A retirement plan is often established at one point in a company’s history and then left largely unchanged. Meanwhile, the business keeps evolving. Employees are hired. Payroll increases. Ownership changes. New goals take shape. What worked well five years ago may no longer be a good fit today. The Problem: Read more
It seems to make sense to follow up last week’s Roth Catch-Up article with a discussion of the other major change to the catch-up rules under SECURE 2.0. This time, we are talking about the enhanced catch-up contribution opportunity for participants aged 60 through 63. As employees get older Read more
Beginning with the 2026 calendar year, some of the higher-paid employees are not permitted to make age 50+ catch-up contributions on a pre-tax basis. This means that these participants are required to make any catch-up contributions on a Roth basis. This rule applies to both 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Before Read more
The retirement plan world has plenty of fiduciary myths floating around. Some are outdated. Some are oversimplified. Some have been corrected a hundred times. Yet, somehow, they keep showing up like flies at a picnic. To wrap up this series about fiduciary responsibility, I offer the following seven myths that Read more
Most fiduciary mistakes do not start with evil intentions. They usually start with assumptions, inconsistency, or the very human belief that “someone else is probably handling that.” In retirement plan administration, that phrase has been the beginning of many unnecessary headaches. The good news is that many common fiduciary mistakes Read more
There was a time when retirement plan fiduciary discussions focused mostly on investments and fees. While those topics still matter, there is another issue squarely on the list. Cybersecurity Retirement plans hold sensitive personal and financial information, and participant accounts are attractive targets for fraud and cybercrime. Therefore, cybersecurity is Read more
Participant communication does not get the same attention as investments or fees, but it probably should. Clear, timely, and accurate communication is an important part of retirement plan oversight. When participants are confused about eligibility, deferral elections, matching contributions, investment choices, or distribution options, it can create real problems. Fiduciaries Read more
As I indicated in my last blog post, in retirement plan governance, good processes matter. But if that process isn’t documented, it may be much more difficult to prove a prudent process even exists. This is why documentation is such an important part of fiduciary oversight. Plan sponsors and committees Read more
One of the most common misunderstandings among retirement plan sponsors is the idea that fiduciary prudence can be measured solely by investment returns. Under ERISA, prudence is not about whether every one of your plan’s investment options outperforms each of the benchmarks every quarter. If it were, fiduciary oversight would Read more
Financial literacy isn’t just about managing money; it’s about developing the mindset and skills needed to make informed financial decisions throughout life. It’s understanding how money works, how to budget, how to save, how to invest, and how to use credit wisely. It’s knowing the difference between needs and wants, Read more