Education
How Recordkeepers Became 401k Gatekeepers
As bundled platforms spread, the recordkeeper’s technology became the environment in which the plan lived. The platform did not merely keep records of decisions made elsewhere; it increasingly determined how those decisions could be implemented and presented.
Is Your 401k Auto-Enrollment Success Story Incomplete?
The idea of 401k auto-enrollment may be one of the greatest innovations in retirement plan history—or one of its greatest illusions. Few plan design features have done more to increase participation. Yet participation and retirement readiness are not synonymous, and confusing the two may create what can only be described as the Auto-Enrollment Paradox. The […] Read Full Article
Why Email Open Rates Fail to Measure True 401k Participant Engagement
The same challenge appears in required participant disclosures. Compliance may require sending documents, but sending documents does not guarantee that participants receive useful information.
Retirement Plan Success Is Measured Wrong. How Can Plan Sponsors Fix That?
What does retirement plan success look like? Most plan sponsors can tell you their participation rate. Many can tell you how much plan assets have grown over the past year. Some can even produce retirement readiness scores generated by sophisticated software. But what if none of those numbers answers the question that matters most? What […] Read Full Article
Advisor Shortage Risk Creates New Challenges For 401k Plan Sponsors
Who will attend meetings? Who will prepare reports? Who will respond to participant questions? Who will provide investment recommendations? Who ultimately bears fiduciary responsibility?
Trump IRA Access May Be Solving The Wrong Problem
Trump IRA access may be Washington’s latest attempt to solve the wrong retirement problem. Americans already have access to IRAs. They have had it for decades. Banks offer them. Brokerages offer them. Mutual fund companies offer them. Some firms even offer them with no administrative fee and ultra-low-cost index investments. Yet millions of workers still […] Read Full Article
Why Companies Aren’t Using The 401k Start-Up Tax Credit
When too many moving parts are introduced at once, decisions slow down. Employers may delay action while trying to understand their options, or they may default to inaction when the path forward is not clear.
Is the ‘Netflix Effect’ Quietly Killing 401k Retirement Readiness?
The Netflix Effect 401k retirement readiness problem may not come from bad markets, but from quiet disengagement. As automation pushes retirement saving into the background, readiness risks can grow unnoticed.
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