Continuing the Conversation: Company Benefits when 401(k) Plan Includes Financial Education

July 5, 2018—Have you started the conversation at your company to determine how to get the biggest organization benefit from your company's 401(k) plan?

In last month’s Starting the Conversation blog I shared some facts to get company leadership talking. There’s a heavy organization cost when employees can’t retire at normal retirement age and an even greater burden when employees lack the solid financial foundation that allows them to build toward retirement.

Starting the Conversation: Linking Retire-ability and Organization Viability

June 7, 2018—Previously, I suggested that the ability of employees to retire at a normal retirement age is a benefit of as much significance to the organization for which they work as it is to them individually. Increasingly, employers recognize that it’s in their company’s best interest to do what they can to help their employees establish a firm financial footing and build toward retirement readiness.

Do You Know the Three Rs of a Great 401(k) Plan?

May 1, 2018—A company 401(k) plan can be a great asset for an employer – with the three Rs resulting when the plan is thoughtfully designed and managed. Consulting with knowledgeable service providers, plan sponsors can construct a plan that will Recruit, Retain and Retire. The beneficiaries will be employer and employee alike.

Did You Pass the Test? Possibilities Await!

March 1, 2018—When it comes to defined contribution retirement plans, employers have numerous goals. As I meet with them, there are two objectives that I hear frequently from those that sponsor a 401(k) plan. One is that they want to encourage greater participation and higher rates of saving to help company employees achieve financial security in retirement. Just as important, they want to make sure highly compensated executives and company owners can make the maximum contributions allowed by law.

It’s Never Too Late to Keep a New Year’s Resolution

February 1, 2018—As a 401(k) or 403(b) plan sponsor, you have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of your employees. With January behind us and New Year’s Resolutions fading fast, one resolution that employers can help employees keep alive is to progress along on the path toward financial security in retirement. An important step is making sure their retirement savings are properly invested.

Would You Give an “A” to Your Financial Education Program?

January 5, 2018—New Year’s is a time to set goals and begin working toward achieving them. Employers that sponsor 401(k) and 403(b) plans can help employees improve their ability to enjoy a secure retirement by communicating with them about financial issues during this time of the year as one part of an effective year-long education program.

Are You Among the 38%?

December 7, 2017—A record number of 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors – 38% – are actively seeking new plan advisors, according to a recent Fidelity Investments survey. That’s not a surprise given changes in the retirement plan industry. Among other things, the Department of Labor’s new Fiduciary Rule requires employers to confirm their advisors are acting as fiduciaries and in the best interests of their clients. Advisors who are unprepared have caused some employers to interview other advisors.

408(b)2 Disclosures and the Fiduciary Rule

November 4, 2017—408(b)2 Provider Disclosures have created confusion for employers who sponsor 401(k) and 403(b) plans ever since the rules first requiring them took effect in 2012. To make matters worse, with the June 2017 effective date of the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule, employers’ responsibility with respect to the disclosures increased.

What Makes a GIC Tick? Time to Look “Under the Hood”

October 5, 2017—Guaranteed Insurance Contracts, or GICs, are marketed as a reliable - even simple - company retirement plan investment vehicle. In my experience, however, employers whose 401(k) or 403(b) plans include GICs and their participants could benefit from carefully examining the GICs inner workings as they consider the best option to build toward a secure retirement.

My initial sit-down with employers who include a GIC in their company retirement plan offers a good occasion to “pop the hood” of their plan. Frequently I hear that their employees like the GIC because it “guarantees” a rate of return, they are protected from potentially negative investment returns, and – in most cases – there are no “fees” associated with their selection of the GIC. So, I find it helpful to examine with them some of the gears and levers that make a Guaranteed Insurance Contract tick.