Advertisement
News Archive
Use of FinTech in Financial Wellness Programs
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. There is a growing dialogue around the use of technology-based financial education (i.e., FinTech) and financial wellness programs. We know that some recordkeepers provide technology based programs, but were curious what the take-up rate of these programs are and if plan sponsors are providing this... Read More >>
Move Over Millennials, Gen Z Slated to Be the Next Retirement Disruptors
While Millennials remain the largest cohort in the workforce and bring their own unique perspectives and expectations, the so-called Zoomer Generation born between 1997 to 2012 is beginning to enter the workforce and is already starting to have an impact on the retirement industry. This is according to the Principal Financial Group’s Future of... Read More >>
Brokerage Window Availability
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. While the uptake of ESG funds and other alternatives remains low, we have heard anecdotally from plan sponsors that they offer a brokerage window for participants who want access to those fund types without having to add a specific ESG fund to the lineup. I wondered if the availability of brokerage... Read More >>
Why Employers Can’t Afford to Overlook Employee ‘Care’
Feeling cared for at work is a key driver of employee holistic health and happiness, and not prioritizing it can cause major issues in the workplace, according to a new study. MetLife’s 21st annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study found that nearly half of employees (42%) don’t feel cared for by their employers, and when employees don’t feel... Read More >>
Breaking News: Biden Vetoes Congressional Resolution Blocking ESG Rule
In a move to encourage choice in retirement saving, President Biden vetoed a measure on Monday that the administration says would block plan fiduciaries from freely considering the best interest of workers and savers in retirement plan investment offerings. The veto, the first of the Biden Administration, comes in response to a joint resolution... Read More >>
Senators Seek Examination of Women’s Pay Gap on Retirement
A group of Senate Democrats has asked Congress’ watchdog agency to examine the impact of the pay gap between men and women on the ability of women to save for retirement. Released in conjunction with Equal Pay Day, the March 14 letter from Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA) to the Government Accountability Office (... Read More >>
QOTW: QBADS 2023
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. This week we asked plan sponsors if they have adopted the provision in SECURE 1.0 passed in 2019 that allows for a penalty-free distribution within one year of a birth or adoption of a child (QBAD provision). We first asked this question in 2021 at a member’s request as they were deciding whether or not... Read More >>
3 Things to Include in SECURE ‘3.0’: Shlomo Benartzi
The ink isn’t dry on SECURE 2.0, but it isn’t preventing high-profile behavioral economist Shlomo Benartzi, Ph.D., from looking ahead to what’s next. It’s what he does. “While Secure 2.0 actually made great progress, I’m thinking about what should be in Secure 3.0,” Benartzi, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Wharton Behavior Change for Good... Read More >>
QOTW: LTPT Eligibility SECURE 1&2
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. SECURE 1.0 passed in 2019 included a provision requiring plans to allow LTPT employees (those that work more than 500 hours in a year for three consecutive years) to participate in the plan. SECURE 2.0 reduced that three years of consecutive employment to two. This week we asked members if they made... Read More >>
QOTW: Distributions for Natural Disasters
Sponsored by MFS Investment Management. Last week we asked plan sponsors how likely they were to add the optional SECURE 2.0 provision allowing penalty-free distributions for natural disasters. Not surprisingly, the answer is largely dependent on location. Though nearly forty percent of plans “definitely will” or “likely will” add this... Read More >>