In Practice

Effective methods for determining and benchmarking retirement readiness for plan sponsor clients. 

Panelists at the recent PLANSPONSOR National Conference all agreed that before doing a search for a new retirement plan provider, sponsors need to clearly define their goals.

There’s always a lot of talk about how to improve participant behavior in a retirement plan, but sometimes it’s the plan sponsor that “misbehaves.”

Vanguard’s "How America Saves" analysis highlights industry differences in plan design and participant behavior.

Cerulli's latest report, “Advisor Portfolio Construction Dynamics,” reveals that as advisers are building investment portfolios for their clients, they are using fewer asset managers in their practices.

Charles Schwab’s 2011 RIA Benchmarking Study found that meeting and adapting to regulatory changes was an impediment to growth, cited by 21% of firms for the first time...

Different approaches taken by European and U.S. regulators have created an "unlevel playing field" in financial services recruiting, according to research from Mercer. 

The non-qualified deferred compensation plan marketplace has changed from what it was years ago.

In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found most retirees rely primarily on Social Security and pass up opportunities for additional lifetime retirement income.

Northwestern Mutual’s financial literacy Web site, Themint.org, conducted a poll that found kids are much more satisfied by – and committed to – succeeding in school than managing...

The majority of respondents to a recent HighRoads survey indicated the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) subsidy either buys time to re-evaluate retiree medical plan strategies or has...

Advisers are looking for an increased level of support from their broker/dealers, says a survey from John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN).

A growing number of the American middle-class expects to work well beyond traditional retirement age, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index.

The results of Fidelity’s Couples Retirement Study show couples both approaching and living in retirement are struggling with overall communication, planning, and management of their retirement finances.

Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIAs) are not a “get out of jail free” card for fiduciary liability.

Based on a nationwide survey of more than 3,000 working adults, Putnam Investments has debunked several perceptions about American’s level of retirement readiness.  

Almost half (46%) of middle market plan sponsors who switched providers in 2011 say they did so to upgrade their plan, according to a recent Spectrem Group study.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans continue to shift away from defined benefit (DB) plans toward defined contribution (DC) and Roth 401(k) savings plans, according to SHRM’s 2011 Employee Benefits report.

While innovation is considered to have produced mixed results over the last decade, asset owners have retained an appetite for innovation, as long as specific principles are met.

In the first half of fiscal 2011(1H11), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled with 344 defendants, bringing predictions for the full year to 688 settlements, compared with...