401(k)/IRA
'The current problem with the Index 500 fund is that over 25% of the fund is in technology stocks,' a former Vanguard employee told the local press.
Honorable Mention
A.M. Best sees private equity firms dominating life/annuity M&A; Merrill Lynch penalized for deceiving customers on RMBS sales; MetLife and Brighthouse may release up to $116 million to owners...
Securian creates ‘open MEP’
'Open multiple employer plans' are defined contribution plans that many unrelated small firms can join. Legislation to ease their formation is pending in Congress.
Auto-escalation begins in the UK, with ‘close monitoring’
In the UK, the minimum contribution to auto-enrolled defined contribution plans will reach 8% in April 2019, including a 3% mandatory employer contribution.
Unequal plan coverage persists, report shows
'In 2016, the participation rate was just 47.3% of family heads with annual family income of $10,000 – $24,999, compared with 89.9% for those with annual...
Fiduciary rule litigation isn’t over
AARP wants the entire panel of Fifth Circuit judges to review the ruling by the three-judge panel, which ruled 2 to 1 against the DOL fiduciary rule.
The link between 401(k) litigation and in-plan annuities
Fear of litigation has made 401(k) plan sponsors leery of innovation, including the adoption of annuities as investment options, these authors suggest.
Principal Financial to join Washington State ‘Retirement Marketplace’
Providers already on the Marketplace include Finhabits, which offers individual IRAs, and Saturna Trust, which offers a solo 401(k) for the self-employed.
People with pensions conserve their savings: EBRI
'Instead of spending down, a large number of retirees are continuing to accumulate assets throughout retirement,' writes Sudipto Banerjee of T. Rowe Price, who prepared the report on decumulation...
A ‘SideCar’ Account for UK Plan Participants
NEST, Britain's public-option defined contribution plan wants to let participants people access some of their retirement money for emergencies more easily.
‘Excessive fee’ case against Yale to continue
Yale is among more than a dozen universities to be sued over the past 30 months for allegedly failing to reduce the costs of their 401(k) plans and...
Ascensus to buy ASPERIA
ASPERIA (formerly Group Health & Benefit Administrators, Inc.), will become part of Ascensus’ TPA Solutions division.
A Fintech Fix for the Small Plan Cost-Crisis
'We’re offering to clean house in a very fragmented broker market,' said Shin Inoue, CEO of ForUsAll, a turnkey 401(k) provider. Founded in 2014 by three former Financial Engines...
Icon: An IRA for ‘Gig’ Workers
Icon will offer a portable IRA to workers at small companies as well as to independent contractors. State Street Global Advisors and Dimensional Fund Advisors will provide low-cost investments....
Bob Reynolds’ & the Future of 401k
Reynolds emphatically favors the investment interpretation, as does Brian Graff of the American Retirement Association and other industry advocates.
How to attract IRA asset transfers: LIMRA SRI
People ages 45 and older were significantly less likely than people ages 40 to 44 (29% vs. 11%) to move their IRAs recently, according to research by the LIMRA...
An Obama-era retirement savings initiative gets the ax
The program aimed to work in support of private industry, not against it. When MyRA account balances reached $15,000, Treasury bond assets would be liquidated and rolled into private-sector...
Vermont offers state-wide voluntary MEP
The voluntary multi-employer plan, or MEP, 'will be open to any employer with fewer than 50 employees that does not currently provide a retirement plan to its employees.' Some...
Fidelity expands 401k managed account business
Fidelity announced this week that it will offer fiduciary managed account services to retirement plans that Fidelity is not the recordkeeper for--and where it will compete with managed account...
Participants in Wells Fargo retirement plans can buy MetLife longevity insurance
Wells Fargo's plan sponsors will be able to offer their participants the option to earmark a portion of their 401(k) savings for a MetLife qualified longevity annuity contract as...