Default options
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Senate proposal would add auto escalation in Thrift Savings Plan
Newly hired federal employees participating in the $313 billion Thrift Savings Plan would have automatic escalation of their contributions under legislation introduced in the Senate.
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Needed: An objective-based approach to DC investing
Despite years of industry effort at investment education and retirement plan menu design, defined contribution plan participants remain undersubscribed and disengaged.
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A little help here: Advice aids DC participants’ returns
Defined contribution participants who used professional financial advice and management assistance had higher returns between 2006 and 2010 than those who didn’t, according to a new report by Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines. Participants who used “help” — defined in the report as using target-date
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More 401(k) participants start, add to contributions
Seventy-two percent of participants started or increased their 401(k) plan contributions in the second quarter, up from 68% a year earlier, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report on its client data. The increase is attributed to factors such as greater plan participation in auto
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Mercer study reveals auto-enrollment issues
Defined contribution plans with combined automatic enrollment and automatic escalation have higher contribution rates than those with auto enrollment alone, but self-enrolled participants have higher contribution rates than either group, according to research released Tuesday by Mercer. “You can’t
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BlueSky picks AllianceBernstein as target-date fund manager
BlueSky Pension Scheme, Sidcup, England, hired AllianceBernstein to manage new assets in the £228 million ($372 million) defined contribution plan's default flexible target-date option, said Paul Bannister, the plan's CEO. M&G Investments now manages all existing DC assets. Beginning on Oct. 1,
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Dimensional unveils DC plan tool that operates on autopilotThe tool, which was designed by Nobel laureate Robert Merton, makes investment decisions for DC plan participants, and nags them to increase deferral rates.
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401(k) plan fees are on everyone's lips at P&I conference
Benefits expert Delaplane dishes on legislation, elections CHICAGO - In real estate it's all about location, location, location. In the defined contribution world, it's all about fees, fees, fees. The most attended - and most interactive - breakout sessions at the Pensions & Investments ' Defined
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Employers seek to cut deal on fee disclosures
Lobbyists for employers and consultants say 401(k) fee disclosure legislation could be enacted this year — if the measure's backers shift the fiduciary burden to provide fee information entirely to service providers and drop a provision that effectively would force plan sponsors to offer an index
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House committee OKs 401(k) fee disclosure bill
The House Education and Labor Committee approved legislation late Wednesday to dramatically increase the amount of fee information 401(k) plan service providers disclose to sponsors and that sponsors give to participants.
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Global equity gaining favor as new option
Defined contribution plans increasingly are turning to global equity funds as an investment option, while a relative handful are starting to adopt enhanced indexed equity options.
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Solid foundation: Face to Face with Drew CarringtonCalling automatic enrollment and auto-escalation programs "game-changing," Drew Carrington says UBS is poised to do just that even though the firm only joined the game shortly after the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
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Fees, default options dominate defined contribution industry talk
Fees and qualified default investment options were among the hottest topics at Pensions & Investments ' 16th annual East Coast conference earlier this month in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
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Eddy Awards celebrate defined contribution job well done
Increasing participation rates and explaining new automatic enrollment programs dominated the campaigns of many of the 2008 Eddy Award winners.
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IBM raises the bar with new 401(k) plan
Like other big corporations saddled with unpredictable defined benefit pension burdens, IBM elected a few years ago to freeze its traditional pension plans and make improvements to its 401(k) plan. But that's where the similarities end.
