Service providers to 401(k) plans should not be required to be fiduciaries of the plans, the Department of Labor is being told.
Guaranteed Income for Life lets clients to put some of their 401(k) assets into at least one of the firm's lifestyle funds.
Less than 20% of American workers feel confident that they will be able to afford a comfortable retirement .
Financial advisers and clients can be their own worst enemies when drafting plans for retirement income, making common — but crucial — errors that can ruin distribution plans, according to an influential academic.
The Dept. of Labor is backing 401(k) participants in an appeal of the dismissal of a class action filed against Deere & Co. and Fidelity Investments.
MetLife is bringing in its deferred income annuity as an asset allocation option in a defined contribution plan.
The bill is expected to pass the House by summer, but will not make it through the Senate, lawyer James Delaplane said.
Most advisers are clueless about important tax rules that impact individual retirement accounts, CPA Ed Slott said.
A full 93% of plan sponsors said they are solicited at least once a year by other advisers, according to a Fidelity study.
In the weeks following a ground-breaking Supreme Court case allowing individual 401(k) participants to sue employers, lawyers have been recommending that advisers require plan sponsors to purchase fiduciary insurance.
401(k) participants who have borrowed from their investments rose from 9% in 2005 to 18% in 2007.
Connecticut is seeking to become the first state to offer a low-cost 401(k) plan designed for small businesses.
Changes to defined benefit plans will slow considerably this year, with 72% of plans surveyed by Hewitt Associates saying they would not likely make any changes to their plans this year, compared to 41% in last year’s survey.
Wall Street has become an industry of metrics
The Labor Department will soon release guidelines detailing how advisers may give direct counsel to clients about IRAs.
A record 516 new plans were funded in 2007, with total plans serviced growing to 2,825, a 15% increase from 2006.
The rule would increase protection for employee contributions to pension and welfare-benefits plans for smaller firms.
Last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow individual participants to sue 401(k) plan administrators will put further pressure on financial advisers to ensure that they are adhering to their fiduciary status, industry observers say.
Managed accounts aren't popular default options in 401(k) plans, because fees are too high for plan executives to justify, leaving them concerned about fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility, experts say.
