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.
Tag "plan participant"
Well, if we’re thinking outside the box, why not go big? It turns out, retirement planning isn’t just about accumulating sources of future funds.
Before you get all excited and look to replace your home equity loan with a 401k loan, you should consider these things.
Nobody’s perfect. It’s unfair to expect recordkeepers to be. Everyone makes mistakes—even recordkeepers. The problem is what happens when a mistake occurs.
Retirees should think for themselves and what alternatives they have regarding their retirement assets. These aren’t the same as they were when they were working.
More sophisticated plan participants who can afford to hire their own adviser. They don’t ask more from the plan. They ask for less, in hopes of gaining more control over their own destiny. For a variety of reasons, this isn’t as easy as some participants would like it to be.
Just as these changes come bearing down, so, too, does a need for greater hand holding. Pressures within the provider industry, however, appear to be reducing the number of available hands.
This doesn’t mean you shoot haphazardly for the stars when you can have the moon. After all, you’ve got to know your limitations. Seeking unreachable goals will only make your retirement seem hollow and pointless.
If you’re a fiduciary of the acquiring plan, you want to make sure you’re not burdened with any unknown liabilities. If you’re a fiduciary of the acquired plan, you want to make sure the merger process doesn’t introduce new liabilities.
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.
