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| A Few Years Makes a Big Difference in Retirement Savings | |
| While only a few years separate working Americans ages 55 to 59 from those in their 60s, there are sharp differences in the savings they have amassed and steps they have taken to prepare for retirement, according to the Wells Fargo & Company annual Retirement Study released during National Save for Retirement Week. Joe Ready, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, tells PLANSPONSOR one of the findings of the study that surprised him is that those ages 55 to 59 have three times more saved, on average, than those in their 60s. The median savings of working Americans age 60 or older is $50,000 against a retirement savings goal of $300,000, while working Americans ages 55 to 59 have saved $150,000 toward a retirement savings goal of $500,000. The study reveals retirement savings strategies that work and those that do not.Read more > | |
| Nearly half of large defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors (45%) have taken proactive steps to prepare for an eventual pension risk transfer, according to MetLife’s 2015 Pension Risk Transfer Poll. But, Wayne Daniel, senior vice president and head of U.S. Pensions at MetLife, tells PLANSPONSOR MetLife expects risk transfer to be a growing and continuing trend. “We see interest in derisking across DB plans of all sizes,” he says. The poll revealed top catalysts for risk transfer action.Read more > | |
| Sponsored message from BlackRock | |
| A New Framework for DC: Getting participants’ future in focus A new holistic framework for understanding risk across an entire DC plan.Read more > | |
| Barry’s Pickings | |
| Barry’s Pickings Online: The Problem with ESG Investing | |
| A favorite PLANSPONSOR magazine columnist is sharing his views online. In this article, he discusses the recent guidance from the Department of Labor about social investing, and what he sees as a problem.Read more > | |
| Products, Deals and People | |
| Retirement Industry People Moves | |
| Northern Trust Asset Management announces new hire, SageView Advisory expands presence in Hawaii and Alliance Benefit Group North Central States sells recordkeeping business.Read more > | |
| Economic Events | |
| THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Today, the Census Bureau will report about new home sales for September, and tomorrow it will report about durable goods for September, while the Conference Board reveals its Consumer Confidence Index for October. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report. | |
| Market Mirror | |
Tech stocks led a rally of U.S. stocks Friday, according to the Associated Press. The Dow was up 157.54 points (0.90%) at 17,646.70, the NASDAQ climbed 111.81 points (2.27%) to 5,031.86, and the S&P 500 gained 22.65 points (1.10%) to finish at 2,075.16. The Russell 2000 increased 11.53 points (1.00%) to 1,166.05, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 219.53 points (1.03%) higher at 21,614.06. On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares changed hands, with 1.4 advancing issues for every declining issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares traded with a 2 to 1 lead for advancers. The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 16/32, bringing its yield up to 2.085%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond fell 22/32, increasing its yield to 2.899%. WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending October 23, the Dow gained 2.50%, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 each climbed 2.97%, the Russell 2000 increased 0.32%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 1.57% higher. | |
| Compliance | |
| A Peek at a Pre-Approved Cash Balance Plan Submission | |
| The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has expanded its pre-approved plans program to include defined benefit plans with cash balance plan features, and it is currently accepting prototype document submissions. James E. Turpin, president of The Turpin Consulting Group, said he has seen one of the submitted prototype documents, and he has one concern.Read more > | |
| The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that plan fiduciaries, including the owner of the plan sponsor company, have been ordered by a district court to restore employee contributions withheld but never forwarded to the plan. In August, the DOL’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) filed a lawsuit against Oxford Holdings, a former construction company, and its president and 401(k) plan trustee, Steven J. Watkins, alleging that plan contributions withheld from employee paychecks were kept by the company.Read more > | |
| PLANSPONSOR Research | |
| The six providers included in the 2015 PLANSPONSOR Managed Account Buyer’s Guide have added nearly 30,000 new plans/clients since 2012, a growth rate nearly double that seen in total defined contribution plans during the same period—28% vs. 15%. To differentiate their products from target-date funds, managed account providers are making services more personalized, relevant and engaging to plan participants. Common areas of improvement included new or enhanced processes/tools to assist with retirement income planning and additions to the online experience—i.e., mobile support, expanded content, etc. Many now also offer “retail” versions of their products so that participants may continue their relationship should they leave the plan.Read more > | |
| Investing | |
| Recent Cerulli data shows robust ETF asset growth across various retail and distribution channels, except in one area: private defined contribution (DC) plans, according to the October issue of “The Cerulli Edge – U.S. Monthly Product Trends Edition.” Why is this so?Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1774, the First Continental Congress of the U.S. adjourned in Philadelphia. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York. The 363-mile canal connected Lake Erie and the Hudson River at a cost of $7,602,000. In 1858, H.E. Smith patented the rotary-motion washing machine. In 1881, the “Gunfight at the OK Corral” took place in Tombstone, Arizona. The fight was between Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and Doc Holiday and the Ike Clanton Gang. In 1949, U.S. President Harry Truman raised the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents an hour. In 1962, the Soviet Union made an offer to end the Cuban Missile Crisis by taking their missile bases out of Cuba if the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba and remove Jupiter missiles in Turkey. In 1970, “Doonesbury,” the comic strip by Gary Trudeau, premiered in 28 newspapers across the U.S. In 1984, “Baby Fae” was given the heart of baboon after being born with a severe heart defect. She lived for 21 days with the animal heart. In 1990, Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to reach 2,000 points. | |
| SURVEY SAYS RESULTS: As Halloween is approaching, last week I asked NewsDash readers to select their favorite scary movie. This year, responding readers bumped “Psycho” out of the top spot. Eight movies on the list received no votes. Among the top picks, Psycho fell from the top spot to tie for fourth place with Jaws and Wait Until Dark. Tied for third place were Halloween, Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist. The Birds came in No. 2. Several readers expressed distaste for scary movies and there was discussion of how the definition of “scary” seems to have changed with filmmakers. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “I think the Presidential Debates are scarier.” Thank you so much to all who participated in the survey!Read more > | |
| Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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