…now. To be clear, pension plans in general (including the Pentegra DB and DC Plans) do not consider cryptocurrencies to be an appropriate component of a plan’s asset allocation, largely for the following reasons; Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and unstable, and trading is dominated by…
…employers to follow suit. However, when one considers the circumstances of IBM’s current retirement benefits program, it is easier to see why this seemingly drastic change made sense for IBM … and for its employees as well. That said, it does not mean this strategy…
Risk Tolerance Balancing risk and return is key to building your investment strategy. Learn more about the different types of risk and how they impact your retirement investment strategy. Risk Tolerance – Does Your Portfolio Reflect Your Risk Tolerance How Rising Interest Rates Can Impact…
…it as a hiring and retention strategy. Provision: Emergency savings accounts Plans can permit non-highly compensated employees to contribute up to $2,500 into an emergency savings account within the plan. Employees may access the emergency savings accounts periodically. The emergency savings account contributions are considered…
…certain circumstances), and increasing the maximum amount of a 401(k) loan to the lesser of $100,000 or 100% of the participant’s vested assets. We had no argument with that approach; after all, many people – through reduced hours or even job loss — needed sources…
Question: “When is it time to rethink your strategy?” Answer: “Always!” Self-evident? Perhaps, but a recent PwC study entitled “Retirement in America: Time to Rethink and Retool” provides some intriguing insights into where our industry stands now, and what it can do to improve the…
…traded companies to disclose how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors affect their business strategy. Those factors would include greenhouse gas emissions, fossil-fuel and related assets, and risks associated with climate change. It would require the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules…
…more than the lesser of the base percentage or 5.7%. A couple of important keys to keep in mind: The allocation method or formula for each retirement plan is spelled out in its plan document and the plan would need to adopt an amendment if…
Reporting plan compensation right is integral to plan success. Compensation is the basis for determining contribution allocations, compliance testing as well as employee status. It is also one of the top sources of plan errors that can have long term, expensive consequences. The start of…
As a financial advisor, you know that the people who exercise control and authority over the management of a retirement plan’s assets are fiduciaries. So are professionals who provide investment advice with respect to those assets. In most cases, plan sponsors understand that they,…
…pension plans and 106 million defined contribution plan participants covering estimated assets of $9.3 trillion. Given that plan sponsors and their vendors typically are responsible for significant amounts of money – not to mention personal data of plan participants, including not just Social Security numbers…
…affected participants. After-tax contributions are considered plan assets when testing whether the plan is “top-heavy.” If a plan is top heavy, meaning more than 60 percent of its assets are held by key employees (generally, the owners and officers of the business), then the plan…