- 2012 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
February 2012
It should come as no surprise that most participants contribute to the level of the company match. In fact, a 2011 study by Fidelity Investments of 1,000 current and retired workplace plan participants found 92% of current workplace participants indicated they chose to participate in their 401(k) because it is important or very important not to lose out on company-match dollars. Generally speaking, that is viewed as a positive sign that workers understand the mechanics of the match, appreciate its value, and recognize its importance in retirement savings.
January 2012
Loan programs typically are positioned as an opportunity for participants to borrow from themselves and to pay themselves back with interest.
- 2011 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2011
Over the past year, the "Know How" series has focused on a number of key participant communication topics.
November 2011
Testing your participant's Know How knowledge
October 2011
Helping participants figure out their retirement plan fees
September 2011
Making automatic plan designs better
August 2011
Dealing with the RMD
July 2011
Five things you (also) need to know about QDIAs
June 2011
Helping participants understand target-date designs
May 2011
Helping participants understand less-liquid fund investments
March 2011
That resurgent stock market may have rebalanced participant portfolios
February 2011
Loan programs typically are positioned as an opportunity for participants to borrow from themselves and to pay themselves back with interest.
January 2011
On September 27, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the "Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010," which allows the taxable transfer of a participant’s contributed pre-tax money to an in-plan Roth option. Prior to that legislative change, a participant who wanted to convert to a Roth had to do it outside his workplace retirement plan to a Roth IRA.
- 2010 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2010
Over the past year, the Know How series has focused on a number of key participant communication topics.
November 2010
A retirement education quiz
October 2010
Keeping an eye on that retirement plan distribution
September 2010
Figuring out retirement plan costs
August 2010
Question “Air” Picking the right financial adviser
July 2010
Is your retirement plan better than average?
June 2010
Managing managed accounts
May 2010
Should your retirement plan include exchange-traded funds?
March 2010
How does your retirement plan stack up?
February 2010
It should come as no surprise that most participants contribute to the level of the company match. Generally speaking, that is viewed as a positive result—as a sign that workers understand the mechanics of the match, appreciate its value, and recognize its importance in retirement savings.
January 2010
Helping out with some savings resolutions for the New Year
- 2009 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
October 2009
Making sense of asset allocation choices
September 2009
The cost of cashing out too soon
August 2009
Do your target-date choices take participants to—or through—retirement?
July 2009
Helping workers understand the full picture
June 2009
This month, Know How tries to help participants focus on the critical process of figuring out how much they need to have saved for retirement.
May 2009
Let's face it: If you haven’t at least thought about reducing your company’s matching contribution, you probably are not doing your job (or you happen to be working at one of those few companies that is weathering the current downturn better than most).
March 2009
Helping participants deal with the RMD
February 2009
Are your participant beneficiary designations up to date?
January 2009
I have always thought it was interesting that we bemoan the negatives of participant inertia (or sometimes try to turn that negative into a positive via "automatic" solutions)—except when it manifests itself during times of market turmoil.
- 2008 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2008
Over the past year, the KnowHow series has focused on a number of key participant communication topics.
November 2008
Most retirement-plan education programs (including this one) talk about the importance of saving early, the benefits of tax-deferred savings, and the need to diversify one's investments and to set goals.
October 2008
Participant education meetings have long touted the "magic" of compounding: that apparent miracle of finance whereby income earned on investments becomes part of an account balance, and earns more income that, in turn, adds to the account balance, which earns more income, and so on. The net result, of course, is that, at the end of a savings career, you wind up with a lot more money than you ever thought possible.
September 2008
The costs of cashing out too soon.
August 2008
Helping participants figure out their retirement plan fees.
July 2008
In a day when most have access to technology with more processing power than the computers that took man to the moon, we seem to be less interested in simple than in "easy."
June 2008
Perhaps no provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) has been as enthusiastically received as that of automatic enrollment.
May 2008
Loan programs typically are positioned as an opportunity for participants to borrow from themselves and to pay themselves back with interest.
March 2008
Nearly two-thirds of the respondents to a recent PLANSPONSOR NewsDash survey said that participants need more fee disclosure.
February 2008
You've no doubt seen the occasional headline in your local newspaper about a local employer that has gone out of business and "abandoned" its 401(k) plan—or perhaps you have seen a story on www.plansponsor.com about a suit brought by the Department of Labor (DoL) to recover participant deferrals that were never deposited in their 401(k) plans.
January 2008
One of the more overlooked aspects of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) was, and is, the Saver's Credit—an income tax credit specifically designed to encourage lower-income workers to save for retirement.
- 2007 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2007
The following special edition offers a handy reference guide to some of the most compelling topics.
November 2007
Most retirement-plan education programs (including this one) talk about the importance of saving early, the benefits of tax-deferred savings, and the need to diversify one's investments and to set goals.
October 2007
In nearly 30 years working with employer-sponsored retirement plans, I am hard-pressed to call to mind a product innovation that has been adopted with as much vigor as the current generation of target-date funds.
September 2007
The costs of cashing out too soon.
August 2007
Odds are, your retirement plan is more complicated than it was 20 years ago.
July 2007
It has become commonplace to describe to workers the process of saving in a retirement plan as "paying yourself."
June 2007
Maybe it was that report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), perhaps the recent Congressional hearings or reports about the new 5500; of course, it might have been the Department of Labor's recent request for information, perchance the recent series of revenue-sharing lawsuits—or more than one of the above?
May 2007
Getting started is only half the battle when it comes to retirement plan participation.
March 2007
Inside the new participant notice requirements
February 2007
A participant perspective on the Pension Protection Act
January 2007
PPA provides new reason to look at Roth 401(k)
- 2006 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
November 2006
Most retirement-plan education programs (including this one) talk about the importance of saving early, the benefits of tax-deferred savings, and the need to diversify one's investments and to set goals. They also talk about the fund choices available to participants and, generally, try to assist the participant in establishing his or her own risk-tolerance profile.
October 2006
Helping you make a choice
September 2006
The costs of cashing out too soon
August 2006
Getting from here to there is just the beginning
July 2006
Early last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission ¬unanimously approved a rule that would require mutual fund intermediaries—including third-party administrators, recordkeepers, etc.—to identify to mutual fund companies suspected market-timers, supply their transaction information to those fund companies, and possibly restrict their trading. The SEC backed away from an earlier suggestion that funds be required to penalize market-timers—but did not rule out the ability of a fund company to do so.
June 2006
Helping participants pay attention to retirement plan expenses
May 2006
If it's too good to be true...
March 2006
The "magic" of compounding is one of the most basic principles of retirement savings—yet, it is often the most overlooked by participants already overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of fund choices.
February 2006
Recent publicity offers a chance to remind that "free" money isn't
January 2006
Helping participants make sense of those retirement plan statements
- 2005 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2005
Over the past year, our Know How series has focused on a number of key participant communication topics
November 2005
Most retirement-plan education programs (including this one) talk about the importance of saving early, the benefits of tax-deferred savings, and the need to diversify one's investments and to set goals. They also talk about the fund choices available to participants and, generally, try to assist the participant in establishing his or her own risk-tolerance profile.
October 2005
The costs of cashing out too soon
September 2005
Having trouble picking investment funds?
August 2005
In early March of this year, Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations on the upcoming availability of a Roth 401(k) option. Incorporated in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) of 2001, the Roth 401(k) option becomes available for the first time on January 1, 2006.
July 2005
Putting off tough decisions can have good results
June 2005
Getting started is only half the battle when it comes to retirement plan participation
May 2005
It is difficult these days to write about Social Security and not offer an opinion on whether or not you think the current system is broken, or just showing signs of age, as well as a laundry list of potential remedies. It used to be the "third rail" of American politics but, these days, it (like so many other things) has simply become a dividing line.
March 2005
Getting a handle on health savings accounts
February 2005
Saver's Credit a "win-win" for plan sponsors and workers
January 2005
Participants generally have very good intentions when it comes to saving for retirement.
- 2004 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2004
The Best of Know How 2004
November 2004
Guide for Plan Sponsors
October 2004
Helping participants make a choice
September 2004
Helping participants hang on to their retirement savings
August 2004
No doubt, when you sat down to choose the various investment options that would be available in your program, you considered a wide variety of factors—risk, style, performance, and diversification among them. However, the key to a consistent long-term evaluation of the appropriateness of an investment manager is the ability to measure that fund's performance against a specific standard, a benchmark.
July 2004
Getting participants to "do the math"
June 2004
If it's too good to be true...
May 2004
It is a well-established fact that the most critical decision participants make regarding their retirement security has very little to do with what investment funds they choose: It is their rate of deferral/savings. Notwithstanding, the decision that most participants appear to agonize over most is which investment funds to choose.
March 2004
Helping participants make sense of those retirement plan statements
February 2004
Figuring out retirement plan costs
January 2004
As the mutual fund trading scandal enters its fourth month, there seems to be little sign of abatement in the allegations of wrongdoing, or the firms involved.
- 2003 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2003
Over the past year and a half, our KnowHow participant series has covered a broad range of topics in a way that we trust has been helpful to you, and to your participants, in gleaning a bit more understanding about their retirement savings.
November 2003
To Use This Material
October 2003
Helping participants make a choice
September 2003
Helping participants hang on to their retirement savings
August 2003
Studies routinely show that employees struggle to decide how much they should save. It has become commonplace to describe saving in a retirement plan as "paying yourself." That description helps give the notion of saving a prominence it might otherwise lack.
July 2003
No doubt, when you sat down to choose the various investment options that would be available in your program, you considered a wide variety of factors—risk, style, performance, and diversification among them. However, the key to a consistent long-term evaluation of the appropriateness of an investment manager is the ability to measure that fund's performance against a specific standard, a benchmark.
June 2003
A mid-year reminder that there is savings room beyond the match
May 2003
Recent publicity offers a chance to remind participants that "free" money isn't
March 2003
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Enron savings plan debacle was the participant activity blackout associated with its (in hindsight) ill-timed switch in recordkeepers. Actually, the process of making that change had been in the works for months but, when it finally occurred, some participants claimed to have been caught unawares—forced to sit idly by and watch the value of their retirement savings erode.
February 2003
Helping participants make sense of those retirement plan statements
January 2003
The beginning of a new year is a perfect time for new "resolutions," including reminding participants of the importance of taking another look at their retirement plan allocations
- 2002 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
December 2002
Helping Workers Catch Up On Retirement Savings
November 2002
To Use This Material
October 2002
The financial planning industry has invested enormous amounts of time and money developing sophisticated financial planning calculators. Odds are you currently make one or more of these tools available to workers as part of your retirement education. Even if you do not, there are what appear to be an endless number of tools available to individuals to help them figure out that most essential of retirement planning questions: How much do I need to save?
September 2002
Retirement, lifestyle changes, employee turnover: We live in times of significant change for plan sponsors, and for participants. Your plan has played a vital role in helping your participants prepare for this day and now they are faced with a critical decision—what to do with those savings now that their employment status is changing?
August 2002
This month, Know How tries to help participants focus on the critical process of figuring out how much they need to have saved for retirement. Traditionally, retirement programs have focused on the need to accumulate as much money as possible for retirement. Unfortunately, participants tend to focus on how much they can "afford" to set aside for retirement, rather than thinking about how much they will have to have set aside to live on in a retirement that can be two or even three decades long.
July 2002
While participants frequently have a different perspective on retirement savings than plan sponsors, both can benefit from the identification of specific investment benchmarks.
June 2002
The "magic" of compounding is one of the most basic principles of retirement savings—yet, it is often the most overlooked by participants already overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of fund choices.
May 2002
Loan programs typically are positioned as an opportunity for participants to borrow from themselves and to pay themselves back with interest.
March 2002
Providers are always looking for an "annuity-like stream of income" in the retirement services business. And frequently, so are participants. Except they don't always know where to look.
- 2001 KNOWHOW Plan Sponsor Guides
September 2001
Retirement, lifestyle changes, employee turnover… We live in times of significant change for plan sponsors, and for participants. Your plan has played a vital role in helping your participants prepare for this day—and now they are faced with a critical decision—what to do with those savings now that their employment status is changing?