Category Archives: Retirement Plans

There’s a dangerous assumption in the retirement plan world: that people who fall for scams somehow weren’t paying attention. That they should have known better. That’s nonsense. A 58-year-old woman in Michigan recently lost part of her 401(k) after being … Continue reading →

Plan sponsors love to say participants don’t engage. They don’t enroll, don’t increase deferrals, don’t rebalance. The conclusion? Participants are lazy. No, they’re not. They’re human. And humans are wired for inertia. We avoid decisions, delay action, and stick with … Continue reading →

There are phrases in the retirement plan business that should set off alarms. Not the obvious ones—those usually get handled. It’s the quiet, casual ones that do the real damage. And none is more dangerous than this: “We’ll fix it … Continue reading →

You just described one of the most underrated killers of otherwise good ideas: bad timing. That autograph show didn’t suddenly become worse. Same vendors, same celebrities, same concept. What changed? The calendar. And the calendar is undefeated. Running on Good … Continue reading →

There’s truth in what you’re saying, but let’s not turn it into a fairy tale. Yes, talent in the retirement plan business tends to surface. It’s too small a world, too relationship-driven, too reputation-based for real ability to stay hidden … Continue reading →

You can have the greatest idea in the retirement plan space—brilliant plan design, elegant auto features, some next-level decumulation strategy that actually solves a real problem—and it doesn’t matter if it lives in a vacuum. Because this business isn’t just … Continue reading →

You read enough U.S. Department of Labor / Employee Benefits Security Administration releases over the years and you start to realize something: the facts change, the villains rotate, but the plot is always the same—fiduciaries forget that this is not … Continue reading →

The Dayforce report (as covered by 401(k) Specialist) basically says this: after a few years of modest improvement, retirement savings took a step backward in 2025. Savings rates dipped from about 9.2% to 8.9%, participation ticked down, and more people … Continue reading →

Plan providers love to blame fees when a client walks out the door. It’s convenient, it’s easy, and most importantly, it avoids looking in the mirror. But in my experience, fees are rarely the real reason your best clients leave. … Continue reading →

Forfeitures are one of those things in a 401(k) plan that everyone thinks they understand—until they don’t. It’s a small line item, often buried in reports, but it has a way of creating outsized problems when it’s ignored. Most providers … Continue reading →