Category Archives: Corporate Retirement Plan News

25 Oct

Fees Can Be Touchy Subject for Advisers

October 20, 2014

No one wants to talk about it, but everyone wants to know: How do other retirement plan advisers arrive at a fee for their plans? Here, some advisers weigh in on their methods.

The basis of compensation—flat fee or using a percentage of plan assets—is one of the biggest dividing lines in determining fees. More advisers seem to be using a flat fee to charge institutional retirement plans for their services, but they might wind up with comparable fees in the end.

Masood Vojdani, president and CEO of MV Financial in Bethesda, Maryland, works on an asset-based compensation model until a plan hits $100 million. “If plan assets become too large, a flat fee is the only way to remain competitive in pricing,” he tells PLANADVISER.

Up to that size, Vojdani turns to quantifiable factors such as the size of the assets, number of participants, level of service and hours of service dedicated to the plan to calculate a fee. Investment strategy and active management of the plan’s portfolios are also considered, since they require the firm’s time and staff service.

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02 Oct

DoL Will Allow for Electronic Disclosure to Participants

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued an interim electronic disclosure policy for its participant fee disclosure regulations.

The upcoming participant fee disclosure regulation, set to take effect May 31, 2012, requires employers to disclose more information about plan and investment costs to workers in qualified plans. There has generally been support for allowing electronic disclosure from the industry (see “ASPPA Sees “Overwhelming” Response for Electronic Disclosure”).
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02 Oct

DoL Discusses Participant Fee Disclosure Regs

The U.S. Department of Labor held a Webcast earlier this week to summarize its final fee disclosure regulations and answer questions on the rules.

Michael Del Conte, Employee Benefits Law Specialist with the Office of Regulations and Interpretations in the Division of Regulations, noted a plan sponsor may use providers’ assistance with providing participants fee information and explained under the innocent fiduciary provision of the regulations, the sponsor will not be held liable for incomplete or inaccurate information provided by a service provider if the sponsor used the information reasonably and in good faith in disclosures to participants.
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05 Sep

Fiduciary Support Not a Focus in Provider Search

Although regulatory changes to fiduciary responsibilities and
disclosures loom on the horizon, plan sponsors of all sizes say that
strong fiduciary support services falls low on the list of factors that influence their choice of plan providers.

Retirement Planscape 2011, a new study by Cogent Research, shows fiduciary support services is ranked 12th overall, being lowest among micro plans (those who oversee plans with less than $5 million in assets) where only 9% say it matters.
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05 Sep

Uncertainty Makes It Hard to Plan for Retirement

Shifting and uncertain retirement dates are becoming the norm in the
American workforce, making it harder for employees to establish
meaningful financial plans, recent MetLife research indicates.
According to the company’s 9th annual Employee Benefits Trends Study, four out of ten employees have changed their predicted retirement date since last year, and 30% raised their expected retirement age. Furthermore, this trepidation about hitting retirement goals could be accelerating; 59% of workers in the study expect to work beyond age 65, compared with 52% one year ago.

Given these indistinct targets, many employees lack confidence in their ability to prepare for the culmination of their working years, with only 39% feeling assured about managing the funds in their employer-sponsored retirement plan, according to the survey findings.
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05 Sep

401(k) Law Suppresses Saving for Retirement

A 2006 law designed to boost employees’ retirement-savings is having the opposite effect for some people. Under the law, companies are allowed to automatically enroll workers in their 401(k) plans, rather than require employees to sign up on their own. The measure was intended to encourage more people to bulk up their retirement nest eggs—a key goal in a country where millions of people aren’t saving enough.

But an analysis done for The Wall Street Journal shows about 40% of new hires at companies with automatic enrollments are socking away less money than they would if left to enroll voluntarily, the Employee Benefit Research Institute found. The nonprofit performed a complex computer simulation of savings patterns drawing on data from more than 20 million 401(k) participants.
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16 Jun

Who is The New Fiduciary?

The Department of Labor’s (DoL) proposal for a new definition of fiduciary was discussed at the PLANSPONSOR National Conference—and a representative from the DoL was present to add his viewpoint.

Michael Davis, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the DoL, today began by saying how the concept of fiduciary is the core component of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  ERISA was created to protect participants and their assets, he said, and the fiduciary serves as the umbrella for these protections. The original five-part test to determine if one is acting as a fiduciary (the advice is individualized, provided for a fee, provided on a regular basis, pursuant to a mutual understanding between the plan sponsor and adviser, and the advice will form the primary basis for the plan’s decision-making), is being overhauled, Davis said, to better protect plan sponsors—particularly sponsors of smaller plans.
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16 Jun

Many Employers Feel Responsible for Benefits and Advice

Slightly more than half (53%) of employers feel responsible for providing financial vehicles, as well as education and advice, to help their employees have a secure retirement, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.   
The Workplace Benefits Report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch examined the role of financial benefit plans in employers’ talent management strategies and in the overall financial well-being of their employees.
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