401k plan

Should Fiduciaries Outsource Retirement Plan Investment Responsibility?

Should Fiduciaries Outsource Retirement Plan Investment Responsibility?

Fiduciaries are personally responsible for participant losses resulting from a fiduciary breach. Plan sponsor fiduciaries who handle plan investments themselves, or use advisors who do not assume fiduciary status, face potential exposure for both investment performance and all plan fees.

Defined Contribution Recordkeeper Consolidation Continues

Defined Contribution Recordkeeper Consolidation Continues

Empower recently announced an agreement to acquire MassMutual’s retirement plan recordkeeping business. The acquisition is expected to capitalize on both firms’ experience and expertise to the benefit of retirement plan participants and plan sponsors.

Safe Harbor Amendments

Safe Harbor Amendments

Employers have seen and continue to see changes in their current business environment. As they explore options to reduce costs, some may find themselves needing to reduce the employer contributions into their retirement plans. A popular 401(k) design option is the safe harbor 401(k) which requires either a non-elective employer contribution or an employer match.

Too Many Choices: How Many Investment Options Should You Offer?

Too Many Choices: How Many Investment Options Should You Offer?

Many plan providers struggle with deciding how many investment options to offer in their retirement plans. While people generally like to have lots of options when making other decisions, having too many plan options can potentially lead to poor investment decisions by plan participants.

Four Ways to Increase Employee Retirement Contribution Participation

Four Ways to Increase Employee Retirement Contribution Participation

As a retirement plan sponsor how can you encourage your employees to save and save more? Improving both employee participation and their saving rates is easy when you’re prepared. Here are four simple ways you can help your employees start building a confident retirement.

Hey Joel - One of my current employees recently received a notice from Social Security saying that they might be entitled to a retirement benefit. Is it my responsibility to track this money down?

Hey Joel - One of my current employees recently received a notice from Social Security saying that they might be entitled to a retirement benefit. Is it my responsibility to track this money down?

Welcome to Hey Joel! This forum answers plan sponsor questions from all over the country by our in-house former practicing ERISA attorney.

Hey Joel - One of my current employees recently received a notice from Social Security saying that they might be entitled to a retirement benefit. Is it my responsibility to track this money down?

Anthem Settlement

Anthem Settlement

Recently the Bell vs. ATH Holding Company, LLC (a subsidiary of Anthem, Inc.) lawsuit settled. This is frequently referred to as the “Anthem Settlement” (the “Settlement”). The Settlement received quite a bit of attention from both the industry and mainstream press for a number of reasons, not the least of which include the size of the 401(k) plan ($5.1 billion), the size of the monetary settlement ($23,650,000), as well as inclusion of somewhat unusual non-monetary terms. This article provides background regarding the underlying allegations, a description of the settlement, and what the terms of the settlement may mean from a practical perspective to plan fiduciaries.

Hey Joel - Should stable value information be included in our investment policy statement?

Hey Joel - Should stable value information be included in our investment policy statement?

Hey Joel! – Answers from a recovering former practicing ERISA attorney

 Welcome to Hey Joel! This forum answers plan sponsor questions from all over the country by our in-house former practicing ERISA attorney.