Financial stressors including stubbornly high inflation and historic levels of credit card debt continue to impact workers across a wide range of income brackets. Twenty-eight percent of full-time employees often or always run out of money between paychecks, as do … Read More

The relationship we forge with our future selves can greatly impact financial decision making in the present. Research conducted by social psychologist Hal Hershfield using functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that subjects with a stronger connection to their future selves … Read More

Public Response to Economic Threat Fuels SEC Proposal The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 instilled a sense of financial fear in market participants. How are humans inherently hardwired to respond to threat? Panic. The threat of economic crisis in 2020 … Read More

When conducting three- to five-year live-bids, it can be tempting to hyper-focus on fees. After all, benchmarking is often a primary reason for performing an RFP — and maintaining reasonable fees is a core fiduciary duty of plan sponsors. But … Read More

A retirement plan may have one or more fiduciaries who have distinct responsibilities, though many individuals and committees may serve in multiple fiduciary roles. Here is a brief overview of the categories of fiduciaries: Named Fiduciary: This fiduciary should be … Read More

High participation rates don’t always translate to high deferral rates. According to the 2022 Callan Defined Contributions Trend Survey, three-quarters of DC plans offer auto-enrollment, while only two-thirds provide an auto-escalation feature. This discrepancy is concerning, as deferral increases over … Read More

From recent college grads struggling with student debt to seasoned professionals planning an imminent retirement, participants’ financial needs and goals are as diverse as the workforce they’re part of. In response, many organizations have chosen to implement a multi-faceted financial … Read More

When it comes to monitoring and selecting investments, the responsibility lies with the ERISA fiduciary for managing your company’s 401(k) plan, and this means the fiduciary is subject to ERISA’s prudent man rule (sometimes referred to as the “prudent expert … Read More

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, such as ChatGPT, promises to transform the way businesses operate across sectors. Yet as quickly as novel applications and abilities surface, so does more evidence of the limitations and shortcomings of large … Read More

By offering — and encouraging — catch-up contributions, plan sponsors can demonstrate a heightened commitment to employee retirement readiness. Over a five-year period ending in 2020, nearly 15% of participants utilized catch-up contributions when they were offered, according to a … Read More