Every company that values the human capital that walks through their door every day wants to create a range of differentiated benefits – benefits that not only work harder but are ones that their people can truly appreciate. For many of these folks, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, it can be challenging to think about putting away money for retirement when they still have student loan payments. It begs the question: If your employees are dealing with high…
For the majority of future retirees, medical expenses pose significant risk to any retirement plan, and they are only projected to rise. Medical cost estimates for couples throughout their full retirement, assuming both partners are 65, has increased $15,000 from 2016 to 2017, bringing total projections to $275,000, after Medicare coverage.[1] Even for professionals with 401k balance projections at their target retirement age over $1 million dollars, this figure is daunting. At the same time, employers seek cost-effective strategies to…
401K REFUNDS: NOT AS GOOD AS THEY SOUND With tax season fresh on our minds, many hear the word refund and begin running down their imaginary wish list of ways to spend this extra money. However, when it comes to 401(k) refunds, or corrective distributions, the excitement should be dialed back. Corrective distributions are a headache for plan sponsors and employees alike. Essentially, these refunds mean that your plan has failed testing, and tax-deferred money that key employees set aside…
If you are an employer or employee who has decision-making authority over your company’s retirement plan, there is a strong chance that you are a 401(k) plan fiduciary. You have a legal obligation to operate the plan solely in the interests of the plan participants (people with retirement account balances) and their beneficiaries (people who may inherit those retirement account balances). Additionally, two other primary responsibilities are to manage the plan for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and paying…
Benchmarking is a retirement plan best practice that allows plan sponsors the opportunity to “take a peek under the hood” of their 401(k). The process allows you to compare your plan to similar plans, measuring key metrics such as participant saving and participation rates, fee reasonableness and service providers. Benchmarking should be a key part of your due diligence process and there are four main areas to focus on when assessing your company’s retirement plan. They are: 1. Plan Design…
When I speak to business owners about retirement planning, it’s not unusual for me to hear, “Well, selling my business IS my retirement plan!” It’s a nice idea on paper. You build up your business to a point where your life’s work can be sold for an amount that finances all of your dreams for years to come. The problem? Many business owners can’t say with absolute certainty that their company will indeed be able to deliver on completely funding…
You know it’s important to have a strong retirement plan for your company. Still, when it comes down to it: If you have an ineffective retirement plan, what's the real cost to your company if employees can’t retire on time? It might seem easy to view your company’s retirement plan as an independent entity. In truth, there’s a much larger domino effect that occurs when people either don’t retire on time or leave the company before retirement. There are long-term…
If your company is like most, you have employees who are carrying around a lot of stress with them tied to their finances. In fact, if the percentages mirror what PwC found in a recent Employee Financial Wellness Survey*, close to half of them have consistent balances on their credit cards. And one-third of them are finding the stress they’ve had over financial issues increased within the last year, contributing to many finding themselves challenged to meet monthly household expenses…
The best 401k plans offer the full services, value and performance your company and its plan participants deserve. How do you know you, in fact, have one of the best 401k plans out there? In a word: Benchmarking. In the first part of our blog post on benchmarking your 401k and comparing it to others, we spoke about the importance of having thorough documentation as compliance audits from the Department of Labor will be going up over the next several…
By Nick Economos That current 401k plan for your company? Sure, it seems to be performing fine. Yet, you can’t ignore the sense that you should compare 401k plans for your peace of mind, especially with some questions rising to the surface such as: Are we overpaying for our 401k plan with certain fees that may or may not be necessary? Could our plan be performing even better? What better fund options might be out there for a company like ours?…
Generally speaking, it’s no secret that people aren’t saving enough for retirement. But when the conversation focuses on women and retirement, that struggle may be even more pronounced than what men face. By Nick Economos We continue to see data that shows women are outliving men yet, in many cases, still aren’t on equal ground with men in terms of salary. Now, new research from Aon Hewitt suggests that 83% of women in the U.S. won’t be able to meet their…
By Nick Economos Can you imagine fearing retirement once you’re actually in it? It’s more legitimate and common than you realize, even as you have a blank canvas for mapping out the rest of your life by engaging in retirement planning. Allow me to illustrate from a client conversation and you’ll see what I mean. Recently, I was contacted by a 401(k) plan participant from a company that I serve as the Chief Retirement Officer for. I’ve had the pleasure of…
