Category Archives: Retirement Plans

The headline sounds reassuring: many employers now offer a penalty-free emergency withdrawal from a 401(k). On its face, allowing participants to access up to $1,000 without the 10% early-distribution penalty feels like a sensible, humane change. And in some cases, … Continue reading →

The recent settlement involving Providence Health & Services is one of those cases that makes plan sponsors uncomfortable for the right reasons. There was no allegation of flashy misconduct, no exotic investments, no dramatic collapse of oversight. Instead, the case … Continue reading →

Retirement plan design didn’t emerge fully formed with the first 401(k). Like most things worth understanding, it evolved—slowly, imperfectly, and often in response to failure. When plan providers and sponsors treat design decisions as plug-and-play features, they miss an important … Continue reading →

I’ve sat through more retirement plan meetings than I can count, and if there’s one recurring problem, it’s this: too much time spent on things that don’t materially move the needle, and not enough time on the issues that actually … Continue reading →

Benchmarking is often treated as a formality, something sponsors do to check a box. That mindset overlooks the real cost of not benchmarking—and it’s rarely obvious until it’s too late. Fees don’t usually become unreasonable overnight. They drift. Services change, … Continue reading →

Most plan committee meetings last an hour or more, but only a small portion of that time actually reduces fiduciary risk. In my experience, the most important part of any meeting is a focused 30-minute window where real decisions are … Continue reading →

Most plan sponsors mean well. They want employees to retire comfortably. They hire professionals. They respond when issues arise. In everyday life, that counts for something. Under ERISA, it counts for almost nothing. Fiduciary responsibility is not judged by motive. … Continue reading →

When participation is low or complaints start to surface, plan sponsors often assume the issue is money. Not enough matching. Not enough generosity. Not enough incentive. In reality, most participant dissatisfaction comes from something far simpler: confusion. Employees struggle to … Continue reading →

For many plan sponsors, the story is the same. The plan was set up years ago. Employees participated. Contributions flowed. Nobody complained. From the sponsor’s perspective, the 401(k) worked exactly as intended. And for a long time, that was true. … Continue reading →

Ask ten plan providers what “value” means and you’ll get ten different answers. Better technology. Faster turnaround. More services. Lower cost. None of those are wrong. But none of them are complete. Most providers define value by what they deliver. … Continue reading →