Putting off retirement savings is a missed opportunity Most people start saving for retirement at 35—fully 10 years beyond the ideal age, according to a recent Financial Engines survey.1 Reasons to procrastinate are familiar to many. But delaying your savings can be costly, as the chart below shows. Let’s say Tom starts saving 6% of [...]
When changing jobs or leaving employment, decisions you make about taking money from your plan can have serious tax consequences. Here’s what you need to know. Your Options Pros Cons 1. Roll over to an IRA Continue tax-deferred growth Avoid early withdrawal penalties Have flexible investment options Can choose a Roth after-tax IRA Consolidate your [...]
In your 20s, the horizon seems limitless. You’re in your first grown-up job, making a regular paycheck. You may be tempted to spend it on fun stuff. But here are four areas that should take priority. Pay off credit card debt. If you carry a hefty monthly balance, or are just paying the minimum interest, [...]
Getting into a regular savings groove starts with a single first step Working at a job in high school may help form lifelong financial habits with a big payoff. Gretchen, a 40-year-old registered nurse, started babysitting and working at a grocery store when she was 15. She regularly put half of her paycheck in a [...]
DOL Update Participant Fee Disclosure Deadline Extended During second quarter, the DOL released final regulations to permanently extend the annual participant fee disclosure time frame, effective this year. The original regulations require plans to provide a disclosure of plan and investment information, including an investment comparative chart, to participants once every 12 months. The first [...]
401k Supreme Court Update Ongoing Fiduciary Duty to Monitor Plan Investments Under ERISA, the plan fiduciary (typically the plan sponsor or a plan committee) has a fiduciary obligation to monitor plan fees and pay only reasonable fees from plan assets. The DOL has focused significant attention on this fiduciary responsibility through its fee disclosure mandates. In [...]
If you are the sponsor for an employer-sponsored, here are some resources available on the Internet to help you better manage your plan. Internal Revenue Service, Employee Plans www.irs.gov/ep Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration www.dol.gov/ebsa 401(k) Help Center www.401khelpcenter.com BenefitsLink www.benefitslink.com PlanSponsor Magazine www.plansponsor.com Plan Sponsor Council of America www.psca.org Employee Benefits Institute [...]
401k Legislative Update State-Based Retirement Plan Initiatives While Congress has been unable to reach a consensus regarding whether automatic IRAs should be mandated for employers that do not offer retirement plans, a number of states have moved forward on this initiative, passing their own state-based retirement savings programs. Recently, 26 Senators wrote a joint letter to [...]
Take a peek behind the scenes of other sponsors’ retirement plans and you may gain some useful insights into ways to improve your own retirement plan. Some key findings in a recent benchmarking report include: The most common investment vehicle was the mutual fund, which held 46% of 401(k) plan assets. In all but the [...]
Boomers on the Brink: Issues Affecting Participants as They Consider Retirement Planning Will you still need me when I’m 64—or is it 65? Some birthdays are more important than others when it comes to retirement planning. Here are some milestones to remember. Age 50 More money can be placed in your retirement plan this year. Put [...]
