Headlines about "401(k) plans"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Advisers Step In Amid 401(k) Match Cuts
Excerpt: "Financial advisers are stepping in when companies stop matching 401(k) retirement plan contributions. They're encouraging clients to continue saving and, in some cases, they're taking a second look at the types of retirement accounts clients are using. . . . 'When they take the match off the table, it's a whole different ballgame,' says Charles Bennett Sachs, a certified financial planner at wealth management firm Evensky & Katz. That's because financial advisers have long advised clients to contribute at least enough to their company-sponsored retirement plan to capture any matching contributions - which is essentially free money. Without the match, investors need to look more closely at their specific situation, including their projected tax exposure, and decide whether they need to adjust their retirement savings strategy." (The Wall Street Journal)

[Guidance Overview] Another Question is Answered in the 401(k) Plans Q&A Column
There are three companies in a controlled group. Each has a separate but identical 401(k) plan. None of the plans has 100 participants but collectively they would have in excess of 100 participants. Would these individual plans qualify for an audit waiver in connection with the Form 5500 filings? (BenefitsLink.com)

401(k) Has Advantages Even If Employer Cuts Match
Excerpt: "Given the severity of the downturn, employees have learned to live with a certain amount of corporate belt-tightening. But cutbacks in matching contributions to your 401(k) plan are much harder to stomach. More than a quarter of large companies have suspended matching contributions to their employees' 401(k) plans or plan to do so in the near future, according to a survey by CFO Research Services and Charles Schwab. The company match has always been a powerful incentive for contributing to a 401(k) plan, at least up to the match. But what if there is no match? Should you still contribute?" (USA Today)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Proposed Reliance Regulations that Permit Suspension of 401(k) Non-Elective Safe Harbor Contributions
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors that need to take advantage of the proposed regulations should act quickly as the analysis with respect to whether the criteria for a 'substantial business hardship' have been met, the drafting of plan amendments, and the requirement to give plan participants 30 days notice will require time to implement, during which the plan sponsor continues to be obligated to make safe harbor contributions to its plan." (The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel)

New Study Suggests That Employees Value Their Total Benefits Offering More Than Cash
Excerpt: "Of the supplemental benefits evaluated, employees ranked their dental insurance, 401(k)/retirement plans, vision insurance and group life insurance as most valuable, Sun Life said in a press release. Employees were asked to assume they had all the medical insurance their family needed and to distribute 100 points across other benefits based on how much they would value them. Only 33% of respondents assigned a value greater than 0 to cash -- and only 5% of the total assigned a value greater than 30 to cash. Cash was the least utilized category . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Big Surprise: Even the AARP Decides to Suspend Its 401(k) Match for at Least Nine Months
Excerpt: "Given its track record of fighting for the financial rights of retirees, it seems shocking that the organization would turn around and take from its own 2,200 or so employees what they'd hoped would be a big pile of matching money. It's almost as if the Teamsters decided to build a new national headquarters and hired nonunion labor to do it." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Seventh Circuit Comments on Denial of Petition for Rehearing in case of Hecker v. Deere
Excerpt: "The Seventh Circuit has denied a rehearing in the Hecker v. Deere case. . . . Plaintiffs, the Department of Labor and other interest groups had called for a rehearing. You can access a couple of the amicus briefs filed in the petition for rehearing on the Guidebook's 404(c) webpage. The Seventh Circuit made [several] points in response to the Amicus Brief filed by the DOL . . . ." (ERISA Fiduciary Guidebook)

[Guidance Overview] Debtor Can't Deduct 401(k) Loan Repayments Under Bankruptcy Means Test As Necessary Expense
Excerpt: "A debtor's repayment of a 401(k) plan loan did not constitute a payment of secured debts or a necessary expense that could be deducted from the debtor's monthly income for purposes of applying the means test under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (CA-9), in Egjebjerg v. Anderson, a case of first impression." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] 7th Circuit Panel Limits Ruling's 404(c) Effects
Excerpt: "Faced with pressure to take another look at its February 2009 decision in a widely watched 401(k) excessive fee case, a federal appellate court has turned down the rehearing request but issued an addendum sharply limiting the earlier ruling's scope on the issue of 404(c) protections. While the three judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to disturb the court's earlier holding in Hecker v. Deere & Co., Circuit Judges Daniel A. Manion, Diane P. Wood and John Daniel Tinder made clear the Hecker decision was not intended as a sweeping statement to be broadly applied to all similar fee disputes." (planadvisor)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Allows Struggling Employers to Reduce or Suspend Nonelective Contributions to 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "Under regulations proposed by the IRS, an employer undergoing a substantial business hardship can reduce or suspend 401(k) safe harbor nonelective contributions during a plan year. The rules give employers an alternative to terminating their safe harbor plans. The regulations are proposed to be effective for amendments adopted after May 18, 2009, but employers may rely on the proposed regulations for guidance in the meantime. If the final regulations are more restrictive than those proposed, the stricter provisions will not be made retroactive." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Median Cost for Defined Contribution Plans Now Exceeds Cost for Defined Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "In 2008, the median cost as a percentage of revenue for defined contribution plans sponsored by the Standard & Poor's 500 companies has exceeded the median cost for defined benefit plans (.39% versus .38%), for the first time. The median cost for defined contribution plans has remained steady over the last four years (.37% in 2005-2007) while the median cost for defined benefit plans has declined from .51% in 2005, .46% in 2006, and .42% in 2007. According to Mercer, the reason for the decline in defined benefit costs is a reflection of freezing of accruals, closure of plans to new participants, or other cutbacks." (Wolters Kluwer)

Company-Sponsored Retirement Plans More Important Than Ever
2 pages. (Hewitt Associates)

House Committee Approves Bill That Restricts 401(k) Advice to Independent Advisers
Excerpt: "Today's bill merged two proposals that were introduced this year: one made by Rep. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., focused on conflicted investment advice, the other sponsored by the committee's chairman, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., would have required increased disclosure of fees and expenses in 401(k) plans. The new bill incorporates a proposal to provide corporate plan sponsors with temporary relief from making required contributions to their traditional defined benefit pension plans." (Investment News; free registration required)

Legislation Calls for More Transparent Disclosures of 401(k) Fees
Excerpt: "Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) reintroduced the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act (H.R. 1984). Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) reintroduced the Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act (S. 401). And on June 10, Representative Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced a modified version of the Defined Contribution Plan Fee Transparency Act (H.R. 2779). . . . All three bills would impose new reporting and disclosure requirements for individual account balance plans, including new disclosures from service providers to plan sponsors and from sponsors to plan participants and beneficiaries. [The chart in the target document] summarizes some key provisions with significant implications for employers." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Consumers Should Take 401(k) Plan Loans Instead of Consumer Loans, Study Contends
Excerpt: "The cost for a non-401(k) plan loan is the after-tax interest rate that is paid to the outside vendor. In contrast, the lower interest rate for a 401(k) plan loan is paid to the participant's account, causing it to grow. The authors noted that a participant who is trying to maximize 401(k) plan contributions but is constrained by the contribution limits 'might prefer a 401(k) loan with a sufficiently high interest rate simply as a way to get more assets into the tax-favored account.'" (Wolters Kluwer)

Safe Harbor 401(k) Contributions Made to an ESOP: More Details
In the second installment of her column on the National Center for Employee Ownership's Web site, Nancy Dittmer returns to the topic of safe-harbor 401(k) contributions made to an ESOP. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Lawmakers Plan Push to Reform 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "Two key lawmakers are expected to introduce a bill on retirement reform later this week that could have substantial implications for investment advisors, 401(k) service providers and the majority of employer-sponsored retirement plans. Rep. George Miller, D-California, and Rep. Rob Andrews, D-New Jersey, are preparing to introduce the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act on Wednesday, June 24, at a Committee on Education and Labor meeting, confirmed Aaron Albright, press secretary of the committee." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Pension Reform in the Aftermath of Enron: Congress' Failure to Deliver the Promise of Secure Retirement 401(K) Plan Participants
Excerpt: "This article examines the historical role of company stock ownership in tax-qualified retirement plans and how Congress is distorting that role to justify its failure to enact meaningful pension reform that restricts 401(k) plan investment in company stock. Specifically, the article addresses H.R. 3762, the Republican-backed House Bill that has arisen like a phoenix out of the ashes of more than 20 pension reform bills introduced by the 107th Congress. The article examines how the House Bill fails to deliver ERISA's promise of a secure retirement by rejecting overall limitations on 401(k) plan investment in company stock, by failing to mandate the appointment of an independent plan fiduciary where company stock is offered as an investment alternative, and by failing to mandate that employers provide participants with investment advice as a condition of fiduciary liability relief." (Social Science Research Network)

[Guidance Overview] New Rules Allowing Employers to Suspend Nonelective Contributions to Safe Harbor Plans Due to Business Hardship (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "On May 18, 2009, the IRS published rules allowing sponsors of Safe Harbor Plans, including Qualified Automatic Contribution Arrangements (QACAs), to suspend or reduce nonelective contributions before the end of the plan year due to business hardship. These rules provide an attractive alternative to plan termination, which had been the only option for sponsors of Safe Harbor Plans providing required nonelective contributions that needed to reduce or eliminate their ongoing obligations during this time of economic distress. Currently, the rules are only proposed, which means that they are subject to change when they are finalized. However, the IRS will allow plan sponsors to follow them in their current form until they are finalized and will impose any new or more stringent requirements only on a prospective basis. The new rules may be applied to plan amendments adopted after May 18, 2009." (Prudential Retirement)

[Guidance Overview] Mid-Year Elimination of Safe Harbor Non-Elective Contributions
Excerpt: "While many plan sponsors are resorting to cutting back or eliminating company match contributions in a effort to reduce costs, does recent guidance from the Internal Revenue Service on eliminating safe harbor non-elective contributions offer an alternative solution? In May, the IRS proposed rules that would permit employers affected by substantial business hardship to decide mid-year to reduce or suspend safe harbor non-elective contributions to 401(k) and 403(b) plans . . . . What does this mean for 403(b) plan sponsors?" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Rethinking 401(k) Plan Design for Challenging Times (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "Clearly, the economic downturn is causing many companies to reevaluate their 401(k) plan design carefully, and in many cases, rethink their 401(k) plan strategy. Based on the survey responses, many plan sponsors are assessing whether or not to reduce or eliminate the matching contribution feature under their plans. As part of this plan design assessment, companies may want to consider the potential impact of any such change on future participation in the 401(k) plan by eligible employees. Since many employees, especially the so-called 'non-highly compensated employee' group, participate in 401(k) plans because of the matching contribution feature, a key challenge faced by plan sponsors is assessing the impact of reducing or eliminating the matching contribution feature on future plan participation rates." (Grant Thornton LLP)

Employers Cutting Back 401(k) Plans, According to Study
Excerpt: "A quarter of U.S. employers have eliminated matching contributions to employee 401(k) retirement plans since September to save money amid the economy's downturn, according to research released on Monday. A quarter of U.S. employers also have instituted limited enrollment rather than open the savings plans to all employees, according to the study conducted for Charles Schwab Corp. by CFO Research Services." (Reuters)

Worker Preferences for 401(k) Fee Disclosure Highlight of New Study (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "The topic of fee disclosures in 401(k) plans has recently garnered much attention in the government, media, and retirement industry. Findings from the 10th Annual Retirement Survey help to illustrate current levels of awareness of 401(k) fees, employer and worker preferences for receiving information about fees, and opportunities for increasing awareness." (Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

[Guidance Overview] Judge Says Motorola Didn't Breach Fiduciary Duties
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that Motorola Inc. and fiduciaries of its 401(k) plan did not breach their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by continuing to offer company stock as an investment option in the plan. Granting summary judgment for the Motorola defendants, Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer said they were protected from liability under ERISA Section 404(c). The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants did not disclose in advance that liability would be shifted to them under the 404(c) plan, but Pallmeyer pointed out that a plan prospectus sent to participants clearly stated that the plan was intended to be a 404(c) plan with defendants not liable for participant investment decisions." (planadvisor)

[Guidance Overview] Tougher Financial Regulation Proposals May Hinder 401(k) Plan Sponsors
Excerpt: "The Obama administration's string of proposals to regulate the financial services industry may have some negative consequences for 401(k) plan sponsors, particularly smaller ones. Among the proposals, which were announced Wednesday, June 17, is one that would impose 'fiduciary duty' on brokers who provide investment advice, which is a more stringent standard than what they are held to today, experts say. Currently the legal standard that brokers must meet is a 'suitability test,' which means that the broker believes a specific investment option is a reasonable investment for a client of a certain age. The higher standard of fiduciary duty means that the broker is acting in the best interest of clients." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Amendment to Conflicted Advice Bill Regarding Retirement Education (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Page 27, add at the end the following: SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF OUTREACH TO PROMOTE RETIREMENT INCOME SAVINGS TO INCLUDE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION ON FINANCIAL LITERACY WITH RESPECT TO INVESTMENT FOR RETIREMENT." (U.S. House of Representatives via The Spark Institute)

Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute for the '401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009' (PDF)
32 pages. (U.S. House of Representatives via The Spark Institute)

DOL Webcast: Investment of 401(k) and Other Retirement Plans in Target Date Type Plans
Excerpt: "[The June 18, 2009, webcast of the joint public hearing of the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) heard] testimony on the investment of 401(k) and other retirement plans in target date type plans. [There is also a link to] a list of requests to testify and of comments received by EBSA and the SEC." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Remarks of Deputy Secretary of Labor at Hearing on 401(k) Investments in Target Date Funds
Excerpt: "Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris [addressed the] public hearing to explore the use of target date funds 'as appropriate investments for plan sponsors to use when investing 401(k) plan contributions of participants.'" (U.S. Department of Labor)

Three Ways to Get Your 401(k) Back on Track
Excerpt: "The easiest fix would, of course, be a full recovery of the stock market. But the returns necessary to repair your retirement accounts are unlikely to happen any time soon. Baby boomers over age 55 who wish to retire in the next two years will need annual investment returns of 13.64 percent to recoup their losses between January 1, 2008 and April 30, 2009, according to calculations released today by Mercer, a benefits administrator and consulting company. Investors who have 5 years to recover will need returns of 5.44 percent annually to get back to where they were a year and a half ago. Those with a longer time horizon will need only a 2.72 annual rate of return to recover over 10 years and just 1.81 percent annually over 15 years." (U.S. News & World Report)

Fun, Easy and Automatic: Not a Sure Path to Sufficient Retirement Income (PDF)
Excerpt: "[G]ood communication and education must attract employees' attention. And attention-gaining techniques often include fun and games?snappy brochures, fun YouTube videos, intriguing Facebook pages for the plan, and maybe even scratch and sniff enrollment forms. But every education and communication effort must be aimed at enlightening employees about the things successful users of 401k plans do. Getting employees' attention is the start -- not the end." (Ackley Associates)

[Guidance Overview] Second Post-Enron ERISA 'Stock Drop' Trial Victory for Tellabs and Its 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries (PDF)
Excerpt: "The Brieger plaintiffs, on behalf of a nationwide class of plan participants, alleged that Tellabs stock was an 'imprudent' 401(k) plan investment option under ERISA because (1) Tellabs executives (who were also plan fiduciaries) made misstatements to the market and to participants regarding sales/demand for Tellabs' products, which operated to artificially inflate the stock price; and (2) the stock lost about 90% of its value between December 2000 and July 2003, when Tellabs and other telecom companies went through a significant industry downturn and Tellabs had reduced sales and multiple rounds of layoffs." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)

ABC Suggests Improvements to Fee, Advice Bills
Excerpt: "The House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Pensions and Labor has approved The 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act (H.R. 1984), which requires simple-to-understand fee disclosure on the investment options contained in employers' 401(k) plans, as well as the Conflicted Investment Advice Prohibition Act (H.R. 1988). . . . However, before the committee's vote, American Benefits Council President James A. Klein commended the subcommittee for preserving the broad-based provision of investment advice to employees while still protecting the many non-conflicted advice arrangements approved by IRS before the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), but identified several liability issues raised under the bills." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Opinion] Statement on Behalf of Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America for Hearing on Investments in Target Date Funds and Similar Investment Options (PDF)
5 pages. June 18, 2009, Hearing. Excerpt: "In April 2009, PSCA and Casey, Quirk & Associates, a management consultancy focused on the global fund management industry, conducted a survey of target date fund practices in employer sponsored defined contribution plans. More than four hundred companies of various sizes participated. Twenty-one percent have fewer than 200 hundred participants and twenty-seven percent have 5,000 or more participants. Eighty-seven percent use a packaged target date fund program. Thirteen percent of the programs are custom designed. Most plan sponsors in the survey are satisfied with their target date investment options, despite weak performance during the recent market crisis." (Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)

SEC-DOLTarget-Date Hearing Witness Lineup Released
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the lineup of witnesses organized in nine panels that are set to testify before SEC and Department of Labor (DoL) officials on June 18 about target-date funds. . . . Witnesses will include representatives of plan participants and beneficiaries, plan sponsors, investor organizations, academia, and the financial services industry. The hearing will be transcribed, and a live Webcast will be available at the SEC and Labor Department Web sites. The SEC hearing announcement is available at http://sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-138.htm. For more information, contact Tara Buckley in the SEC's Division of Investment Management at (202) 551-6825." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Opinion] What's Wrong with the Current 401(k) System - and How It Can Be Salvaged
Excerpt: "Unfortunately a one-two punch thrown by well-meaning consumer advocates and desperate corporations has worsened an already bad situation. First, as a way to save too-cautious investors from themselves, in 2007 and 2008 some plans changed the default investment from a money market fund to an age-appropriate mix of stocks and bonds. Which then proceeded to tank. Second, a growing number of companies (see the list above and to the right [on the target page]) are eliminating or curtailing the employer match entirely. Doing so when stock prices are low is particularly harmful because it makes it that much harder for investors to recoup losses." (CNNMoney.com)

Choosing Between 401(k) and 403(b) Plans
Excerpt: "BNA has published a brief article on choosing between 403(b) and 401(k) formats for retirement plans at http://www.bnatax.com/tm/insights_kenty.htm. The summary is well written and brief, both of which are real virtues. I have only two comment[s]." (403(b)-457 Plans Blog)

Borrowing from 401(k) Plan May Have Positive Effects for Some Participants
Excerpt: "A new government report breaks from conventional wisdom and casts doubt on some long-held beliefs about the negative effects of borrowing from a 401(k) fund. Shifting expensive consumer debt to defined-contribution plans may make sense for some workers." (Human Resource Executive Online)

The U.S. Retirement Market, 2008 (PDF)
Excerpt: "mployer-sponsored retirement plans play a key role in helping American workers save for retirement. The bulk (nearly two-thirds) of Americans' retirement assets was held in employer-sponsored retirement plans at year-end 2008. Furthermore, a significant portion of assets held in IRAs originated in employer plans and were then transferred (or 'rolled over') into IRAs." (Investment Company Institute)

[Guidance Overview] Loans on 401(k) Plans a Tax Trap
Excerpt: "Conventional wisdom and prudent financial planning caution against borrowing against a 401(k) retirement account for anything other than emergencies. A post by Dana Wilkinson on Bankruptcy Law Network similarly urges caution in using 401(k) loans to pay off dischargeable credit card debt. Now, given last year's overwhelming decline in investment portfolio value, people who borrowed against their 401(k) plans for any reason while the market was still strong may have come out ahead, provided they are able to repay the loans as originally scheduled." (Bankruptcy Law Network, LLC)

[Guidance Overview] 403(b) Plan or 401(k) Plan: How to Decide
Excerpt: "In the half century since Congress created ?403(b) contracts, the regulatory regime has evolved to resemble ever more closely the qualified plan rules. In fact, the IRS announced at the end of 2008 that it intends to create an application for determination procedure for ?403(b) contracts. There remain, however, material differences in the two sets of rules, so that employers that have a choice should consider carefully the relative advantages and disadvantages." (Tax Management Inc.)

Stable Value: A Closer Look at This Hybrid Fixed Income Strategy
20 pages. Excerpt: "Executive summary. The financial crisis and credit crunch in 2008 have prompted plan sponsors and investors to reassess the return and risk of their investment assets. Even stable value and money market funds -- investment vehicles often considered the safest options in 401(k) plans -- have been subject to increased scrutiny (Kim and Laise, 2008). Given investors' risk?reward reassessments as well as the recent cash inflows into fixed income securities, this paper examines some of the unique characteristics of stable value funds and details the benefits and potential downsides to investing in funds of this type. We also look at the performance characteristics as well as recent negative plan events affecting these funds." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)

Workers Sticking by 401(k) Plans, Study Shows
Excerpt: "[Charles] Schwab found that among the companies whose plans it manages, 77% of eligible employees participated last year, up from 73% in 2007, according to analysis released yesterday. The firm said the uptick was largely due to companies increasingly enrolling new employees automatically." (CFO.com)

Law Firm Looks into Securities Lending at Northern Trust 401(k)
Excerpt: " The Keller Rohrback L.L.P. class-action law firm announced Thursday that it is investigating the investment activities of Northern Trust Company (NTC) and Northern Trust Investments (NTI), focusing on their securities lending program in The 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan of The McGraw-Hill Companies. The news release said the program may have resulted in severe losses to the participants' retirement savings in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Many 401(k) Sponsors Suspending Matching Contributions Are Funding Defined Benefit Pension Plans (PDF)
Pages 12- of 20 pages. Excerpt: "A review by the Employee Benefit Research Institute of 251 401(k) plan sponsors that have suspended matching contributions for their approximately 4.4 million workers finds that those employing 50 percent of the workers also maintained an open defined benefit plan. An additional 16 percent of workers were with employers that were still obligated to fund a frozen defined benefit plan. Further, 8 percent of the workers were with an employer that had both an open and a frozen defined benefit plan that carried funding obligations." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Target-Date Funds in the Spotlight: An Overview
Excerpt: "Employers . . . cannot rely entirely on the fact that under Department of Labor rules, target-date funds are qualified default investment alternatives (QDIA's) in a company's 401(k) plan. They are still liable as fiduciaries in choosing an appropriate set of target date funds for employees in the fund." (Mind Over Market)

Update on Participant Behavior Through First Quarter 2009 (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This note extends our analysis of participant behavior during volatile markets through the first quarter of 2009, and should be read in conjunction with our prior report. [See Vanguard, 2009, Inertia and Retirement Savings: Participant Behavior in 2008, Vanguard Center for Retirement Research, vanguard.com/retirementresearch.] Despite high levels of volatility in the first quarter of 2009, most plan participants made no changes to their retirement savings and investment program, continuing the trend observed during 2008." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)

Dropping Your 401(k) Match? Watch Employees Drop the Plan
Excerpt: "[W]hen organizations stop matching employee contributions, employees often stop contributing. In fact, workers are less likely to even join a 401(k) plan if there's no employer match. A Fidelity Investments report showed that about 30% of employees who participate in a workplace retirement plan contribute only the amount they need to get the full employer match." (Business Management Daily)

Risk Pooling and the Market Crash: Lessons from Canada's Pension Plan
Excerpt: "The challenge is to capture the higher expected returns equities offer in a way that provides reasonably secure and reliable incomes in retirement. One approach would make individual retirement accounts more secure and reliable through the use of mandates, defaults, guarantees, or risk-sharing arrangements. This brief offers a different approach, examining the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and how it manages the risk that comes with investing retirement savings in equities..." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Small-Business Owners Worry about Continuing 401(k) Match
Excerpt: "A Nationwide Financial Services survey found that 44% of all of the employers who responded said they may have to cut back or cut out their 401(k) match. Small-business owners seemed more concerned. Some 75% of polled small businesses don't expect the economy to affect their ability to continue offering a 401(k) plan, but 51% of the small-business owners anticipate the downturn could force them to reduce or eliminate their matching contributions." (planadvisor)

The 401(k): Employers Look to Cut Costs, Workers Crave Stability Following Market Crash
Excerpt: "Retirement plan consultants foresee financial firms and employers embracing hybrid plans with features of both 401(k)s and pensions. Fred Cox, director of compensation and benefits at Evansville-based Vectren Corp., talked with a vendor in late May about adding an annuity option to the gas and electric utility's 401(k) plan. The option would help participants invest in stable choices that guarantee a certain yearly payment upon retirement -- like a pension does. 'What you've created is sort of a floor out of what's going to come out of that annuity,' Cox said. Such tweaks are not enough for Monique Morrissey, an economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. She wants to see individual retirement accounts mandated, controlled and guaranteed by the government -- because 401(k)s have failed to provide Americans what they need in retirement." (Indianapolis Business Journal)

New Working Paper from Federal Reserve Suggests Borrowing from 401(k) Fund May Not Be So Bad
Excerpt: "A new government report breaks from conventional wisdom and casts doubt on some long-held beliefs about the negative effects of borrowing from a 401(k) fund. Shifting expensive consumer debt to defined-contribution plans may make sense for some workers." (Human Resource Executive Online)

[Opinion] American Benefits Council Proposed Modification of H.R. 1988, The Conflicted Investment Advice Prohibition Act of 2009 (PDF)
Excerpt: "H.R. 1988 is easily modified to achieve its intended purpose through a very simple amendment. Under such amendment, the following would be inserted on page 23 between lines 12 and 13: '(E) This paragraph shall not apply to investment advice provided to a plan or to a participant or beneficiary if such advice . . . ." (American Benefits Council)

Key Issues 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Need to Know (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Here is an outline of some of the issues that plan fiduciaries must consider in selecting and monitoring investment options and the costs associated with the management of plan investments." (Kelley Drye & Warren LLP)

Target-Date Funds Favored by Hands-Off Investors
Excerpt: "What recent events have taught us . . . is that all target-date funds aren't alike, even if they have similar names. The funds need better disclosures and workers need more information on how the investments work and their risks. And investors must remember that while these funds make most of the decisions for us, we can never be too complacent or too hands-off." (The Baltimore Sun)

[Guidance Overview] Safe Harbor 401(k) Chart: Factors to Consider and Key Operational Rules
Excerpt: "These are some of the basics that an employer needs to know before considering a 401(k) Safe Harbor Plan. Each employer's goals, plan design, contribution sources and demographics from a unique scenario which the employer will wish to discuss with his or her plan provider before finalizing the decision to make the plan a 401(k) Safe Harbor Plan. " (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Safe Harbor 401(k) Contributions Made to an ESOP
The first installment of a new online column by Nancy Dittmer at the NCEO Web site. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Retirement Plan Trade Association Opposes Mandatory Index Funds in 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, wants to reform 401(k) plans by [requiring] plan providers to offer investors at least one low-cost index fund. . . . [In a white paper, the SPARK Institute said it] 'does not believe that the wholesale use of passively managed funds by legal mandate will reduce plan fees and expenses or that policy makers should unilaterally determine which approach to investing is better for American workers saving for retirement . . . .' " (Financial Planning)

Rethinking Conventional Wisdom About 401(k) Loans: Better In Debt to a Plan Than a Credit Card Company
Excerpt: "Americans could save as much as $5 billion a year -- or $275 per household -- by borrowing from their 401(k) retirement accounts instead of more costly consumer loans, Federal Reserve economists Geng Li and Paul A. Smith conclude in a recent Fed working paper." (Wall Street Journal)

[Guidance Overview] Bureau of Labor Statistics Data on Employee Access to 'Other Types of Benefits,' 1979-2008
Excerpt: "Table 3 also shows the percent of workers with access to 'other benefits' in 2008. . . . The benefits with the highest rate of worker access were work-related education assistance (50 percent) and employee assistance programs (42 percent). Among the benefits with lower access rates, 2 percent of workers in private industry had access to employer-provided personal computers for home use, and 3 percent of workers had access to employer provided child-care funds." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

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