Safe Harbor Is Safe for Secure Lifetime Income Default Investments
The new frontier in US defined contribution (DC) plans involves qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) with a secure lifetime income component. Will such vehicles retain their safe-harbor protections? Yes.
read moreThe Next Step to Increasing DC Plan Participation
Defined contribution (DC) plans can deliver benefits only if workers choose to participate. Unfortunately, about one in every five eligible US employees chooses not to, according to research from Aon Hewitt.
read moreThe Myth of the Nest Egg
For decades we’ve focused on the nest-egg notion as the goal for retirement saving, benchmarking our progress in relation to that lump sum. But it has no context other than probably being the single biggest “paycheck” most of us will ever see.
read moreWhat Can US DC Plans Learn from the Rolling Stones?
When it comes to constructing the perfect defined contribution (DC) plan, sponsors and participants both might benefit by taking a page from the Rolling Stones’ famous line: “You can’t always get what you want, but…you get what you need.”
read moreThe Five Biggest Myths of Retirement Planning
In the world of retirement planning, some myths persist, despite continued efforts to debunk them. Below, my colleague Tara Thompson-Popernik discusses a few of the most stubborn myths we encounter.
read moreHow Can US DC Plans Deliver a Lifetime Income Solution?
The federal government wants to make it easier for employers to offer lifetime income solutions in retirement plans. My colleague, Mark Fortier, offers an interesting approach to doing so.
read moreWhy Aren’t US DC Participants Annuitizing Their Savings at Retirement?
Two-thirds of US defined contribution (DC) plan participants say that a secure retirement income stream is the most important feature they’re looking for, as we noted in our seventh annual survey report. But US workers rarely convert their retirement savings to lifetime income by purchasing a traditional fixed annuity. What’s standing in the way?
read moreWhat Workers Get—and Don’t Get—About Target-Date Funds
Target-date funds have gained strong approval among US defined contribution (DC) plan participants who use them, as I have written before. But results from our seventh annual survey suggest that many US DC plan participants still have some mistaken notions about what target-date funds are…and are not.
read moreAre Traditional Annuities Bad for Your Wealth? A UK Perspective
Roughly 90% of defined contribution (DC) savers in the UK still buy fixed-rate immediate annuities at retirement. Does this make sense for UK workers, and is there a lesson to be learned for the US?
read moreWhen Should You Take Your Social Security Benefits?
Determining when to start receiving Social Security benefits can present a dilemma: Should you wait and receive higher annual benefits, or would you be better off receiving smaller payouts over a longer period?
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