Finding the perfect provider match for your retirement plan should be as easy as peanut butter and jelly.

Although not a pleasant topic, it is an important one – Who is the named beneficiary of your retirement account should you pass away?

The Supreme Court recently ruled on a case referred to as Hughes vs. Northwestern University. The question before the court was the plausibility of a breach of fiduciary duty claim stated by current and former participants in two university retirement plans.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 enables two or more businesses to form a pooled employer plan (PEP), regardless of whether they’re related by industry, location or other association. In essence, the act created a new type of multiple employer plan (MEP) which significantly expands access to tax-advantaged retirement accounts.

Although many employees are aware behaviors such as enrolling in and contributing sufficiently to their company 401(k) can help them prepare for a successful retirement, too often they fail to develop the necessary saving and investing habits. One reason for this may be the influence of emotions, biases and faulty heuristics on financial planning at the expense of more rational decision making.

What Disclosures May be Distributed Electronically under the DOL Safe Harbor? A comprehensive guidance - and safe for plan fiduciaries - is the safe harbor for electronic delivery provided in the DOL regulations.

Six Easy Steps to Keep Your Plan Assets Safe

Typically, younger people don’t make retirement savings a priority. Living expenses, student debt, rent or house payments, and other day-to-day expenses mean retirement savings take a back seat. In fact, research from National Institute on Retirement Security says 66% of millennials haven’t saved any money for retirement, and 66% haven’t started saving.1

The plaintiffs in this case have asserted claims for breach of the fiduciary duties of prudence and failure to monitor fiduciaries. Nothing new so far; however, in addition to naming the typical plan fiduciaries as defendants, the lawsuit also targets members of the board of directors, as well as other officers of the firm who serve on the retirement plan’s fiduciary investment committee.

Albert Einstein may not be remembered as a finance expert, although he seems to have had a bead on the power of smart investing. When asked what mankind’s greatest invention was, he’s reputed to have answered “compound interest,” describing it as the “eighth wonder of the world.”

According to the College Board, the cost of a four-year education increased more than 200% (after inflation) from 1988 to 2018. This has placed a tremendous burden on graduates, with national student loan debt now topping a staggering $1.6 trillion.

You may be eligible for a valuable incentive – which could reduce your federal income tax liability – for contributing to your company’s 401(k) or 403(b) plan. You may qualify to receive a Tax Saver’s Credit of up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly) if you made eligible contributions to an employer sponsored retirement savings plan.