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May 1st, 2024
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
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| ECONOMIC EVENTS |
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The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index deteriorated for the third consecutive month in April, retreating to 97.0 from a downwardly revised 103.1 in March. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—declined to 142.9 in April from a downwardly revised 146.8 in March. Meanwhile, the Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—fell to 66.4 from a slightly upwardly revised 74.0 last month. An Expectations Index reading below 80 often signals a forthcoming recession.
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| MARKET MIRROR |
Tuesday, the Dow fell 570.17 points (1.49%) to close at 37,815.92, the Nasdaq fell 325.26 points (2.04%) to close at 15,657.82 and the S&P 500 fell 80.48 points (1.57%) to close at 5,035.69. The Russell 2000 fell 42.12 points (2.09%) to close at 1,973.91, and the FT Wilshire 5000 Index fell 840.02 points (1.63%) to close at 50,572.39.
The 10-year Treasury note rose 2/32, bringing the yield to 4.687%. The 30-year Treasury bond rose 2/32, bringing the yield to 4.786%.
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Administration
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Breaking Down ERISA Section 404(c) to the Basics
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This provision is designed to protect plan fiduciaries from participants’ poor investment choices, but the plan sponsor is still responsible for providing a range of investment options, among other requirements. 
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ON THIS DATE: In 1889, May Day—traditionally a celebration of the return of spring, marked by dancing around a Maypole—was first observed as a labor holiday, designated as such by the International Socialist Congress. In 1961, the first major airplane hijacking within the U.S. occurred when a man forced a commercial airliner en route from Miami to Key West, Florida, to detour to Cuba. In 1971, Amtrak—the federal supported corporation that operates nearly all intercity passenger trains in the U.S.—began service. In 1991, baseball player Rickey Henderson stole the 939th base of his career, surpassing Lou Brock’s MLB record. In 1999, the body of British mountaineer George Mallory was discovered on Mount Everest, some 75 years after he and Andrew Irvine disappeared while attempting to become the first people to summit the peak. In 2004, the European Union was enlarged to include the new member states of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
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| Industry Intel Roundup—Featured Webinars | | PLANSPONSOR is pleased to present the next edition of our Industry Intelligence roundup. This week, we are featuring webinars sponsored by experienced providers in the industry. The content was created to educate, inform and offer ideas for plan sponsors regarding plan design, investing, administration and compliance. |  | | January 28, 2026 | | Benchmarking Your Plan: Using Data to Stay Competitive | | In this webinar, you’ll discover how benchmarking can transform your retirement plan into a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent. We’ll highlight key findings from the PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution Survey and show how benchmarking drives smarter plan design decisions.
Hear real-world examples and advisor insights on improving plan competitiveness and employee outcomes. Find out why benchmarking matters, what to look for, and how to put these strategies into action. |
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| | | August 18, 2026 | | DB Plan Administration | | Besides findings from PLANSPONSOR’s annual Defined Benefit Administration Survey, our panel will discuss trends in the defined benefit plan sector. Speakers will also talk about ongoing management of DB plans—whether closed, frozen or active—and benchmarking DB plan providers. With many corporate DB plans now overfunded, the panel will also discuss ways that sponsoring companies can use their plan’s surplus. |
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| | | November 18, 2026 | | Understanding Participant Behavior | | The PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey examines the attitudes and behaviors of American workers participating—or not—in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. We’ll explore findings about respondents’ participation and saving decisions, retirement expectations and most-valued benefits. Speakers will suggest what the findings mean for retirement plan design, benefit offerings and participant engagement. |
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|  | | SPONSORED BY: ACI | December 16, 2025 | | Retirement Realities – What Sponsors May Be Missing | | What do plan sponsors believe about retirement readiness, and how does that compare to what participants actually feel? During this webinar, Glenn Dial, Senior Retirement Strategist at American Century Investments, will unpack the findings from the firm’s 12th Annual Retirement Survey. He’ll explore where sponsor and participant perspectives align – and where they diverge – on key issues like savings confidence, market risk, and retirement income expectations. Glenn will also touch on the evolving role of target date funds (TDFs) and how guaranteed income is being viewed in today’s defined contribution landscape. This session is designed to help retirement professionals better understand the sentiment gaps and take action to close them.
What You’ll Learn:
Fresh insights from the 2025 Retirement Survey.
Key disconnects between plan sponsors and participants.
Perspectives on market risk, TDFs, and retirement income.
Strategic considerations for plan design and communication
Whether you're a plan sponsor, advisor, or industry stakeholder, this webinar will help you rethink how retirement plans can better serve the people they're built for. |
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|  | | SPONSORED BY: Alight | December 3, 2025 | | The Vital Role of HSAs—Beyond a Spending Account | | This webinar will explore the multifaceted value of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for both employers and employees, positioning them as more than just tools for healthcare spending. It highlights the unique triple tax advantage of HSAs which makes them a powerful and cost-effective benefit for organizations aiming to enhance employee financial wellness without increasing costs.
We will also emphasize immediate employee benefits such as tax savings, flexibility in covering a wide range of medical expenses, portability, and the absence of a “use it or lose it” rule.
Finally, we will address the importance of minimizing fees, as even small differences can significantly impact long-term savings. It encourages plan sponsors to evaluate HSA providers with the same rigor as 401(k) vendors and to focus on low-cost investment options. |
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