It’s RFP season for retirement plan advisors, so it’s a good time to discuss the selection process, what mistakes we see committees make, and how to make the whole process go more smoothly…for everyone.

With the Great Resignation in full swing, businesses are experiencing a labor crunch. I recently chatted with Mike Dullaghan, AIF of Putnam Investments to get his thoughts about how this will affect retirement plans. I’ll also highlight a few things we’re seeing as well.

Retirement plans are never dull - whether it’s Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing, lifetime income, or mergers & acquisitions, there’s always something new to keep tabs on. Read on for the latest trends in retirement plans!

Recently I had a chance to chat about ESG investing with Jonathan Ricketts, who works with Natixis as Vice President – Southeast Region, Retirement Strategies Group. We discussed some of the reasons why we’re seeing ESG investing so often in the news lately, and cleared up a few misconceptions, as well.

Choosing a new investment advisor for your plan can be a cumbersome, complex task, and due diligence is required - you don’t want to just pick the first advisor you come across. But what should the process look like and how can you spend the least amount of time on the task while still getting the maximum impact?

Recently I sat down with Allison Brecher from Vestwell to discuss the unique opportunities and challenges of being a woman in retirement (you can read the article here). It was a great discussion, but since there was so much more I wanted to say in the limited time we had, I thought I'd write a blog article and share those thoughts. Interested? Read on!

It’s no secret that Covid-19 has affected everyone and everything, and we’ve been keeping tabs specifically on the impact it has had so far on retirement plans. Without boring you to tears with all the statistics, we have cherry-picked data points from some of our retirement plan recordkeeper partners to demonstrate the current state.

Everyone has a struggle bus fueled by Covid-19. In the midst of the abrupt life changes we are all experiencing and the struggle and adaptation they inevitably cause. I offer three thoughts about this pandemic and how to approach retirement. As Joseph Campbell said, “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.”

President Trump signed signed an Executive Order on August 31st, directing the Department of Labor and the Treasury, “… to consider issuing regulations and guidance that would make it easier for businesses to offer retirement plans.” Here’s what it means.

Are student loans holding your employees back from #adulting? Get ready, because there's a pretty clever benefit on the street that is making an impact on hiring and retention.

In a very, VERY small nutshell, the point and purpose of the DOL’s recently released proposed fiduciary rule is to level the playing field for all financial professionals interacting with retirement plans—401k, etc. as well as IRAs. It establishes an enforceable fiduciary standard of care DOL believes to be consistent with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Here’s a summary.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking on an American Bar Association webinar sponsored by the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. Webinars are always difficult -- there's so much information to get through that valuable nuggets often get left out. Here are the last minute deletions:

When discussing enrolling in a retirement plan, it's incredibly important to speak in terms that will resonate with everyone in the room. Without universal appeal, you risk being a roadblock to someone's retirement. 

Conducting an RFP for a new retirement plan provider? Here are five important questions to ask during your due diligence.

Plan advisors from VA had a great time this morning talking with Senator Warner's staffer about tweaking the DOL's proposed fiduciary regulation. I thought it might be good to share what we said while packed in the tiny conference room!

I had the privilege of being in a finalist presentation today, which is always fun. The retirement plan committee asked a very pointed question at one point that caught me off guard.

Too often we don't hear about the good things companies are doing with their retirement plan, even when they're in the news. Tibble v. Edison International is a recent court case regarding share classes of investments and whether the plan sponsor/committee has the duty to review prior investment decisions for fees, namely regarding institutional share classes. 

So...what do you think is a successful retirement plan? Ever thought about it? Here are some ways to think in terms of defining your organization's plan's success. (If you haven't thought about it, click here for our white paper on the subject.)

Every now and again we like to have guest bloggers talk about the nitty-gritty stuff Reading Rainbow style. ("You don't have to take MY word for it!")  We've got another guest blog that you should find helpful, especially if you're in the GovCon (Government Contracting, for those not in the know) world. Alan Luba of Human Resources Consultants LLC is weighing in here on some of the more common issues with benefits and pay. You can reach him at alanluba@verizon.net should you have more questions.

A company requested that we submit a proposal for performing investment due diligence. They had searched for a new plan provider and wanted to compare the proposed investment lineup that the provider was suggesting against the investments in their current plan lineup to determine whether to switch. They were seeking proposals for this service from several advisors, I'm sure.