Survey Reveals 89% of 401k Investors Want Asset Allocation Help

A survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group found that investors find retirement planning is confusing and 89% want help creating their ‘investment recipe’ (aka asset allocation). Here are the other findings of the 2,600 investors surveyed:

84% want help calculating and/or creating retirement income
79% would like an annual review “to set and measure their progress”
48% feel they are “in consult of their retirement plan investments”

Read More

Getting a Tax Refund? Be Like the 50% of People Using it Wisely

Tax day is only a few weeks away. If you are receiving a tax refund, you have some fun decisions to make. A recent study found that only 31% plan to put some of the refund toward their retirement savings, and another 19% plan to pay down debt…meaning only half of people are taking steps to improve their financial situation with their refund.

We know. You get a check in the mail or it shows up in your checking/savings account. Saving it or paying down debt is about as fun and exciting as…well…I don’t know, but it’s not. Unfortunately, doing the right thing sometimes isn’t that fun. However, it is a good feeling when you do the right thing.

Read More

Coming Soon to 401k Statements: Participants’ Account Balance as Monthly Income?

Fred Reish (he’s getting a lot of attention from us this month) and Bruce Ashton of Drinker Biddle posted an article that discussed having 401k statements illustrate a participant’s account balance in the form of a monthly income. The article is illustrated below and we find this to be an excellent idea, but the following points would need to be considered in order create a consistent message across providers:

Read More

fi360 Webinar Recording: The Combined Effects of the DOL’s Proposed Advice Regulation and 408(b)(2)

CEFEX and fi360 sponsored attorney Fred Reish to provide a thorough overview of the proposed advice and 408(b)(2) regulations. If you are a plan fiduciary who has hired a person or firm to provide your employees advice on their 401k, or an advisor/broker that works with 401k participants, this is essentially a must-listen event. The following were a number of interesting points which affect plan sponsors and advisors:

Read More