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2007 Ameriprise Workplace Financial Planning Benefit Decisions Study (PDF)

10 pages. Excerpt: Ameriprise found the employees surveyed would like their employer to provide financial planning assistance. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said a financial plan that directly addressed their workplace benefit costs and contingent financial decisions would be helpful, and 70% would be moderately or very interested in one-on-one financial planning if offered through their employer.

DC Plan Sponsors Prioritizing Financial Wellness, AI Integration and Delegation in 2026

"[P]lan sponsors reported a near equal focus on financial wellness for participants (39%) ... ensuring regulatory compliance (37%) and reducing costs (36%) in their plan.... 44% [state] that AI will have the greatest impact on the success of their plan over the next three- to five-year period.... 29% reported they are currently using or considering a MEP or PEP specifically as a way to lower plan costs.... 67% of plan sponsors said they are considering switching to a MEP or PEP or may consider it in the future. "

Defined Contribution Plans and the Challenge of Financial Illiteracy

"[The authors] show that people whose only exposure to investment decisions is by virtue of their participation in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan ... suffer from higher levels of financial illiteracy than other investors. This lack of financial literacy is critical both because of the financial consequences of poor financial decisions and because of a legal structure that relies on participant choice to limit the fiduciary obligations of the employer with respect to the structure and options provided by the retirement plan.... [The authors] propose mandated employer-provided financial education ... [and] identify and discuss three requirements that a financial education program should incorporate."

Financial Planning Coalition Urges Improvement to Investment Adviser Oversight

"There is widespread agreement on the need to provide greater protection to American investors from financial fraud. The adoption of a fiduciary standard that includes broker-dealers when providing personalized investment advice would help restore and strengthen public trust in financial advisers -- both investment advisers and broker-dealers. Any legislation that creates additional obstacles to SEC rulemaking could needlessly delay or weaken critical investor protection measures such as the fiduciary standard, however unintentionally."

Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning: New Evidence from the Rand American Life Panel (PDF)

Excerpt: The present paper introduces a new dataset, the Rand American Life Panel (ALP), which offers several appealing features for an analysis of financial literacy and retirement planning. It allows us to evaluate financial knowledge during workers' prime earning years when they are making key financial decisions, and it offers detailed financial literacy and retirement planning questions, permitting a finer assessment of respondents' financial literacy than heretofore feasible. [Working paper 2007-157]

Plan Sponsor Efforts to Provide Financial Wellness Tools Face Persistent Barriers

"While the majority of employers report feeling a responsibility to ensure their employees are financially secure, barriers still exist when it comes to utilizing financial wellness programs and leveraging technology.... [R]elevant educational content specific to individuals' needs is hard to come by ... [A]nother barrier is dealing with the 'hallucinations in AI' and figuring out what to do if an automated financial planning tool provided someone with the wrong information."

ERISA Advisory Council Report: Beyond Plan Audit Compliance -- Improving the Financial Statement Audit Process (PDF)

28 pages; Nov. 2019. "[T]he Council recommends that the Department make available to plan administrators new educational resources and access to tools and data regarding the uses of financial statement audits, specifically: Send notices to plan administrators advising them of their responsibilities regarding selecting, retaining, and interacting with the independent auditor of the plan's financial statements, and of the tools available to assist them in these responsibilities. Publish a revised brochure regarding the selection, retention and interaction with an independent auditor of the plan's financial statements, including a best practice checklist. The Council has drafted a sample checklist, which is included in Appendix A to this report. Publish a list of the most common deficiencies found in plan audits. Make more information available to plan administrators and their advisors regarding auditors who perform financial statement audits for employee benefit plans ... Expand the Department's financial statement audit education programs to target plan advisory groups in the Department's outreach."

Text of GASB Exposure Draft: Certain Component Unit Criteria, and Accounting and Financial Reporting for Internal Revenue Code Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans (PDF)

38 pages. "This proposed Statement would require that for purposes of determining whether a primary government is financially accountable for a potential component unit, except for a potential component unit that is a defined contribution pension plan, a defined contribution OPEB plan, or an other employee benefit plan (for example, a Section 457 plan to which only employees contribute), the absence of a governing board should be treated the same as the appointment of a voting majority of a governing board if the primary government performs the duties that a governing board typically performs.... In addition, this proposed Statement would require that all accounting and financial reporting requirements relevant to pension plans be applied to Section 457 plans that meet the definition of a pension plan. Similarly, this proposed Statement would specify that all accounting and financial reporting requirements relevant to pensions be applied to benefits provided through Section 457 plans that meet the definition of a pension plan."

How to Stress-Test Your Financial Plan

"You're diligently saving, investing, and planning for retirement. Everything seems to be on track, but the curveballs just keep coming -- market downturns, surprise expenses, maybe even a health scare. Such developments raise an important question: Is your financial plan sound enough to withstand significant stressors? Here's how to anticipate -- and account for -- the unexpected."

Text of PBGC Final Rule with Request for Comment: Special Financial Assistance for Financially Troubled Multiemployer Plans (PDF)

216 pages. "On July 9, 2021, PBGC issued an interim final rule setting forth the requirements for special financial assistance applications and related restrictions and conditions pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. PBGC is making changes to its regulation in response to public comments received on the interim final rule, with an additional opportunity for comment solely on the condition requiring a phased recognition of special financial assistance in a plan's determination of withdrawal liability.... "Part 4262 sets forth what information a plan is required to file to demonstrate eligibility for SFA and the amount of SFA to be paid by PBGC to the plan. The regulation identifies which plans will be given priority to file applications before March 11, 2023, and provides for a processing system to accommodate the filing and review of many applications in a limited amount of time. This part also establishes permissible investments of SFA funds and other restrictions and conditions on plans that receive SFA. "PBGC is making changes in this final rule that revise part 4262, including changes to the SFA measurement date, the methodology to calculate SFA, permissible investments of SFA funds, the application of conditions on a plan that merges with a plan that receives SFA, and the withdrawal liability conditions that apply to a plan that receives SFA."

Financial Planning is Key to Maintaining Long-Term Balance for Retirement Planning

"[W]hile investors with an established plan report a higher level of confidence (87%) and overall positive outlook for their financial security (75%), only 55% of investors have a plan in place ... In this article, we explore what is a financial plan, how we construct a financial plan with clients, and how we utilize that plan to advise clients."

Text of GASB Proposed Exposure Draft: Accounting and Financial Reporting by Governmental Employers, Regarding Postemployment Benefit Plans Other Than Pension Plans (PDF)

"This proposed Statement would replace the requirements of Statements No. 45, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions, as amended, and No. 57, OPEB Measurements by Agent Employers and Agent Multiple-Employer Plans, for OPEB. A related proposed Statement, Financial Reporting for Postemployment Benefit Plans Other Than Pension Plans, would establish new accounting and financial reporting requirements for OPEB plans. The scope of this proposed Statement addresses accounting and financial reporting for OPEB that is provided to the employees of state and local governmental employers."

Taming Your Emotions in Financial Planning for Equity Comp

"[1] Seeking a 'Scenario of Least Regret' To manage emotions In financial planning ... [2] Dealing with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) ... [3] Reframing overconfidence by considering what you have to lose ... [4] Overcoming inertia ... [5] Using a 'legacy anchor position' to provide psychological safety."

The Rise of 'Financially Dominated' Coverage Claims for Employer Health Plans

"Plaintiffs' firms have recently advanced a new theory: that employers breach their fiduciary duties by offering health insurance options so expensive relative to other options as to provide no reasonable value.... Plaintiffs attempt to analogize it to fiduciary obligations in 401(k) plan menu design, arguing that just as fiduciaries must monitor investment options, they must also ensure that health plan options are balanced and non-duplicative."

Developing a One-Page Financial Plan and Its 'Technical Appendix'

"[T]he full financial plan is incredibly important. The breadth and depth of the work that financial planners do cannot fit on one page. But it's equally important to acknowledge that the full financial plan becomes 'outdated' the instant that a client walks out of the presentation meeting, and in the end, most clients simply can't absorb the full extent of numbers and details that are encapsulated in a comprehensive financial plan."

Text of AICPA SAS No. 136: Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA (PDF)

110 pages, Jul. 9, 2019. "This Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) addresses the auditor's responsibility to form an opinion on the financial statements of employee benefit plans (EBPs) subject to [ERISA].... It also addresses the form and content of the auditor's report issued as a result of an audit of ERISA plan financial statements. This SAS applies to audits of single employer, multiple employer, and multiemployer plans subject to ERISA.... This SAS is effective for audits of ERISA plan financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2020. Early implementation is not permitted."

Text of AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards: Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA (PDF)

Final Balloted Draft; 104 pages. "This Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) addresses the auditor's responsibility to form an opinion and report on the audit of financial statements of employee benefit plans (EBPs) subject to [ERISA], hereinafter referred to as ERISA plans. It also addresses the form and content of the auditor's report issued as a result of an audit of ERISA plan financial statements.... When issued as final, this SAS is effective for audits of ERISA plan financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is not permitted."

Financial Planning as an Advisory Firm Employee Benefit

"[I]ssues to consider for advisory firms that want to ... [offer] financial planning as an employee benefit to the employees of their own firm [include] ... [1] whether to provide such services internally or externally, [2] whether to let employees choose their own advisor, [3] the tax consequences to consider, and [4] why providing financial planning to employees can actually provide an Return On Investment as employees gain better perspective on how to improve the firm's client experience (by actually experiencing financial planning themselves!)."

Designing the Financial Planning Software of the Future -- Calculator, Collaboration Tool, and Client Personal Financial Management

"[T]he evolution of planning software is creating distinct new challenges from a software design perspective, as the tools are increasingly used in three distinct contexts: an interactive collaborative planning tool between advisors and clients in meetings, an ongoing monitoring and personal financial management (PFM) tool for clients, and an advisor support tool for everything from complex analyses to tracking and alerting which clients need assistance. Not to mention the increasing amount of 'meta data' available about the advisory business and its clients as well. In fact, going forward financial planning software designers may need to increasingly view the use of the software through each of these distinct lenses -- advisor, client, and advisor-client interaction, as well as business meta-data -- to advance the efficacy of planning software."

What Do Plan Participants Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor?

"[F]or nearly nine-in-ten (89 percent) of retirement plan participants, honesty and trustworthiness are the most important criteria in choosing a financial advisor. Eighty-five percent of retirement plan participants surveyed ... place the highest premium on a financial advisor's transparency and being kept in the look on what they are doing in regard to their investments. For eight-in-ten, a financial advisor's investment track record and fees or commissions charged are the most important factors in choosing an advisor. Other factors retirement plan participants consider important when choosing an advisor include having access to products from a variety of different companies (73 percent), website and online services offered (63 percent) and the renown of the financial advisor's brand or company (61 percent)."