The DOL seems to use the same metric that it earlier employed in its statement on the Fiduciary Rule. Still, the Advisory Opinion is very precise in what it allows. Citi will have to tread carefully to not cross the line into the realm of fiduciary.
Basic Members
Participation is one thing. It’s critical that retirement savers build on the momentum of participation and use that to increase the amount of dollars that get contributed to their article. How can plan sponsors facilitate this?
How strong an argument is there for auto-enrollment? Remember, the key feature of the 2006 Pension Protection Act was to encourage auto-enrollment. The SECURE Act has even stronger language.
These service providers bring in expertise and can engage the worker directly. Once set in place, the plan sponsor can step aside and let the system run on its own.
Of course, to really answer the question of post-retirement middle class stability, we have to understand what “middle class” means. Luckily, there are folks who collect data, which helps with this definition.
It’s clear, then, that there’s a problem. In order how to best come up cure for Covid-related leakage, we have to zero in on exactly when the trouble lies.
The example the researchers chose was a British company. The fact the study was not conducted within the framework of the ERISA environment may call into question its relevance to plans in America.
I don’t think the plan service providers should provide participant advice. Advice to participants should be provided by a non-related third-party fiduciary.
The DOL’s guidance on missing plan participants appears just as effective as its week 2012 Mutual Fund Fee Disclosure Rule. Yes, it’s there, but it has no viability. Still, that doesn’t mean 401k plan sponsors can ignore the issue, even if they have not lost participants.
The twist is this: The bad news is only a fraction of the people will be able to save $4.3 million for retirement because the average salary is too low. The good news is most people won’t need to save $4.3 million because, thanks to living on a low average salary, they are accustomed to spending far less.
