According to British politician Ed Miliband, “...the only time we made progress, we did it by challenging the conventional wisdom.” Taking that challenge, Schwab’s Rande Speigelman exposes what he calls the Five Big Lies about retirement.• You'll only need 70%–80% of your pre-retirement income –... READ MORE

Though appealing in theory, the use of managed accounts (MAs) in DC plans has not only been low but also seems to be declining. According to research by the PSCA, only 3.6% of plans offer MAs, and plans using MAs as a QDIA have dropped from 7.2% in 2010 to 1.2% in 2012. Overall, less than 2% of all... READ MORE

With the societal shift from reliance on DB plans to DC plans, there could be a number of unforeseen and unintended consequences. The drop in DB coverage from 1985 to 2011 has been precipitous, falling from 112,000 companies to just 25,500. Even more telling, 35% of baby boomers have access to DB... READ MORE

Fee disclosure may be ready to hit IRAs. After the recent GAO report that some IRA providers made misleading claims about fees to undercover GAO reps who were posing as people with rollovers, a few Senators called for further investigation. Now, FINRA has weighed in with a recent Notice about... READ MORE

When given the choice between a high-cost, no-deductible health care plan and a cheaper one with a high deductible, 60% of employees choose the cheaper plan, according to a recent study. As part of the cheaper plan, employees are offered an HSA to which the employer contributes. For example, a... READ MORE

Like most complicated question, the answer is yes and no. It is possible for a plan fiduciary to outsource the administrative reporting and disclosure requirements to a third party under ERISA section 3(16) but there are legitimate concerns and caveats. In a thoughtful article by ERISA legal eagle... READ MORE

Though TDF assets grew 20% in 2012, according to a joint report from Brightscope and TD Analytics, the net number of TDFs dropped from 50 to 48, a first since the rating agencies started covering TDFs. Dropping out were Columbia, Oppenheimer, Goldman Sachs and American Independence; JP Morgan and... READ MORE

Wells Fargo has released Q1 2013 data that reveals some interesting developments. Compared with the same period in 2012 —• Roth usage is up slightly, from 8.9% to 10%, but for people in their 30s, 16.9% took advantage, compared with 15.2% a year earlier. Among people in their 60s, only 4% used the... READ MORE

Walt Bettinger, Schwab’s CEO, laments how the current system is rigged against individuals buying stocks, setting out four reasons why the number of investors owning stocks or mutual funds, or investing in a self-directed 401(k) or IRA, has dropped from 67% in 2002 to 52% in 2013. Bettinger lays... READ MORE