403 (b) Plan Sponsors: Is Your Plan “Fine”?
My wife and I are about to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Over the course of these 25 years, I have made my share of classic husband-like mistakes. You know the kind I’m talking about —...
View Article403(b) Plan Sponsors: Avoiding the Other Definition of “Fine”
In Brad Holterhaus’ blog post 403(b) Plan Sponsors: Is Your Plan “Fine”?, he described how many plan sponsors simply say their plan is “fine” when they don’t really know. And — more often than not —...
View ArticleWhat do lawn mowers and retirement plans have in common?
It’s important to keep true objectives in mind when trying to figure out what people want and need. Most people don’t buy lawn mowers because they want lawn mowers. They buy lawn mowers because they...
View ArticleSomething to Celebrate
In May, my youngest graduated from college. Not only that, she got the job she wanted in her field. Break out the champagne — she’s done and on her way. Better still, my wife and I are done with...
View ArticlePSCA Snapshot Survey reveals opportunities for plan sponsors and how advisors...
This past summer, my wife and I moved into a new community. As in most communities, there is a robust recycling program. The only problem is figuring out the rules. Specifics aren’t written anywhere,...
View ArticleThree Trends in Nonprofit Plan Modernization
I remember when I was a child my dad told me about the places he had lived in. There was an evolution over his lifetime, and he measured that evolution by the number of lightbulbs that were required in...
View ArticleRetirement plan benchmarking: are your clients making the grade?
How does your (and/or your clients’) retirement plan stack up against the competition? Are you benchmarking the program on a regular basis to see how it compares to peers? This is a valuable service...
View ArticleProposed DOL Fiduciary Regulation May Lead to Unintended Roadblocks for 403(b)s
What’s all the fuss about surrounding the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) proposed fiduciary regulation? After all, the DOL and proponents of the regulations say that it’s simply about having the...
View ArticleFiduciary regulations: A cautionary tale for 403(b) plan sponsors
The 403(b) industry has seen a lot of changes over the past nine years. However, even with all the regulatory changes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have given...
View ArticleInnumeracy and my retirement vision
My cartoon character from The Principal #SeeYourRetirement campaign has taken on a life of its own. Ever since it was originally posted online, I’ve gotten lots of messages ranging from, “Have you seen...
View Article403 (b) Plan Sponsors: Is Your Plan “Fine”?
My wife and I are about to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Over the course of these 25 years, I have made my share of classic husband-like mistakes. You know the kind I’m talking about —...
View Article403(b) Plan Sponsors: Avoiding the Other Definition of “Fine”
In Brad Holterhaus’ blog post 403(b) Plan Sponsors: Is Your Plan “Fine”?, he described how many plan sponsors simply say their plan is “fine” when they don’t really know. And — more often than not —...
View ArticleWhat do lawn mowers and retirement plans have in common?
It’s important to keep true objectives in mind when trying to figure out what people want and need. Most people don’t buy lawn mowers because they want lawn mowers. They buy lawn mowers because they...
View ArticleSomething to Celebrate
In May, my youngest graduated from college. Not only that, she got the job she wanted in her field. Break out the champagne — she’s done and on her way. Better still, my wife and I are done with...
View ArticlePSCA Snapshot Survey reveals opportunities for plan sponsors and how advisors...
This past summer, my wife and I moved into a new community. As in most communities, there is a robust recycling program. The only problem is figuring out the rules. Specifics aren’t written anywhere,...
View ArticleThree Trends in Nonprofit Plan Modernization
I remember when I was a child my dad told me about the places he had lived in. There was an evolution over his lifetime, and he measured that evolution by the number of lightbulbs that were required in...
View ArticleAre 403(b) plans evolving fast enough?
My community recently experienced a technology upgrade. We now have fiber optics for TV and ultra-high speed internet. While I don’t really have use for 1GBps internet speed today, I know this latest...
View ArticleThe 403(b) market – room for future upgrades?
In my last post I talked about my neighbors’ discomfort with change, even though it positions us for the future. Some have complained a new TV service is inferior. While I agree there may be fewer...
View ArticleYour clients and their workplace benefits — which make good fee levelization...
There’s no doubt fee equalization (or fee levelization) for participant retirement plan fees continues to be a hot topic. In the past few months we’ve seen the number of advisors and plan sponsors...
View ArticleWhat you need to know about fee levelization trends
Trends come and go. Sometimes they last, and sometimes they are short lived. In the retirement plan industry, sometimes we see trends that apply across all plan types, and sometimes we see trends that...
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