Despite the 4-1 vote by the Securities and Exchange Commission to release for public comment its fiduciary proposals, the commissioners apparently (still) have issues with the current version.   Read More

NAPA Executive Director (and American Retirement Association CEO) Brian Graff unveiled plans April 15 to address the expensive and outdated ERISA requirement to disclose information to 401(k) participants in paper form.   Read More

Enactment of the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) would be an important step in encouraging employers to offer DC plans and to expand access to various retirement savings options, panelists at a Capitol Hill retirement policy forum suggested this week.   Read More

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s participant loan changes trigger something we would all rather not look at: the “uncomfortable” manner in which ERISA’s fiduciary rules apply to loans and their administration.   Read More

Despite regulatory shifts, industry consolidation and firms exiting the broker protocol, movement among advisors continues, according to a new survey from Fidelity.     Read More

Scottrade wants to make a federal case out an administrative proceeding filed by Massachusetts alleging violations of internal policies adopted in anticipation of the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule.   Read More

A recent report from the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration shows surprising vitality among defined benefit plans.   Read More

In 2016, I wrote a column about the rise of litigation and enforcement against plan advisors. At the time, there were only a few lawsuits involving advisors. Now, unfortunately, this concern has come to pass. What should an advisor and his or her advisor organization do now?   Read More

Responding to a question from an advisor from Ohio, the ERISA consultants at the Retirement Learning Center Resource addressed a common inquiry involving 401(k) plan loans.   Read More

For the moment, anyway, the Old Line State has stepped back from crossing a line that would have established its own fiduciary rule.   Read More

As workers become more highly mobile, the task of finding missing plan participants can be a time-consuming and difficult process. Can automation provide a solution?   Read More

Since 2009, total 401(k) plan costs have decreased whether measured on a plan-, participant- or asset-weighted basis, according to a new report.   Read More

Once again invoking the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule, Massachusetts’ Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has opened another investigation into broker-dealer activities.   Read More

The American Retirement Association (ARA) has lent its support to a Labor Department proposal on Association Health Plans – and offered a couple of recommendations as well.   Read More

Last week the Massachusetts Securities Division filed charges against Scottrade for knowingly violating its internal policies regarding implementation of the DOL fiduciary rule – an action that plaintiffs seeking to overturn that rule say validates their concerns.   Read More

The Massachusetts Securities Division has filed charges against a firm for knowingly violating its internal policies regarding implementation of the DOL fiduciary rule – and taken a shot at the Labor Deparment.   Read More

The newly appointed head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is slated to help kick off the 2018 NAPA 401(k) SUMMIT.   Read More

Plan fiduciaries have prevailed on appeal – as they did at the district court level – against charges that they violated their fiduciary duties under ERISA by continuing to allow employer stock as an investment option, even as the firm slipped into bankruptcy.   Read More

With today’s greater scrutiny of both retirement plan fees and the decision-making processes of plan sponsors, many have decided to include a collective investment trust (CIT) as an investment option in their 401(k) plans.   Read More

A recent Alliance Bernstein survey found that plan sponsors’ awareness of their fiduciary role, much less the responsibility, has deteriorated significantly in recent years.   Read More