In the spirit of the season, one might even think of this as “tricking” employees to save. Plans sponsors are already using these tricks.
Tag "401k"
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 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 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.
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.
