Newsdash Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy from PLANSPONSOR
May 1st, 2015
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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