Qualified Plans Industry

News

Wall Street Goes Shopping in the Frozen Pension Aisle?

Financial firms seek legislation that would let them buy and manage the estimated $500 billion currently in “frozen” pension plans.

Plan Contributions Hold Steady Despite Market Turmoil

In the first half of 2008, Americans continued to add to their retirement plans despite the ongoing market turmoil, Fidelity has found.

Firms See 401(k) Plans As Necessities, Not Luxuries

Companies are either initiating matching contributions or increasing them in an effort to recruit and retain top-grade workers.

New York Region Executives Active in 401(k) Plans

Senior executives in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are taking a more hands-on approach to managing employee 401(k) plans, a new survey shows.

Congressman Proposes New Tax-Free Savings Accounts

The Worker Savings Account Act, H.R. 6799, would create an account that works similar to an IRA, with an annual contribution limit of $5,000, indexed to inflation.

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Articles

The Inherited (Stretch) IRA and The Inherited (Stretch) Annuity

U.S. retirement assets reached $16.4 trillion in 2006, and part of that money will be 'in motion' as individuals leave current employers and retire.

Online Communities Are No Longer Just Kids' Stuff

As the responsibility for financial planning increasingly falls on the individual, the Internet is helping people educate themselves about their savings.

Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast'

Several big financial services companies have created in-house retirement task forces, but few have made a more aggressive or concerted effort in that direction than Lincoln Financial Group.

Annuities Remain Best Bet For Retirees

Outside of a defined benefit plan, traditional life annuities issued by insurance companies are the best ways to reduce longevity risk for women. Yet few retirees purchase them, according to a recent report entitled, 'Evaluation of Approaches To Reducing Women's Longevity Risk.' The report, by Beverly Orth of Mercer Human Resource Consulting, confirms the conventional wisdom that variable annuities, though popular as tax-deferral vehicles, are almost never annuitized. She attributes that to a lack of education about annuities and the media's negative portrayal of them.

A Crisis with a Gender Bias

The great open secret of the Baby Boomers' retirement crisis is that, if left unaddressed, the impact of the predicted shortfall of retirement income will weigh much more heavily on women than on men.

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