Automatic enrollment of employees into defined contribution retirement plans such as 401(k)s has grown so quickly that more than half of employers now offer it to their employees, according to a new study.
Small- and mid-size record keepers that administer 401(k) programs for providers are concerned that a plan to ensure that mutual funds are not being "market timed" will be so expensive to oversee as to put some of them out of business.
Financial advisers are worried that if more employers eliminate 401(k) matches, it will cause already cash-strapped and worried clients to reduce or halt their contributions.
More than half of employers that offer "unbundled" 401(k) plans intend to add to their lineup of investment options over the next year, according to a new report.
The incoming Obama administration is likely to act quickly to kill the Bush tax cuts for households with incomes over $250,000 a year, and they may move to make any new tax law retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009.
With the equity market wreaking havoc on retirement portfolios, advisers are helping clients reassess their priorities and determine which objectives to fund first.
In the 12-month period through early October, 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts dropped in value by $2 trillion due to market volatility, and a new study questions whether retirement accounts are too exposed to market risk.
Fund companies and service providers are offering webinars, seminars and handouts to help advisers handle the onslaught of questions they're getting from 401(k) participants and employers in this volatile market.
MFS Investment Management of Boston announced today the formation of a business development office for the defined contribution investment only market.
More than half of large companies are using automatic enrollment in their retirement plans, and overall, more employers have begun pulling the trigger on automatic enrollment, a new study shows.
Let’s say you were a financial planner in 1926. Of course, there was no such discipline as financial planning in the Roaring ’20s.
Advisers have a huge opportunity to win business in the 403(b) arena, but they must act quickly, a retirement expert said at a panel on the subject at the Center for Due Diligence’sconference in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Advisers need to keep an eye on a particular court case regarding 401(k) fees, because if the U.S. Court of Appeals rules in favor of participants, an outpouring of additional lawsuits could occur in short order, according to a lawyer who specializes in retirement issues.
Advisers need to brace themselves for more changes in and scrutiny of 401(k) plans, particularly as investors have witnessed their nest eggs dwindle dramatically in recent weeks, according to one retirement expert.
Powerful House Democrats are eyeing proposals to overhaul the nation's $3 trillion 401(k) system, including the elimination of most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive.
A wide range of sweeping changes to the 401(k) system were proposed Tuesday at a hearing on how the market crisis has devastated retirement savings plans.
Investors who maintain self-directed 401(k) accounts or individual retirement accounts are increasing their investments in exchange traded funds.
The Investment Company Institute and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association are launching a new research project to improve understanding of investors' use of individual retirement accounts.
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin today called on Congress to temporarily suspend the 10% penalty tax on early withdrawals from 401(k)s.
Debit card loan programs recently have been the focus of criticism in Washington.
