BPP401k.com Newsletter March 24

Providers Vie for TPA Attention Particularly in the small-plan market, retirement plan providers are seeing more business come through third-party administrators (TPAs)—and, as a result, are ramping up their efforts to attract TPAs.

The 5500 Nightmare: Completing the Schedule C Recordkeepers, bundled plan providers, third party administrators, broker-dealers, RIAs, investment managers, and mutual fund complexes are all struggling . . . with the new Schedule C. This is a review of some issue you should be familiar with. Source: Reish & Reicher

Fidelity Looks to Grab 401(k) Assets Through Advisors Fidelity Investments expects sales of its 401(k)’s to continue to increase through third-party financial advisors to small and midsized companies – and the company plans to reduce fees to gain additional share. Source: Financial Planning

Know Your 401(k) Options Financial advisers have long fretted over the casual attitude investors have toward their 401(k)s, but now there’s a sign people are paying more attention. Source: MainStreet

Perceptions of Retirement Preparation “The average participant in a 401(k) plan… on average, will have 92% of the savings they need for retirement.” (“Retirement Readiness Index,” Fiduciary Benchmarks) “In total, more than half of workers (54%) report that the total value of their household’s savings and investments, excluding the value of their primary home and any defined benefit plans, is less than $25,000.” (“2010 Retirement Confidence Survey,” EBRI) Which statement is accurate? Is a significant portion of us right on track to retire with the nest eggs we’ll need? Or, are American workers doomed to work-'til-we drop because we’re perennial under-savers? Source: Fox Business





Smart401k Releases New Retirement Planning Tool Smart401k has released a new proprietary retirement planning tool that provides clients with a way to track progress toward their retirement goals and determine how changes in retirement investing could affect their retirement outcome. Source: PlanSponsor

2010 Retirement Plans Comparison Chart for Small Businesses This chart provides a comparison of the features and benefits that apply to retirement plans that can be sponsored/adopted by small business owners. Focus on the areas that are important to the business owner. Source: Retirementdictionary.com

New Universal Retirement Plan for Small Employers Proposed The SPARK Institute released a detailed proposal for a new "Universal Small Employer Retirement Savings Program" to help solve the retirement savings gap for millions of American workers. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Choosing a Qualified Default Investment Alternative Under the new DOL regulatory language, a plan fiduciary may utilize a balanced option as an appropriate default vehicle as long as the underlying investment structure (equity versus bonds) is appropriate based on the overall demographics of the plan, rather than an individual. Source: Milliman

Financial Services Firms Stumped by the Retirement Income Dilemma Despite a proliferation of retirement income products and financial services firms' best efforts to capture the retirement income market, no single leader has emerged in this coveted space. Cogent Research's new In-Retirement Income 2010 report explores familiarity and interest in retirement income products among today's affluent retirees and pre-retirees. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Target-Date Series Research Paper: 2010 Industry Survey The survey documents trends in target-date fund design, costs, and asset flows since the 2008 market downturn as well as target-date strengths, weaknesses, and returns to investors. It also offers an examination of target-date fund disclosure, and an analysis of the performance of fund series using proprietary, or in-house, versus independent managers in target-date fund construction. Source: Morningstar

Target-Date CTFs Taking Hold in the DC Market According to Cerulli’s latest retirement-focused research, collective trust funds (CTFs) are experiencing a renewed interest over the last few years in the defined contribution landscape. Source: Plansponsor.com

Schwab Finds More Workers Rolling 401k Funds Into IRAs New data from Charles Schwab shows that more people are rolling 401k savings into an IRA when leaving a job. According to Schwab data, 69 percent of assets held by 401k participants who left their job in the fourth quarter of 2008 had been distributed from former employers' plans one year later by the end of 2009. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Key Trends in Employee Financial Picture Financial Finesse's 2009 Year in Review based on tracking employees' most pressing financial concerns through their usage of our financial education services. Trend analysis research is compiled by tracking calls into Financial Finesse's Financial Helpline Service, which is available to over 500,000 employees from more than 300 organizations. Source: Financial Finesse. Click on headline to read full article.

Increasing Employee Confidence in Retirement Plans Is it any wonder that workers are worried about their ability to sustain a comfortable retirement? Several recent surveys reveal the findings about retirement attitudes and activities. Source: Buck Consultants

Minority Employees Trail in Retirement Plan Participation The lowest participation is by nonnative-born Hispanic workers. Employers can tackle the problem of lower minority-worker participation through automatic enrollment, automatic escalation of deferral rates and adding more sophisticated financial education. Source: Workforce.com

Leaders Call for the Fiduciary Standard in Financial Reform Twelve renowned economists, academics and leading thinkers -- including John Bogle, and Nobel Laureates George Akerlof and Daniel Kahneman -- call for the fiduciary standard, as established under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and affirmed by the Supreme Court, to be included in financial reform legislation, and apply to all who provide investment or financial advice. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Senate Passes Bill to Expand 401k Roth Access A legislative amendment could make it easier for participants to do a Roth conversion within a 401k plan – but not for as many as you might have thought. Source: Planadviser.com

2010 Proposed Regulations for Investment Advisors The DOL issued revised and proposed new regulations implementing the statutory exemption for providers of invest. advice to benefit plan participants and individual retirement accounts, enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Source: Dechert LLP

DOL Clarifies Form 5500 Filing Time Requirement In response to questions regarding the deadline for transmitting a Form 5500 (or 5500-SF), the DOL has indicated it will issue in the near future a new FAQ on the EFAST2 website. This Q&A addresses the anticipated guidance. Source: Sungard/Relius

Free IRS Retirement Plans Determination Letter Program Phone Forum Andrew Zuckerman, Director of Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements, will be joined by Vickie Surguy, Manager, EP Determinations, to discuss the status of the new determination letter program, the types of "reliance" available to preapproved plans, with or without a determination letter, tips on completing the new Form 5307, along with ways to avoid common mistakes to make the process go more smoothly. Source: IRS

GAO Seeks Plan Sponsor Input Given the increased congressional interest in 401k plan oversight, the U.S. Government Accountability Office is offering an opportunity to plan sponsors to provide input for a congressional study on "Restrictions on Withdrawals from 401k Plans." Source: Plansponsor.com

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