But that idea contained a flaw. In the early years, limited choices made it easy for employees. The proliferation of the number of options in later years, however, exposed the lack of sophistication within the employee cohort. That can lead to bad decision-making. Alternative solutions were needed.
Tag "401k"
How do we design and administer retirement plans?
It’s not necessarily something that can be done at the flick of a switch, but it can be baked into the process.
If a company sees a substantial number of employees exit their firm, this can have a detrimental impact on all areas. Even the company’s 401k can be negatively affected in a number of ways.
I’m old enough to remember a world before the 401k. So distant was this anomaly in the tax code, that I, like nearly everyone else, was unaware of its existence, let alone its significance when it was formulated in 1978. What makes this more ironic was that it was my Congressman, Barber Conable, that led the way.
In theory, 401k plans were always intended to be highly portable, but that’s not what happened. “Portability” only evolved to the extent that the most-attractive balances were picked off and rolled over to IRAs, and everyone else was left holding the bag.
It’s not just plan sponsors and plan participants that need convincing. The entire retirement plan infrastructure must also get on board. That doesn’t mean the hurdles can’t be overcome.
The decision to retain and service company retirees appears (at first blush at least) to be a no-brainer. But that includes a very important assumption.
If you think the web of fiduciary duties is complex in a 401k plan that focuses on getting employees to save for retirement, imagine how much more intricate it becomes if the plan also has to cater to retired employees.
The Biggest 401k Fiduciary Fireworks, Fizzles, And Flops In 2021
Flops may not be forever. They may just be good ideas before their time. If you’re going to belittle them, you best hurry, because, if you wait too long, you may just discover they aren’t flops anymore. As a result, let’s not waste any time before the shelf-life of these flops expire.