As a new year approaches, now is the opportunity for plan sponsors to review their retirement plans to ensure that they’re legally compliant and up to date. From increases in annual contribution limits to sweeping changes to the IRS regulations governing hardship distributions, an annual review should be conducted to even the most well-crafted plan. Read on for some helpful tips that can make your annual retirement plan checkup as streamlined and stress-free as possible.
Financial wellness is a topic receiving a greater amount of attention in recent years, but many plan sponsors are unaware of what that really means for their employees. Financial wellness is vital to ensuring employees feel secure about their financial well-being, helping them meet current, future and ongoing financial obligations. Additionally, financial wellness programs help maximize participation in the company’s retirement plan. While there proves to be many benefits by offering a financial wellness program, it is not yet universal. If it isn’t already, establishing a comprehensive financial wellness program should be a priority for plan sponsors. We review five key components to making your wellness program effective.
Outsourcing retirement plan management duties to a retirement advisor can just be good business—not only are these advisors up-to-speed on the most current regulations governing retirement plan offerings and industry best practices, but they can also free up a plan sponsor’s time to focus on critical aspects of company operation. However, it’s important to evaluate these advisors at the outset (and regularly during their administration of the plan) to ensure that you’re receiving the best possible services. How can you tell if your advisor is doing a good job? Below are a few key attributes that describe a good retirement plan advisor.
A successful retirement plan program encourages and enables its participants to build sufficient retirement savings, choose the appropriate investments, manage investment risk, and generate a lifetime of income. Although there exist nearly as many retirement plan structures as individuals who participate in them, not all plans are created equal—and plan design can significantly influence savings and retirement decisions. However, due to the number of options available, plan design can be a complex undertaking. Learn more about the plan design features that will boost your plan participants’ readiness for retirement.
Cyber risks have become a more significant issue in the retirement space in recent years. With many plans using multiple service providers that share large amounts of data, vulnerabilities are evident, and risks are prevalent. Both plan assets and personally identifiable information (PII) are at risk. While completely eliminating these risks is impossible, managing these risks is achievable and is essential to not only following ERISA prudence standards, but simply in serving the best interests of plan participants as well. It is important to remember that managing your cybersecurity is an ongoing process and it should not be rushed. Below, we review key preventative measures against common cyberattacks.