Volatile markets have returned with a vengeance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fluctuated by thousands of points on recent trading days. During these times your 401k plan participants can become very nervous, and understandably so. Plan sponsors and their investment advisers can help calm participants during these volatile markets by sharing the following.
Recently I shared a post on retirement readiness that focused on the employer’s responsibilities in helping employees build a retirement plan balance that is sufficient for them to retire without a reduction in standard of living. But employees won’t succeed in achieving their retirement dreams unless they do their part as well.
The attributes listed in this piece have become associated with an employer’s responsibilities in helping participants achieve retirement readiness.
You probably have heard a lot of good things about the recently passed, strangely named but appropriately abbreviated Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – the SECURE Act. Many parties will be affected by the SECURE Act, and many entities will profit. However, you may be surprised to learn that the average American’s ability to retire sooner, with more security or even at all, is not materially improved by the Act.
A frequent question I get from 401k plan participants is “What type of contributions should I make Bob, Roth 401k contributions or traditional pre-tax 401k contributions?” It now appears that everyone would be better off making Roth 401k contributions only. Here’s why.
What 401k improvements are you considering for your plan in 2020? Most leading edge employers will have the following items on their list of 401k improvements for the coming year.
A number of retirement plan experts believe that 401k plan participants should only be allowed to invest in index funds. They say the additional cost that participants pay for actively managed mutual funds is not justified by better performance.
Based upon more than 30 years of experience working with employer retirement plan sponsors, here are my thoughts on what should be included in your 401k investment fund lineup.
As a 401k investment adviser who is also an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF), I have worked with investment committees for decades. During that time, I have found the following three fiduciary responsibilities to be most important for every 401k investment committee.
As an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF), I am a retirement plan fiduciary compliance expert. Following are answers to the eight fiduciary questions I hear most often from employers.