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Nevin E. Adams, JD
By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/20/2013
I once spent a very uncomfortable period of time stuck in one of those carnival rides that, for brief periods of time, spins riders in a circle as the cab you are in also twirls. As uncomfortable as the ride was, the “stuck” part came while my cab was high in the air — and turned upside down. In no...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/13/2013
In about a month my eldest will be setting up a new home in a different state. It won’t be her first time living in another state, and it won’t be her first apartment. It will, however, be her first apartment as an entrant into the full-time career workforce, and so the criteria — and budget — are...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 8/5/2013
It has become something of a truism in our industry that defined benefit plans are “better” than defined contribution plans. We’re told that returns are higher[1. In the days following publication of the EBRI Issue Brief, (“Reality Checks: A Comparative Analysis of Future Benefits from Private-...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 7/30/2013
As most retirement plan advisors are well aware, behavioral finance drives much of the discussion around retirement plan design innovations these days, for the very simple reason that it seems to help explain what might otherwise be viewed as irrational behaviors.For example, human beings are prone...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 7/23/2013
As advisors know, over the last several years, the trend in employment-based retirement plans has been to put in place structures to make more decisions for workers through the expansion of automatic enrollment plan designs.[1. See “The Impact of PPA on Retirement Savings for 401(k) Participants...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 7/16/2013
Recently, we looked at how the trends in employment-based retirement plans and employment-based health plans seem to be heading in opposite directions; fewer choices for workers to make in the former, and more in the latter. However, recent EBRI research suggests a potential divergence in other...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 7/9/2013
Having just concluded a long driving trip, I was reminded again just how helpful the technology under the hood of today’s automobiles can be: the warning lights when you’ve still got enough gas left to find a gas station, the low tire pressure light that tells you of a slow leak before you have a...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 6/26/2013
While drawing boards have been used by engineers and architects for more than two centuries, the phrase “back to the drawing board” is of much more recent origin, coined by the artist Peter Arno in a cartoon first published in the March 1, 1941, issue of The New Yorker magazine. The cartoon...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 6/18/2013
Several weeks back, my wife and I sat down with a financial planner to review and update our financial plans. Now, it was not the first time that we’ve done this, but doing so brought with it a bit of personal trepidation since, being “in the business,” I not only had a working knowledge of what...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 6/10/2013
I’ve never been much good in the kitchen. I’ve neither the patience and discipline to follow most recipes, nor the innate sense for the right balance of ingredients that those with culinary talent seem to have. That said, I learned the hard way years ago that if you mix the right items in the wrong...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 6/4/2013
I recently joined the throngs of humanity that went to the theaters to see “Iron Man 3.” I grew up reading Marvel Comics, and for the (very) most part, seeing those characters brought to life on the big screen has been a real treat. I had been curious about the new Iron Man movie for some time,...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 5/28/2013
Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s Anne Tergesen wrote a story titled, “Mixed Bag for Auto-enrollment.” Citing data presented at the recent EBRI Policy Forum, [1. Materials from EBRI’s 72nd Policy Forum, including a link to a recording of the event (courtesy of the International Foundation of...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 5/21/2013
Recently a reporter asked me which finding in the 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey most surprised me, before acknowledging that maybe there wasn’t anything to be surprised about in a survey that has now been conducted for nearly a quarter century.For advisors, finding that retirement confidence is...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 5/14/2013
Generalizations are often misleading, but I think it’s fair to say that some people (specifically those of the male gender) are notoriously reluctant to ask for directions — even when it’s painfully clear to everyone else traveling in their company that they are “lost.” If you’re not one of those...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 5/3/2013
The recent release of EBRI’s 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) got a lot of attention. The headlines were mostly about Americans’ lack of confidence in their prospects for a financially secure retirement; indeed, the percentage “not at all confident” hit an all-time high for the RCS, while...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 4/30/2013
Last week, PBS’ “Frontline” program aired a segment on retirement entitled “The Retirement Gamble.”During the broadcast several individual cases were profiled:• a single mother who lost her job (and a lot of money that she had apparently overinvested in company stock);• a middle-aged couple whose...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 4/23/2013
One of my favorite short stories is Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder.” For those who haven’t read it (or who perhaps think that the fairly awful 2005 film of the same name does the story justice), the story takes place in the future when, having figured out time travel, mankind has found a way to...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 3/21/2013
I was at the NAPA/ASPPA 401(k) Summit earlier this month when a weather pattern emerged that threatened both my connecting flight and my arrival back home. Alerted to the potential problem the afternoon before I was scheduled to speak, I began seeking alternatives. Eventually, I was able to reroute...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 3/15/2013
Though there’s precious little worth watching on television these days, I’ll confess to having developed a fondness for the Sunday night shows that have sprung up all over cable television — series like Downton Abbey, Mad Men, Hell on Wheels, and yes, The Walking Dead. These not only keep me up on...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD | 3/12/2013
If you’re a parent, sooner or later your children will inform you — as you doubtless you told your parents — that “that’s not the way things are now!” It’s a potent retort to whatever social more is at issue because, whether it involves a choice in dress, curfew or even resume preparation, our...
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