| | Benefits & Administration | | Small Employers Support Lawmaker Retirement Policy Efforts | | Small-business owners surveyed predict the
greatest potential for a positive impact from government policies could come
from expanded tax breaks for automatically enrolling employees in retirement
savings accounts (36%). “Many small-business owners that we work with at Bank
of America have told us that they see retirement savings plans as a tool for
attracting and retaining talent,” Robb Hilson, Small Business executive for
Bank of America, tells PLANSPONSOR.Read more > | | Will DC Plans See More Robo Advice? | | Defined contribution (DC) plans are not likely
to use robo advisers in the near future, but may begin to if the innovation
develops, sources say. According to Alison Borland, senior vice president of
retirement strategy and solutions at Aon Hewitt, the use of robo-advisers is
not sparking a lot of interest from the large plans Aon Hewitt services. “Most
large plans already include some level of advice, some of which is automated,
and not very different from a robo-adviser,” she tells PLANSPONSOR. But, she
thinks more competition and more offerings will be positive, since they can put
cost pressures on the existing solutions.Read more > | | | Economic Events | | In the week ending April 25, the advance
figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was
262,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Labor
Department reported. This is the lowest level for initial claims since April
15, 2000, when it was 259,000. The four-week moving average was 283,750, a
decrease of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average.
The average interest rate for a 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage is 3.68%, up from 3.65% one week ago, according to Freddie
Mac. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 2.94%, up
from 2.92%.
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