403B | Compass Corporate Retirement Solutions BLOG

17 Sep

Who Can Advise At Company Retirement Plans

By Kristen McNamara

Independent financial advisers will benefit from the rule-making that is under way regarding which financial professionals can advise participants in company-sponsored retirement plans — and which ones can’t.

Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of Labor of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, said this week the department expects to strike a proposal that would have allowed advisers connected to investment companies to provide retirement advice.
Continue reading “Who Can Advise At Company Retirement Plans” »

17 Sep

Experts Pin Hopes on Labor Department for Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure Regulations

Retirement plan fee disclosure regulations from the Department of Labor are preferable to legislation because they allow for a comment period from the industry.

Industry experts are hoping the Department of Labor pre-empts Congress in issuing new regulations mandating increased disclosures for retirement plan fees.
Continue reading “Experts Pin Hopes on Labor Department for Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure Regulations” »

17 Sep

Early Returns in 401(k) Fee Cases Favor Defendants

September 16, 2009
Bob Eccles, Wayne Jacobsen

A recent spate of so-called 401(k) fee cases has generated anxiety among employers and 401(k) service providers. While the majority of these cases remain undecided, the early returns are positive for employers and service providers. This Client Alert provides a brief overview of the most significant developments and expected future events in these cases.
Continue reading “Early Returns in 401(k) Fee Cases Favor Defendants” »

14 Sep

Labor Department nixes Bush rule to let brokers advise 401(k) plans

By Sara Hansard
September 14, 2009, 4:38 PM EST

The Department of Labor is killing a regulation issued in the last days of the Bush administration that would have allowed advisers affiliated with mutual funds, brokerage firms and other companies that sell investments to provide investment advice to 401(k) participants.

“We believe the final investment advice regulation published in the Jan. 21, Federal Register went too far in permitting investment advice arrangements not specifically contemplated by the statutory exemption,” said Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, a unit of the Labor Department.
Continue reading “Labor Department nixes Bush rule to let brokers advise 401(k) plans” »

14 Sep

Retirement Losses among Worst Effects of Recession

Fred Schneyer

September 14, 2009 — Some 56% of respondents in a recent survey said their retirement savings losses were among the most significant impacts on their lives from the economic downturn.

An American Express news release about its spending poll also reported that 54% of respondents cited stock market losses, while 74% pointed to the trauma of seeing family and friends affected by the recession as key impacts the recession had on their lives.
Continue reading “Retirement Losses among Worst Effects of Recession” »

11 Sep

Workers Turn to Employers, Advisers for Retirement Help

Rebecca Moore

September 10, 2009 — A new study shows that most workers do not understand their retirement savings plans as well as other employer-provided benefits.

One in three (34%) Americans polled said they have little or no understanding of their retirement plan and three in four (74%) said they have less than a complete understanding, according to a release of results from The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. Employees indicated they had a better understanding of other benefits provided through their employer, such as medical coverage and life insurance.
Continue reading “Workers Turn to Employers, Advisers for Retirement Help” »

01 Sep

10 Things You’re (Probably) Doing Wrong—or Not Doing Right—as a Plan Fiduciary

IMHO: “To Do” List
Nevin E. Adams, JD

http://www.planadviser.com/NewsColumnists.aspx?id=6468
August 16, 2009 —

Being a plan fiduciary is a tough job—and one that, it’s probably fair to say—is underappreciated, if not undercompensated. In my experience, most who find themselves in that role (see “IMHO: Duty Calls”) I think do an admirable job of living up to the spirit, if not the letter, of their responsibilities.
Continue reading “10 Things You’re (Probably) Doing Wrong—or Not Doing Right—as a Plan Fiduciary” »

17 Aug

The process of picking a co-fiduciary

Delegating such a major responsibility requires prudence, planning and procedures

By Blaine F. Aikin
August 16, 2009

By definition, prudence involves the exercise of skill and good judgment in the use of resources. It is a core fiduciary duty. Consistent with the stature of fiduciary obligations as the highest known to law, fiduciaries are expected to ensure that investments entrusted to their care are managed with the skill and judgment of a professional.
Continue reading “The process of picking a co-fiduciary” »

16 Aug

The practical side of being a fiduciary

By Jerry Kalish
August 1, 2009
It’s a tough world out there now for retirement plan fiduciaries. Buffeted by the most complex set of forces since ERISA arrived in 1974, plan fiduciaries today must cope with heightened compliance enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, increasing litigation by plan participants and tightened fiduciary liability insurance markets.Despite all these forces that are swirling around, there are some practical ways that fiduciaries can effectively manage their responsibilities. But before you say, “I’m not a fiduciary,” you should double-check. As an HR/benefits executive, you may be a fiduciary if you:
Continue reading “The practical side of being a fiduciary” »