

How Washington will Impact your 401(k) in 2016
First of, a big thank you to Joan McDonagh from Empower for taking time to join me on the podcast! As an ERISA attorney and co-author of The 401(k) Answer Book she brought a lot of fire power to the table! Click here to listen to this episode! DOL Proposed Fiduciary Rule Our conversation was timely with the current intense focus on when and what the DOL will announce with the new “fiduciary rule”. Key things employers should keep an eye on are, what actions or conversation


Three Not So Simple Words = 90% of 401(k) Litigation
In part two of my conversation with Jason Roberts, we explore how conflicts, compensation and reasonableness account for 90% of recent 401(k) litigation. To help employers with those three issues, this episode drills into selecting and monitoring 401(k) service providers, a key fiduciary responsibility and one that is often misunderstood by plan sponsors. Below are my notes from our discussion. Click here to listen to our full discussion Very few companies, large or small a


Monitoring Plan Investments, its Not Your Only Fiduciary Duty
Excellent episode with Jason Roberts, ERISA Attorney and Founder of the Pension Resource Institute and the Retirement Law Group. He shares tremendous insights and valuable perspective to help employers understand the full scope of their fiduciary responsiblities, other than monitoring plan investments. Also, as you will see below, 90% of recent 401(k) lawsuits are coming from another often overlooked category. Click here to listen to our full conversation If Jason had a nic


Employee and Employer Goals Should Align in a 401(k) Plan
My conversation with Hugh O’Toole of the Viability Advisor Group got started with a bang, right out of the gate he said that his goal is to ensure that employee and employer goals in a 401(k) plan align. Below are my notes from our very informative conversation! Hugh commented that HR has generally supported the concept of retirement readiness to ensure that employees are able to make a timely and successful transition into retirement, the finance side of organizations
Employer + ERISA Attorney = ???
If you ever wondered how you can strategically and cost effectively partner with an ERISA Attorney to improve and protect your retirement plan, my conversation with Sherrie Boutwell, ERISA Attorney and partner at Boutwell Fay, a boutique ERISA law firm should be very helpful to you. See below for notes I took away from my conversation with Sherrie on ways to enhance your 401(k) plan and maximize your relationship with an outside ERISA attorney. 1. Many employers only reach o


Retirement plan happenings in Not-For-Profit Healthcare
If you are in the Not-for-Profit Healthcare sector and sponsor a retirement plan, I have some great information for you! Had a broad and interesting conversation with Brodie Wood, Senior Vice President, Not-for-Profit Markets at Transamerica Retirement Solutions. This is the first in a series of industry profile episodes that I will be making over the next several months. On a side note, for this interview I need to temporarily change the title of the site to 403(b) Friday