NPH network... READ MORE