| | Benefits & Administration | | Helping Participants Save More, Invest Better | | The current average 401(k) participant deferral
rate is 7.2%, and that is simply not high enough, according to Joe Ready,
director of Institutional Retirement and Trust at Wells Fargo. Average deferral
rates have been flat over the past three years, according to an analysis of
data from 3.9 million 401(k) eligible employees at companies for whom Wells
Fargo provides 401(k) plans. The number of participants contributing at least
10% (including company match) has increased by less than 3%, from 34.6% in the
fourth quarter of 2011 to 37% in the fourth quarter of 2014. “Of all the
behaviors 401(k) participants can do to improve their retirement outcome, this
is the area with the least improvement but with potentially the greatest
impact,” says Ready.Read more > | | Written Plans for Retirement Are Better Motivators | | The top financial concern among Americans
remains having enough money for a comfortable retirement, according to a new
analysis from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. Nine out of 10 savers say
a written plan helps them to better understand their goals, while three out of
four feel they are more likely to follow a written plan for retirement.Read more > | | Getting Auto-Enrollment Implementation Right | | “When a retirement plan sponsor tells me they
want to implement automatic enrollment, I always ask them why,” says Scott M.
Dufek, a partner with Dufek & Co. Certified Public Accountants in Chicago,
which provides auditing services for retirement plans. Dufek notes that he
often gets blank looks when he asks that question, or the plan sponsor attended
an event and heard that it was a good thing to do. “Some plan sponsors jump
into it without thinking it through, and they often do not meet their goals or create
administrative headaches,” he says.Read more > | | | Economic Events | | In the week ending February 14, the
advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment
insurance was 283,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week’s unrevised
level of 304,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average
was 283,250, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of
289,750.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage is 3.76%, up from 3.69% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The
average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.05%, up from
2.99%.
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