The challenge is plan sponsors often can’t determine if an account is forgotten until some triggering event. And by that time, it’s too late.
Basic Members
The antiseptic compliance regime spelled out by the DOL and ERISA has to date defined fiduciary services. Perhaps, if we’re going to consider what is “beyond” that sterile definition, we might want to go back to the future. In a sense, rediscovering where “fiduciary” initially came from might suggest where it is headed.
“They can benefit from something more tailored to their unique circumstances, particularly as they are approaching certain key inflection points in their working lives or key financial decisions they have to make or key life events. Therefore, what we’ve been seeing in the retirement plan industry is this emphasis on retirement plan services.”
Back then, at least, we knew who wore the white hats and who whore the black hats. Today, thanks to muddled and often conflicting regulations for multiple agencies, everyone is wearing fifty shades of gray.
The key intent of this strategy is to allow freedom to and reward long-term employees who have accumulated the skills the company needs to compete.
Should 401k plans allow participants to take loans from their retirement savings accounts? Is pre-retirement access to 401k assets constructive or destructive?
Still, it seems most financial professionals feel anything that brings people closer to the road towards financial independence should be encouraged.
Overall, nearly 1 in 5 companies still have not adopted auto-enrollment. There are common reasons why companies would not include auto-enrollment in their plans.
So what if a few very high net savers end up with bigger retirement plans? Good for them. The point is to make it easier for more people to save more.
This week is all about those wayward 401k features that are well beyond their expiration date. Careful, though. In the process, you’ll see what’s garbage to one is a work of art to another.
