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Portal Conductor, Columnist: Nevin E. Adams, JD
Nevin is the former Chief Content Officer and Head of Retirement Research for the American Retirement Association. One of the retirement industry’s most prolific writers, these days he’s “retired,” which means he writes less, but continues to keep his eye on developments in, and threats to, the nation’s private retirement system.
In addition to helping guide the agenda development for the NAPA 401(k) Summit, he’s also the “Nevin” in the Nevin & Fred podcast (along with renowned ERISA attorney Fred Reish), offering irreverent, but relevant perspectives on the critical issues confronting plan sponsors, advisors, and retirement industry professionals.
Article Index
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/4/2015
In addition to proposals that include a retirement savings cap, double-taxing contributions of those above the 28% tax bracket and encouraging automatic enrollment, President Obama’s budget blueprint for fiscal year 2016 seeks to change the tax treatment of IRAs and qualified retirement plans. ...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/3/2015
One of my favorite movies — and perhaps my favorite “holiday” move — is Groundhog Day, the 1993 film starring Bill Murray as an arrogant weatherman who finds himself stuck in Punxsutawney, Penn. by a blizzard, who then discovers that he is also “stuck” reliving February 2 — over and over and over....
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/2/2015
Last week companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate intended to, among other things, encourage more small employers to offer retirement plans. Those bills tried to do so by reducing the costs of administering plans (by expanding access to multiple employer plans, or MEPs) and...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/30/2015
The Super Bowl looms — and yet it seems that all anyone is talking about is — deflationgate! We launched this week’s poll by acknowledging the widely divergent perspectives on the issue, everything from: the camp that believes that the inflation level of footballs makes no real difference (at...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/27/2015
It’s one thing to help people who are saving for retirement make better decisions — but what about those who aren’t? Here are four things that those who aren’t (yet) saving for retirement should know. It’s never too late to start saving for retirement. Perhaps you think there’s no point at some...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/27/2015
Will your portfolio soar with the Seahawks, or get punched by the Patriots? That’s what adherents of the so-called Super Bowl Theory would likely predict. The Super Bowl Theory holds that when a team from the old National Football League wins the Super Bowl, the S&P 500 will rise, whereas when...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/26/2015
The Super Bowl looms — and yet it seems that all anyone is talking about is — deflationgate!Now, you may be in the camp that believes that the inflation level of footballs makes no real difference (at least not in the outcome of the AFC championship game). Or you may feel that rules are rules, and...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/26/2015
Last week we asked readers to weigh in on the most likely outcome(s) of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary reproposal. The most popular response was that “fewer advisors will work with retirement plans,” narrowly edging out the sense that “advisors who work with retirement plans will all be...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/23/2015
With a month to go before its Supreme Court hearing, the employer defendant in a 401(k) excessive fee litigation case has petitioned the nation’s high court to drop the case.The filing by Edison International seeks to have the Supreme Court reverse its prior decision to review certain elements in...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/20/2015
Rumor has it that the Department of Labor’s fiduciary reproposal will resurface shortly, and that the president may even offer it support in the State of the Union Address.While we don’t yet know what will be in this version of the proposal, this week we’re asking NAPA Net readers to weigh in: What...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/20/2015
So, how does it feel to be compared to a termite?That’s right, a powerful coalition of retirement, union, and so-called consumer protection groups has launched a new attack on retirement plan advisors.They’re doing so ahead of the president’s State of the Union address, and doing so now because he...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/19/2015
A year ago, President Obama touted the voluntary MyRA in his State of the Union Address — but the White House has a lot more to say about retirement this year — and it’s a lot less voluntary. According to a White House fact sheet, the administration is touting a series of retirement tax reform...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/15/2015
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has outlined the conditions for determining the existence of a partial plan termination, ruling on the fifth appeal of what it called a “seemingly interminable class action suit.” The ruling came in a case filed two months short of 19 years ago. The plaintiffs...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/13/2015
Our industry spends a lot of time and money educating workers about the advantages and mechanics of saving for retirement. But here are six things I think too often go unsaid. Your 401(k) isn’t free. That’s right, it isn’t free. It may be heavily subsidized by your employer, and you’re likely...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/12/2015
Things you might have missed — highlights of last week’s posts on NAPA Net included: "Loan Arrangers?: Did the “Great Recession” lock in higher 401(k) loan volumes? “High” Five: Five things plan sponsors should know. Cash “Cowed?”: Will retiring Boomers crash the stock market...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/12/2015
Setting effective retirement plan policy can be a tricky business. Those who do so must often thread a complex web of competing priorities, not to mention what can happen when you make changes that are predicated on bad assumptions or misunderstandings about how these programs work, or how plan...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/6/2015
Whether or not you’re in the habit of making New Year’s resolutions, this is a time of year when reassessments seem appropriate, and perhaps in no area as much as that of retirement plan administration. Many find themselves in the role of plan sponsor (or plan committee) with no background, limited...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/2/2015
While finances aren’t topping their New Year’s resolutions lists, Americans are more likely to say they’ll seek the advice of a financial professional in 2015 than they were a year ago. Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents to the sixth annual New Year’s Resolution Survey from Allianz Life...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/2/2015
Some like to make New Year’s resolutions; some specifically avoid doing so. And some choose only to resolve not to make New Year’s resolutions. Surveys — and at least one academic study — suggest that most of those resolutions don’t last the year. Heck, many suggest they don’t last a month. ...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/30/2014
The winner of the year’s most ridiculous 401(k) headline may well be one that ran just last week. The post was titled, “Did Your 401(k) Balance Increase $50,000 This Year? If Not, You May Be Falling Behind.” Or, as I am inclined to think when I see such nonsense, “you may not.” The article was...
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