The Retirement Readiness Challenge: Five Ways Employers Can Improve Their 401(k)s

Originally posted October 20, 2014 on www.ifebp.org.

Today, nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® ("TCRS") released anew study and infographic identifying five ways employers can improve their 401(k)s.  As part of TCRS' 15th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, this study explores employers' views on the economy, their companies, and retirement benefits. It compares and contrasts employers' views with workers' perspectives.

"As the economy continues its prolonged recovery from the recession, our survey found upbeat news that many employers are hiring additional employees. Moreover, they recognize the value of offering retirement benefits," said Catherine Collinson, president of TCRS.

Seventy-two percent of employers have hired additional employees in the last 12 months (compared to only 16 percent that say they have implemented layoffs or downsizing). Among employers that offer a 401(k) or similar plan (e.g., SEP, SIMPLE), the vast majority (89 percent) believe their plans are important for their ability to attract and retain talent.

Retirement Benefits and Savings Are Increasing (Yet More Can Be Done)

Employers are increasingly offering 401(k) or similar plans to their employees. Between 2007 and 2014, the survey found that the percentage of employers offering a 401(k) or similar plan increased from 72 percent to 79 percent. The offering of a plan is highest among large companies of 500 or more employees (98 percent) and small non-micro companies of 100 to 499 employees (95 percent) and lowest among micro companies of 10 to 99 employees (73 percent).

During the recession and its aftereffects, many 401(k) plan sponsors suspended or eliminated their matching contributions. Plan sponsors that offer matching contributions dropped from 80 percent in 2007 to approximately 70 percent from 2009 to 2012. In 2014, the survey found that 77 percent of plan sponsors now offer a match, nearly rebounding to the 2007 level.

"Despite the tumultuous economy in recent years, 401(k) plan participants stayed on course with their savings," said Collinson. According to the worker survey, participation rates among workers who are offered a plan have increased from 77 percent in 2007 to 80 percent in 2014. Among plan participants, annual salary contribution rates have increased from seven percent (median) in 2007 to eight percent (median) in 2014, with a slight dip to six percent during the economic downturn.

Workers' total household retirement savings increased between 2007 and 2014. The 2014 estimated median household retirement savings is $63,000, a significant increase from 2007, when the estimated median was just $47,000. Notably, Baby Boomers have saved $127,000 (estimated median) in household retirement accounts compared to $75,000 in 2007. "For some workers, current levels of retirement savings may be adequate; for many others, they are not enough," said Collinson.

Five Ways Employers Can Improve Their 401(k)s

"401(k)s play a vital role in helping workers save and invest for retirement," said Collinson. "Until every American worker is on track to achieve a financially secure retirement, there will be opportunities for further innovation and refinements to our retirement system."

The survey identified five ways in which employers, with assistance from their retirement plan advisors and providers, can improve their 401(k)s. Plan sponsors are encouraged to consider these enhancements to their plans:

1. Adopt automatic plan features to increase savings rates

"Automatic enrollment is a feature that eliminates the decision-making and action steps normally required of employees to enroll and start contributing to a 401(k) or similar plan," said Collinson. "It simply automatically enrolls employees. They need only take action if they choose to opt out and not contribute to the plan."

The percentage of plan sponsors offering automatic enrollment increased from 23 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2014. Plan sponsors' adoption of automatic enrollment is most prevalent at large companies. Fifty-five percent of large companies offer automatic enrollment, compared to just 27 percent of small non-micro companies and 21 percent of micro companies.

Plan sponsors automatically enroll participants at a default contribution rate of just three percent (median) of an employee's annual pay. "Defaulting plan participants into a 401(k) plan at three percent of annual pay can be very misleading because it implies that it is adequate to fund an individual's or family's retirement when in most cases, it is not," said Collinson. "Plan sponsors should consider defaulting participants at a rate of six percent or more of an employee's annual pay."

"Automatic increases can help drive up savings rates: Seventy percent of workers who are offered a plan say they would be likely to take advantage of a feature that automatically increases their contributions by one percent of their salary either annually or when they receive a raise, until such a time when they choose to discontinue the increases," said Collinson.

2. Incorporate professionally managed services and asset allocation suites

Professionally managed services such as managed accounts, and asset allocation suites, including target date and target risk funds, have become staple investment options offered by plan sponsors to their employees. These options enable plan participants to invest in professionally managed services or funds that are essentially tailored to his/her goals, years to retirement, and/or risk tolerance profile.

Eighty-four percent of plan sponsors now offer some form of managed account service and/or asset allocation suite, including:

56 percent offer target date funds that are designed to change allocation percentages for participants as they approach their target retirement year; 54 percent offer target risk funds that are designed to address participants' specific risk tolerance profiles; and, 64 percent offer an account (or service) that is managed by a professional investment advisor who makes investment or allocation decisions on participants' behalf.

"For plan participants lacking the expertise to set their own 401(k) asset allocation among various funds, professionally managed accounts and asset allocation suites can be a convenient and effective solution. However, it is important to emphasize that plan sponsors' inclusion of these options, like other 401(k) investments, requires careful due diligence as well as disclosing methodologies, benchmarks, and fees to their plan participants," said Collinson.

3. Add the Roth 401(k) option to facilitate after-tax contributions

"Roth 401(k) can help plan participants diversify their risk involving the tax treatment of their accounts when they reach retirement age," said Collinson. The Roth option enables participants to contribute to their 401(k) or similar plan on an after-tax basis with tax-free withdrawals at retirement age. It complements the long-standing ability for participants to contribute to the plan on a tax-deferred basis. Plan sponsors' offering of the Roth 401(k) feature has increased from 19 percent in 2007 to 52 percent in 2014.

4. Extend eligibility to part-time workers to help expand retirement plan coverage

"Expanding coverage so that all workers have the opportunity to save for retirement in the workplace continues to be a topic of public policy dialogue. A tremendous opportunity for increasing coverage is part-time workers," said Collinson. Only 49 percent of 401(k) or similar plan sponsors say they extend eligibility to part-time workers to save in their plans.

"Employers should consider consulting with their retirement plan advisors and providers to discuss the feasibility of offering their part-time workers the opportunity to save for retirement," said Collinson.

5. Address any disconnects between employers and workers regarding benefits and preparations

The survey findings revealed some major disconnects between employers and workers regarding retirement benefits and preparations. For example: Ninety-five percent of employers that offer a 401(k) or similar plan agree that their employees are satisfied with the retirement plan that their company offers; yet, in stark contrast, only 80 percent of workers who are offered such a plan agree that they are satisfied with their employers' plans.

"Starting a dialogue between employers and their employees could help employers maximize the value of their benefits offering while also helping their employees achieve retirement readiness," said Collinson. Just 23 percent of employers have surveyed their employees on retirement benefits and even fewer workers (11 percent) have spoken with their supervisor or HR department on the topic in the past year.

by 6d-destani

Is it time for a checkup for your client's 401(k) plan?

Originally posted September 19, 2014 by Keith R. McMurdy on https://ebn.benefitnews.com.

As we approach the end of the plan year for most plans, now is a good time for plan administrators and plan sponsors to give their 401(k) plans a quick once over to see if everything is properly in place. The IRS even provides a 401(k) plan checklist with some suggested corrective mechanisms that can be taken to bring plans into compliance.

A good starting place for a compliance tune up is to see if you can answer some basic questions about your plan:

  1.         Who are the trustees?
  2.         Who is the plan administrator?
  3.         Who are the outside service providers and how often are they contacted?
  4.         What are the plan’s eligibility rules and who is responsible for verifying them?
  5.         How are participants notified of eligibility?
  6.         How is plan documentation distributed?
  7.         Where are the plan records kept?
  8.         Who is responsible for preparing and filing the form 5500?

After you get past these, some basic questions about plan administration come into play:

  1.            Who keeps track of contributions and limits?
  2.            How does the plan define “compensation”?
  3.            What is the vesting schedule?
  4.            Are there required contributions from the employer?
  5.            Who is responsible for the discrimination testing?
  6.            Does the plan permit loans and how are they tracked?
  7.            Who is responsible for reporting to participants?
  8.            How are distributions made and who is the contact person?

The reason I bring this topic up is that I was recently working with a client who had one person who was solely responsible for benefit administration. Unfortunately that person passed away suddenly and no other person in the organization could answer any questions about the 401(k) plan. Although it seems like the above information is simple to collect, the company still spent hours and hours recreating the plan history because they neglected to keep a record of how the answers to these questions had changed over the years.

Think of your 401(k) plan as a well maintained car. It needs a check up on a regular basis to keep running smoothly. You have to keep records of what was done and you have to know where the important information is if you need it. Just like your car, you hope your 401(k) plan never breaks down. But in anticipation of a future problem, it is worthwhile to stop and make a record of the responsibility for plan administration and the current status of the plan. That way it will be easier to make repairs if they ever become needed.

by 6d-destani

Why employees need 401(k) investment advice

Originally posted August 21, 2014 by Michael Giardina on https://ebn.benefitnews.com

This retirement disconnect is not surprising, according to Schwab Retirement Plan Services, which released a survey this week of more than 1,000 401(k) plan participants. “We often see that participants are hesitant to take action when they’re not completely comfortable with the matter at hand, and this is especially true when it comes to financial decisions,” says Steve Anderson, head of retirement plan services at Charles Schwab.

Aside from health coverage, the survey found nearly 90% of workers agreed that the 401(k) is a “must-have” benefit, more than extra vacation days or the ability to telecommute. However, employees said they spent more time researching options for a new car (about 4.3 hours) or vacations (about 3.8 hours) than researching their 401(k) investment choices (2.1 hours).

“The fact that an overwhelming majority of workers demand 401(k)s is good news, because it shows that people understand that they are responsible for their own retirement,” Anderson tells EBN. “Participating in a 401(k) program helps workers develop the discipline to save, and the earlier they begin to save, the more prepared they will be for retirement.”

Meanwhile, about half of plan participants said that their defined contribution plan’s investment options can be more confusing than their health benefits options. But gaining the needed assistance to understand the real value of their retirement plan was not top-of-mind for employees, as respondents said they were more likely to hire someone to perform an oil change to their vehicle, landscape their yard or help with their taxes than to seek out assistance for their 401(k) investments.

Anderson adds that while educational resources from plan sponsors may be just what employees need to make sound investment decisions, he says that “if participants have to seek out these resources on their own, chances are they won’t utilize them to their full benefit.”

Even with the prevalence of auto-enrollment and auto-escalation, employers may still have to do more. Only one-quarter of employees with access to professional 401(k) advice report having used it, says Anderson.

“Now employers can take the next step in plan design by proactively delivering advice to their employees,” Anderson explains. “We know getting advice can make a big difference for workers, as we’ve witnessed the impact of 401(k) advice on participant outcomes.”

For example, 70% of respondents noted that they would feel extremely or very confident in their investment decisions if they used a financial professional. Meanwhile, only 39% highlight the same confidence level if they opted to make those investment choices themselves.

“Participants who receive advice save more, are better diversified and stay the course in times of market volatility,” Anderson explains.

by 6d-destani

10 tips to help employees boost their retirement savings

Originally posted on https://ebn.benefitnews.com.

Even if they began saving late or have yet to begin, it's important for your plan participants to know they are not alone, and there are steps they can take to kick-start their retirement plan. Merrill Lynch has provided the following tips to help boost their savings - no matter what their stage of life - and pursue the retirement they envision.

1: Focus on starting today

Especially if you're just beginning to put money away for retirement, start saving and investing as much as you can now, and let compound interest have an opportunity to work in your favor.

2: Contribute to your 401(k)

If your employer offers a traditional 401(k) plan, it allows you to contribute pre-tax money, which can be a significant advantage; you can invest more of your income without feeling it as much in your monthly budget.

3. Meet your employer's match

If your employer offers to match your 401(k) plan, make sure you contribute at least enough to take full advantage of the match.

4: Open an IRA

Consider an individual retirement account to help build your nest egg.

5: Automate your savings

Make your savings automatic each month and you'll have the opportunity to potentially grow your nest egg without having to think about it.

6: Rein in spending

Examine your budget. You might negotiate a lower rate on your car insurance or save by bringing your lunch to work instead of buying it.

7: Set a goal

Knowing how much you'll need not only makes the process of investing easier but also makes it more rewarding. Set benchmarks along the way, and gain satisfaction as you pursue your retirement goal.

8: Stash extra funds

Extra money? Don't just spend it. Every time you receive a raise, increase your contribution percentage. Dedicate at least half of the new money to your retirement savings.

9: Take advantage of catch-up contributions

One of the reasons it's important to start early if you can is that yearly contributions to IRAs and 401(k) plans are limited. The good news? Once you reach age 50, these limits rise, allowing you to try to catch up on your retirement savings. Currently, the 401(k) contribution limit is $17,500 for 2013. If you are age 50 or older the limit increases by $5,500.

10: Consider delaying Social Security as you get closer to retirement

For every year you can delay receiving a Social Security payment before you reach age 70, you can increase the amount you receive in the future." The delayed retirement credits range from 3% to 8% annually, depending on the year you were born. Pushing your retirement back even one year could significantly boost your Social Security income during retirement.

by 6d-destani

DOL cracks down on employer 401(k) issues

Originally posted March 31, 2014 by Scott Wooldridge on www.benefitspro.com

The press release headlines are sobering: “U.S. Labor Department files suit to remove trustees,” “Department of Labor files suit to recover unpaid contributions to 401(k) plan,” and “Judge orders trustees to restore losses.”

The Department of Labor website is overflowing with cases of regulators taking action against employers accused of mishandling employee benefit plans.

Among the most common cases: errors in administering 401(k) plans. Although Labor Department officials and experts in the ERISA field say the majority of cases are errors in reporting and do not result in civil lawsuits, the numbers of benefit plan cases investigated (of all kinds) are still impressive: the DOL closed 3,677 investigations in 2013, with nearly 73 percent of those resulting in monetary fines or other corrective action. Lawsuits were filed in 111 of those cases.

The department says it is working to educate employers about how to avoid errors, including conducting seminars and providing information on the DOL website.

In a March 21 blog post, Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of Labor for employee benefits security, noted that employers could find it challenging to administer benefits such as 401(K) plans.

“Most fiduciaries — people who have key responsibilities and obligations to an employee benefit plan — and employers want to do the right thing,” she said in the piece. “However, inadvertent mistakes can create significant problems for fiduciaries and participants.”

The problems can lead to substantial monetary fines and settlements.

In January, for example, the DOL announced that a Chicago-area manufacturing firm, Hico Flex Brass, would pay $79,000 to settle a case in which the company failed to properly distribute 401(k) earnings to employees.

A Jan. 10 complaint by the DOL asked the courts to rule that a machine shop in Santa Maria, Calif., should restore $58,000 in 401(k) contributions that the company improperly mixed with other business accounts.

For large companies, the costs are even higher.

A lawsuit brought by employees of International Paper resulted in a $30 million settlement in January, although that case was litigated by a law firm and not the DOL.

Even when the dollar figures aren’t as high, cases involving 401(k) administrative errors can hit small and medium-sized employers hard.

Lawyers who work on employee benefits cases say many employers don’t pay close enough attention to the complexities of administering retirement plans.

“It’s just difficult at times for employers to keep up and attend to all the details,” said John Nichols, an employment benefits lawyer with Minneapolis-based Gray Plant Mooty. “The rules are complex, and the administration of the plans is correspondingly complex.”

Plenty of room for error

“The reality is that running a benefit plan such as a 401(k) plan has a lot of room for error built into it,” said Stephen Rosenberg, an ERISA attorney with The McCormack Firm, based in Boston. “Many of these small and medium-sized companies are focused on running their business. They need to provide a 401(k) as an employee benefit but they don’t really have the internal resources to do this.”

Rosenberg said even large businesses often stumble with retirement plan administration. “Retirement plans, including 401(k) plans, are probably more regulated than anything in American economic life short of nuclear power plants,” he said. “It’s very difficult for any company not large enough to have a dedicated legal staff to hit every hurdle correctly.”

Nichols said that the DOL tends to investigate certain areas of plan administration pretty consistently. “You see a lot of similarity” of the cases, he noted. “One exercise (employers can consider) is to go down the list of typical cases and say, ‘How are we doing in each of these areas?’”

Common pitfalls

So what are the areas the DOL tends to investigate? The experts interviewed for this story agreed that there are several areas where problems may trigger a DOL investigation of employers.

One is failing to make a timely remittance to the 401(k) plan. Under federal rules, funds from an employee’s paycheck have to be submitted to their retirement account no more than 15 days after the money is withheld from the paycheck.

A second common issue is making sure employees get their statements in a timely manner. Proper disclosure of fees owed to the plan’s fiduciaries (the company in charge of administering the funds for the plan) is another area that DOL looks at closely. And some companies have been found noncompliant for failing to maintain fidelity bonds for their plans, a safeguard against misuse of funds.

“I do see companies who are loose about when they make deposits; they just treat it like the rest of the cash flow in the company,” said Rosenberg.

Avoiding costly mistakes

Rosenberg and Nichols said there are several steps employers can take to avoid trouble with DOL regulators.

They both said companies need to take their fiduciary responsibilities seriously, and not expect that a retirement plan will run itself. An important first step is keeping good records.

“If you have a committee that is responsible for the administration of the plan or its investments, make sure that they meet regularly and that you keep a good record of committee actions, what’s discussed, and how decisions are made,” Nichols said.

Getting help

Rosenberg said companies need to be realistic about whether they have the time, resources, and knowledge to administer and monitor retirement plans themselves.

“The key in many ways for smaller and midsized companies is really to find a very good outside consultant — and I don’t mean your vendor,” he said. “If you have a huge company you have a department to do this. If you’re not, bring in a consultant and outsource that role.”

Nichols agreed that the vendor — the financial services company that provides the investment plan — has a limited role. “Vendors are pretty good at allocating accounts and providing access to account information,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that the whole job is done. You didn’t get a totally turnkey product. There are things you need to do as well.”

Failing to watch, of course, could mean triggering a DOL action.

“There’s always a monitoring responsibility,” a DOL spokesperson said. “The criteria we use is, ‘You should have known. You might not have known, but you should have known.’”

by 6d-destani

401(k) contribution remittance: What’s an employer to do?

Originally posted March 19, 2014 by Kerri Norment on https://eba.benefitnews.com

Over the past several years the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has identified delinquent employee contributions as an ongoing national policy priority. With assets in 401(k)-type plans reaching $2.8 trillion on behalf of more than 50 million active participants, protecting employee contributions has become more important for the government, particularly since employees have been forced to take more responsibility for their retirement savings.

On the other hand, employers and sponsors of 401(k) plans are responsible for ensuring plans comply with federal law. But ever-changing interpretations of government regulations have resulted in employers being out of compliance with certain rules and not even knowing it.

One particular regulation that has been a source of confusion for employers — and in some cases, has landed them in hot water with the DOL — is the timely deposit of employee contributions into 401(k) plans. The regulation states employers should remit employee contributions on the earliest date they can reasonably be segregated from the employer’s general assets, but no later than the 15th business day of the following month. While this has come to be known as the "15 day rule," the reality is that deposits — for small and large plans — are expected to be made much sooner.

In fact, the DOL issued an amendment to the regulation in January 2010 to create a safe harbor rule under which small plans — classified as plans with fewer than 100 participants — would be considered in compliance if employee contributions were deposited within seven business days. The DOL has not issued a similar safe harbor rule for large plans. However, most in the industry believe larger plans will be held to an equal, if not higher, standard, meaning deposits should be made within two to three business days.

If you are scratching your head on this one, you’re not alone. When the regulation was implemented, there were no automated payroll processing systems that allowed for contributions to be easily segregated from general assets. With advancements in technology, this process is essentially instantaneous. And because of it, the DOL has changed its expectations on remittance, despite not rewriting the rule.

So what’s an employer to do? The best advice is to be consistent. If an employer demonstrates the ability to remit contributions within one business day, the employer better make sure all remittances happen within one business day each pay period  — no exceptions! The second best advice, don’t rely on safe harbor rules to protect you.

If you find your plan is not in compliance with the new interpretation of the regulation, it is recommended you self-correct the plan. The DOL website provides a guide for correcting under the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program that even includes a user-friendly online calculator for lost earnings.

As in most cases, knowledge is power. Whether that knowledge is obtained through the use of a reputable service provider, consultant, or HR expert, employers and plan sponsors must stay on top of changes in government regulations and rules.

by 6d-destani

4 Retirement Mistakes 30-Somethings Make -- And How They Can Avoid Them in 2014

Originally posted by Nancy Anderson on https://www.forbes.com

Any wise financial planner knows to get a second opinion on her own retirement plan. So I wasn’t surprised when a 30-year-old colleague asked me to be her second look, and I gave her my opinion freely.

As you’d expect from a Certified Financial Planner ™ professional, she had her basics down. She had an emergency fund with six months of her net income, no credit card debt, and she was on track to replace her income in retirement. In fact, at the rate she is going, she will replace over 100% of her income in retirement. When I reflected on our meeting later, I wondered why more 30-year-olds aren’t as prepared as she is.

But then I realized that she is in the industry, and is not making a lot of false assumptions that other younger people make. Decisions based on the wrong information can lead to costly mistakes, and the results could be as serious as having to delay retirement or living on a reduced income later.

Here are four false assumptions that a lot of people in their 30s make—and ways to help them to stay on the right track for retirement.

1. They assume it will be easier to save in the future. The truth is that your 30s can be an expensive decade. Many people are establishing a household, having children and buying a home, along with all the furnishings that go in it. So it may actually be more difficult to save in your 30s than in your 20s. My colleague started saving the absolute maximum she could in her late 20s, knowing that she wanted a house and family someday. She figured, correctly, that even though her income might grow exponentially in her 30s, her expenses might surpass her income.

Tip for 30-somethings: Seriously consider maximizing retirement savings earlier in your career, knowing that you may have gaps in savings in the future.

2. They don’t verify that they are on track for their retirement goals. My colleague runs her own retirement calculations all the time. She wanted a second set of eyes to see what she might be missing, as well as some high-level strategies. According to recent research from BlackRock BLK +1%, more than 4 in 10 people surveyed weren’t saving because they hadn’t run retirement calculations and didn’t know how much they needed to save. But almost 8 in 10 said they would start saving or increase their contributions if they knew how much they needed to save. Since the new model of retirement planning consists of employees managing their own retirement with a defined contribution plan, it’s important to be proactive.

Tip for 30-somethings: At a minimum, run a retirement calculation. Some calculators to get you started and here and here.  Meeting with a Certified Financial Planner ™ professional can be one way to get started on your financial plan. Some resources that can help include Let’s Make a Plan andLearnVest (use discount code Retire50).

3. They assume the 401(k) is the “be all, end all.” There are major benefits to investing in an employer’s retirement plan. First of all, you can never underestimate the value of automatically deducting funds from a checking account. When funds are invested before ever hitting your bank account, you simply can’t spend that money.  And company-matching contributions are obviously a significant benefit. Employees who receive a company match should invest at least up to the matching contributions in their 401(k).

But don’t ignore the Roth IRA. The tax-free retirement benefit of the Roth is well known, but many folks may not realize how much flexibility the Roth has. The principal amount can be withdrawn for any reason and at any time, without a tax penalty. This serves as a back-up emergency fund, but also gives an investor flexibility to reinvest the principal into something else, such as a down payment on a primary residence or on an investment property. For someone in his or her 30s, a Roth IRA can be the best of both worlds: Investing for retirement and having some flexibility to withdraw the principal without hefty taxes. (A Roth investment is post-tax; meanwhile, a 401(k) carries a 10% early withdrawal penalty.)

Tip for 30-somethings: It can be wise to invest in the 401(k) up to the amount matched by your company. Over and above the company match, consider investing in a Roth IRA.

4. They assume all funds are created equal.  Albert Einstein is rumored to have said that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. Compounding fees, on the other hand, are another story. When you pay high annual fees on the funds in your retirement accounts, the compounding works against you. For example, an investor with a $50,000 balance who pays 1.5% in annual investment fees on an account that earns 7% annually would pay about $138,000 in total expenses over 30 years, including opportunity costs. Everything else being equal, that same investment with fees at 0.5% would only incur about $53,000 in total expenses and opportunity costs. Something as seemingly insignificant as a 1% difference in annual fees can add up to an $85,000 difference over time.

Tip for 30-somethings: Think about investing in low-fee mutual funds or index funds in your 401(k).  See your fund’s prospectus for full disclosure on fees. Click here to see how expenses impact mutual fund returns, as calculated by calcxml.com.

Albert Einstein also said that anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. But frankly, in terms of retirement planning, it’s better to start off strong by not making mistakes in the first place. If you really want to try something new, there’s always hang gliding.

 

by 6d-destani

Employers pushing hard for lower 401(k) fees

Originally posted December 05, 2013 by Dan Cook on https://www.benefitspro.com

Just as they are combing through health plans looking for cost-cutting opportunities, so are employers trimming the fat off employee 401(k) plans. However, in general, they are attempting to do so without sacrificing investment quality. Plans with lower fees have become popular, as have those that offer participants more options, some of which combine lower fees with solid returns.

All of these observations come to us fresh from an Aon Hewitt survey of 400 defined contribution plan sponsors. Their plans cover more than 10 million employees with a total of $500 billion in retirement assets. These sponsors were asked about their retirement benefits strategies, plan designs and investment structures.

When last asked about such matters in 2007, just more than half of the respondents said they were working to reduce fund or plan expenses. This time around, more than three-quarters said they looking for ways to cut such costs.

The most common methods for doing so were switching share classes to less costly alternatives (62 percent) and swapping out funds for lower-cost alternatives (50 percent).

The survey identified lower fees are the No. 1 reason for choosing fund options. Other top factors included historical investment performance and fund investment process. Once powerful factors such as name recognition and availability in public sources were no longer seen as priorities.

“One of the most direct ways to increase participant balances is to increase their returns, which can be done effectively by decreasing investment fees without sacrificing investment quality,” said Rob Austin, director of Retirement Research at Aon Hewitt. “Even small changes in 401(k) fees can have a significant impact on employees’ nest eggs over time. For example, decreasing fees from 1 percent to 0.75 percent per year has the same effect on a typical participant as contributing an additional 0.50 percent of pay. This ultimately translates into thousands of dollars more in retirement savings.”

Other highlights from the Aon survey:

More than 90 percent of employers offered non-mutual fund alternatives — such as collective trusts and separate accounts — in their 401(k) menus, compared to 59 percent in 2007.

44 percent chose these alternatives as their primary fund options in 2013, compared to just 19 percent in 2007.

30 percent offered plan participants emerging market funds this year, compared to 15 percent in 2007.

14 percent offers participants short-term bond funds, compared to 8 percent in 2007.

Another trend spotted by the survey: Large increases in the index approach were found in mid-cap equity (59 percent in 2013 vs. 42 percent in 2011), intermediate bond (53 percent in 2013 vs. 42 percent in 2011), and international equity (50 percent in 2013 compared to 31 percent in 2011).

 

by 6d-destani

2014 Annual Benefit Plan Amounts

Originally posted on www.shrm.org The Internal Revenue Service announced on Oct. 31, 2013, cost-of-living adjustments for tax year 2014, also charted here and here, that apply to dollar limits for 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans and for defined benefit pension plans. Some plan limits will remain unchanged because the increase in the Consumer Price Index did not meet the statutory thresholds for their adjustment, while other limits will rise in 2014.

The announcement highlighted the following:

  • 401(k), 403(b) and profit-sharing plan elective deferrals in 2014 will remain at $17,500; the catch-up contribution limit will stay at $5,500.
  • The annual defined contribution limit from all sources will rise to $52,000 from $51,000.
  • The amount of employee compensation that can be considered in calculating contributions to defined contribution plans will increase to$260,000 from $255,000.
  • The limit used in the definition of a highly compensated employee for the purpose of 401(k) nondiscrimination testing remains unchanged at$115,000.

 

Defined Contribution Plan Limits For 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, the COLA increases for dollar limits on benefits and contributions are as follows:

2014

2013
Maximum elective deferral by employee

$17,500

$17,500
Catch-up contribution (age 50 and older during 2012)

$5,500

$5,500
Defined contribution maximum deferral (employer and employee combined)

$52,000

$51,000
Employee annual compensation limit for calculating contributions

$260,000

$255,000
Annual compensation of “key employees” in a top-heavy plan

$170,000

$165,000
Annual compensation of “highly compensated employee” in a top-heavy plan (“HCE threshold”)

$115,000

$115,000

 

“A $1,000 increase to the overall defined contribution limit will allow participants to potentially get a little more ‘bang’ out of their plan—at least if their employer wants to give them more money,” noted retirement-planning firm Van Iwaarden Associates in an online commentary on the 2014 changes. Defined Benefit Plans

  • The maximum annual benefit that may be funded through a defined benefit plan will increase to $210,000 from $205,000.
  • For a participant who separated from service before Jan. 1, 2014,the limit for defined benefit plans is computed by multiplying the participant’s compensation limit, as adjusted through 2013, by 1.0155.

“The primary consequence of this change is that individuals who have very large DB benefits (say, shareholders in a professional firm cash balance plan) could see a deduction increase if their benefits were previously constrained by the [Internal Revenue Code Section 415] dollar limit,” the Van Iwaarden posting explained. Other Workplace Retirement Plan Limits

  • For SIMPLE (savings incentive match plan for employees of small employers) retirement accounts, the maximum contribution limit will remain $12,000; the catch-up contribution limit will also stay the same, at$2,500.
  • For simplified employee pensions (SEPs), the minimum compensation amount will remain $550, while the maximum compensation limit will jump to $260,000 from $255,000.
  • In an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), the maximum account balance in the plan subject to a five-year distribution period will rise to$1,050,000 from $1,035,000, while the dollar amount used to determine the lengthening of the five-year distribution period will increase to$210,000 from $205,000.

 

Non-401(k) Workplace Retirement Plan Limits

2014

2013
SIMPLE employee deferrals

$12,000

$12,000
SIMPLE catch-up deferrals

$2,500

$2,500
SEP minimum compensation

$550

$550
SEP annual compensation limit

$260,000

$255,000
Social Security wage base

$117,000

$113,700

 

Individual Retirement Accounts

  • The limit on annual contributions to an individual retirement account (IRA) will stay at $5,500. The additional catch-up contribution limit for those ages 50 and over will remain $1,000.
  • The deduction for taxpayers making contributions to a traditional IRA has been phased out for singles and heads of household who are covered by a workplace retirement plan and have modified adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) from $60,000 to $70,000, up from $59,000 to $69,000 in 2013.
  • For married couples filing jointly, in which the spouse who makes the IRA contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the AGI phase-out range will be $96,000 to $116,000, up from $95,000 to $115,000.
  • For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a workplace retirement plan and is married to someone who is covered, the deduction has been phased out for couples with an AGI from $181,000 to $191,000, up from $178,000 to $188,000.
  • For a married individual filing a separate return who is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and will remain $0 to $10,000.
  • For a Roth IRA, the AGI phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions will be $181,000 to $191,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $178,000 to $188,000 in 2013. For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range will be $114,000 to $129,000, up from $112,000 to $127,000. For a married individual filing a separate return who is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-out range will remain $0 to $10,000.
  • The AGI limit for the saver’s credit (also known as the retirement savings contributions credit) for low- and moderate-income workers will rise to $60,000 for married couples filing jointly, up from $59,500 in 2013;$45,050 for heads of household, up from $44,250; and $30,000 for singles and married couples filing separately, up from $29,500.

 

Contribution Misperceptions Hinder Savings Employees often have a skewed perception of retirement plan contribution limits. According to Mercer Workplace Survey results, the average participant believes that the tax-deferral limit is only $8,532, just under half the actual 2013 limit of $17,500. Looking at intended savings rates, most appear close to the perceived limit but are still far off from the actual. For those nearing retirement (age 50-plus), the perception gap is even bigger. The survey represents a national cross section of active 401(k) participants; online interviews were completed with 1,506 respondents between May 28 and June 5, 2013.

By Age: Actual Contribution vs. Perceived Contribution Limit (Average $)

Respondents were asked, “As far as you know, what is the maximum dollar amount you can defer from income taxes this year by contributing it to a 401(k)?,” and “Not counting any contributions your employer may make to your 401(k) plan over the next 12 months, how much money, if any, do you expect to put into your 401(k) plan?”

(click on chart to view enlargement)

Source: Mercer Workplace Survey, 2013.

“This data not only points to a troubling disconnect between perception and reality but also points to a false sense of security among 401(k) participants,” according to Mercer’s analysts. “It also begs the question whether participants are leaving some tax efficiency—knowingly or unknowingly—on the table.”

Thirty-four percent said they would increase their 401(k) contribution to the tax-deferred maximum “if they could live the last 12 months over again,” the survey found, which highlights the value of effectively communicating maximum contribution limits to employees and conveying how even small annual contribution increases can substantially boost the size of their retirement nest egg.

by 6d-destani