Draft as of October 24, 2025; form revision date December 2025.  MORE >>

"A related news release touts the advisory opinion as a step in implementing the recent executive order on alternative assets in 401(k) plans. While this guidance may reassure plan fiduciaries considering this specific program as a QDIA, ... whether a fiduciary has satisfied its ERISA obligations in selecting a particular investment option to be a QDIA depends on the facts and circumstances."  MORE >>

"[FEMA] issued Major Disaster Declarations on October 22, 2025, for [recent disasters in Alaska, North Dakota, Nebraska, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota]. For a limited period following a disaster declaration, eligible IRA owners and employer plan participants may take qualified disaster recovery distributions and recontribute qualified home purchase distributions that they recently received. In addition, plan participants may qualify for plan loan relief and additional hardship distributions."  MORE >>

"Although the 2.8% COLA is only 0.3% more than the 2.5% increase in 2025, it isn't far from the historical average. The COLA has averaged about 2.6% over the past 20 years. It went as low as 0.0% in 2016 amid declining prices, and as high as 8.7% in 2023 when inflation spiked after COVID disruptions."  MORE >>

"While only 19% of respondents' recent retirement decisions were influenced by a professional, 83% of those working with an adviser said they felt confident in managing investments.... Advisers are now using wealth management technology to gain visibility into all client's accounts -- not just those held at their own firm. This shift allows for more personalized, effective advice and a stronger financial strategy overall."  MORE >>

"Significant parts of the retirement industry can be uniquely resistant to innovative programs which are unfamiliar to the market.... There is a particular cynicism for insurance based products, like RLP, because of a commonly held belief that insurance companies and products, by their nature, are designed to use their large financial leverage to take advantage of the consumer."  MORE >>

18 pages. "Unlike 401(k)s, which average 0.85% in fees7, Safe Harbor IRAs often charge flat, seemingly low, monthly fees ($1-$5) that disproportionately erode small balances. On the average Safe Harbor account size of $2,718 this can be as high as 2.2% annually ... Enrollment fees can reach 20% of the initial balance, even for participants who didn't choose to enroll. This practice erodes the principal investment, lowering the return potential of its lifetime."  MORE >>

"When companies were asked if they were considering adding benefits within the next 24 months, 20% answered yes. Of that total, 27% were considering adding financial counseling benefits, 15% personal security, and 14% an executive physical exam.... [F]inancial counseling was the most popular benefit, with 72% of companies offering it to their CEOs and 76% to their senior executives."  MORE >>