Author Archives: admin

Many employers view their 401(k) plan primarily as a tax deduction. The company makes contributions, deducts them on its tax return, and considers the job done. While the tax benefits are important, treating a retirement plan as just another deduction … Continue reading →

One of the biggest misconceptions plan sponsors have is that their 401(k) plan runs itself. Many employers believe that once they hire a recordkeeper and a TPA, the heavy lifting is done and the plan essentially goes on autopilot. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →

The Department of Labor has proposed new regulations updating ERISA electronic disclosure rules to implement the SECURE 2.0 requirement that participants receive periodic paper benefit statements. Under the proposal, defined contribution plans would be required to provide at least one … Continue reading →

During the State of the Union address, President Trump floated a proposal to expand retirement coverage to millions of workers who currently have no access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The idea is to create a government-backed retirement account modeled … Continue reading →

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 →