Author Archives: admin

The Fine Print Will Cost You

One of the biggest problems I see when new clients hire me is that they never bothered to review the provider contracts they signed years ago. It’s human nature — you’re excited to get the plan up and running, the … Continue reading

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Cracker Barrel and the Wrong Kind of Change

I’ll admit it—I loved Cracker Barrel. Living in New York, I never had one nearby, so whenever I traveled, I made it a point to stop. In 2014, I was in Florida and ended up at three different Cracker Barrel … Continue reading

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Pay Now or Pay More Later: The Real Cost of Underpaying Employees

When I look back on my brief tenure at that union law firm, the irony wasn’t lost on me. We were representing labor, but as associates, we were treated so poorly that the running joke was that we ought to … Continue reading

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The Safe Harbor That Wouldn’t Go Away

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) tried to play cleanup with the rulebook and instead found out that sometimes the “old” rules are still needed. After floating the idea of removing certain safe harbors — including guidance … Continue reading

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State-Run Auto-IRAs Hit $2 Billion and Keep Growing

The retirement plan industry just hit another milestone, and it didn’t come from Wall Street or the big recordkeepers. State-run automatic IRAs have now passed $2 billion in assets, covering more than a million workers across 12 programs. That’s a … Continue reading

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Pantyhose, Banks, and Retirement Plans: The Smarter Crime?

I’ve always said that robbing a bank with a pair of pantyhose on your head is a smarter crime than stealing from a retirement plan. At least the bank robber has a shot at making it out the door. An … Continue reading

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Empower Under Fire: Another Reminder That Providers Aren’t Immune from Fiduciary Scrutiny

When most people think about ERISA lawsuits, the usual suspects are plan sponsors. They’re the fiduciaries who pick the investments, hire the service providers, and have the crosshairs on their backs when plaintiffs’ firms go looking for blood. But every … Continue reading

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The DOL is Right to Scrap the Annuity Safe Harbor

The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is once again carrying water for the annuity industry, this time urging the Department of Labor to retain a regulatory safe harbor that’s already obsolete. The safe harbor in question, rooted in the Pension Protection … Continue reading

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Trump Accounts: What Employers Need to Know

When Congress passes a bill with a title like the “One Beautiful Bill,” you can already guess who had their fingerprints on it. Out of this legislation comes the so-called Trump Account, a new hybrid savings vehicle that sits somewhere … Continue reading

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Private Markets in 401(k) Plans: An Opportunity or a Pandora’s Box?

A new Empower survey has made some waves in the retirement plan industry. According to their July 2025 survey, a striking 68% of advisors already use private market investments—things like private equity, private credit, and private real estate, mostly in … Continue reading

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