Average 401(k) balances up 33% since 4Q2011: Fidelity
“More than one-in-four Fidelity 401(k) savers increased their savings rate in 2016—an all-time high—and the number of people with a 401(k) loan dropped to its lowest point in seven...
401(k)/IRA
TIAA offers double-shot of income solutions for DC plans
Plan sponsors and/or their third-party consultants select the investment options and design the glide paths formulas for their TDFs and combine them with one of two income solutions on...
Skin in the (Costa Rican Retirement) Game
How do Costa Ricans pay for retirement? In San Jose, Alvaro Ramos Chaves (above), the pensions regulator, told RIJ how his nation’s mandatory DB and DC plans work. His...
RetirePreneur: Dream Forward
The next wave of automation in retirement plans will be chatbots--intelligent virtual assistants that both teach and learn from participants. Dream Forward, a startup led by Grant Easterbrook, is...
Ascensus to run Oregon’s public DC plan for private-sector workers
Pennsylvania-based Ascensus is the nation’s largest independent retirement and college savings services provider, with more than $139 billion in assets under administration.
Edward Jones’ 401(k) plan accused again of ERISA violations
A federal class action suit in St. Louis charges the Edward Jones 401(k) plan with offering its participants high-cost funds from asset managers that were also paying tens of...
DC plan advisors to cut sales of VAs, active funds: Ignites
Because of the fiduciary rule, 7% of plan advisors expect to reduce their use of actively managed equity mutual funds in DC plans, and 8% expect to scale back...
“Boutique DC consultants” now in demand: Cerulli
'This influential and relatively new intermediary category is a bright spot against a difficult DC landscape characterized by negative net flows in the corporate DC market, fee compression, and...
Ghilarducci book calls for new breed of DC plans
Economist Theresa Ghilarducci sees the existing 401(k) system as a half-full glass; she proposes a new glass, mandatory, without leakage, less tilted to high-earners, centrally managed and leading to...
Mercer offers new turnkey fiduciary services to plan sponsors
'Plan sponsors face an increasingly difficult regulatory environment, increased litigation risk and heightened demand on their limited resources to support their 401(k),' said a Mercer executive.
Russell and Envestnet roll out managed account option for DC plans
The Russell QDIA is called Adaptive Retirement Accounts; Envestnet Retirement Solutions Qualified Individualized Life Target Solutions delivers participant investment advice.
Chile’s Pension Crunch
The author, a former presidential candidate and finance minister of Chile, teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
T. Rowe Price reports on trends in its retirement plans
The average deferral rate among T. Rowe Price plan participants was 7%, far below the recommended level of 15% (which includes the employer match). About one-third of participants are...
Yale, MIT and NYU Sued over Retirement Plan Fees
The universities' retirement plans were the latest to be sued by the law firm of Jerome Schlichter (pictured at his office in St. Louis) for violations of fiduciary duty....
DC plans still slow to embrace lifetime income: Willis Towers Watson
Most employers prefer education and planning tools, and partial or systematic withdrawals during retirement, to annuities or other managed payout options, which consultants called “more effective."
Most plan providers expect DOL rule to help asset retention: LIMRA
'Nearly three quarters of plan providers anticipate their call center staff will need training to be able to distinguish education from advice,' said Matthew Drinkwater, Ph.D., assistant vice president,...
A new topic for Brits to argue about: Decumulation
Two UK small-plan providers, The People's Pension and Now Pensions, don't want NEST, the public DC option for small companies, to offer a retirement income strategy in competition with...
The short goodbye… it’s linked to retirement readiness
With mandatory retirement ages largely a relic of the past, a new whitepaper claims that a robust defined contribution plan, with auto-enrollment and auto-escalation features, can accomplish the same...
Vanguard reports on its services for small 401(k) plans
Vanguard launched Vanguard Retirement Plan Access (VRPA) in 2011 to provide cost-effective 401(k) plans for small business owners with plans with up to about $20 million in assets.
Vanguard publishes ‘How America Saves,’ its 401(k) almanac
Among participants entering Vanguard plans for the first time in 2015, about 80% were invested entirely in a professionally managed allocation. By 2020, the average will be about 68%...
