Happy Friday, PLANSPONSOR readers! While we once considered whether health savings accounts (HSAs) would follow the movement of 401(k)s, an analysis shows this isn’t happening so far. Other studies report that retirement plan participants who take lump-sums often spend them too fast, and more folks are planning to rely on Social Security as a primary source of income in retirement. On the legal front, Schwab attorneys have asked a court to compel arbitration of self-dealing claims, and Fujitsu has failed to get its excessive fee suit dismissed. Enjoy this edition of PLANSPONSOR Weekend.
The presence and generosity of employer contributions to health savings accounts only make a slight impact on the enrollment rate, for example.Read more >
According to MetLife’s “Paycheck or Pot of Gold Study,” of the individuals who took a lump sum from a retirement plan, 21% say at some point they depleted it—taking just five and a half years on average to spend the dough.Read more >
According to the motion filed by attorneys, the fact that the plaintiff’s claims are brought pursuant to ERISA’s civil enforcement provisions does not in any way impede or limit the application of the arbitration provisions contained in the plan document.Read more >
U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found plaintiffs in a 401(k) excessive fee case against Fujitsu Technology and Business of America adequately pled the causes of action for breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).Read more >
Share the news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along—and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more >
“Overall, it is an uncertain picture, but the SECURE Act is not dead in the water,” says Bradford Campbell, former EBSA head from 2006 to 2009. “I would say it is a little less than 50-50 that it happens this year.”
They are trying other strategies, but DB plan sponsors are concluding that they and their employees would be better served by shifting risks to life insurers.
Based on the conversations industry advocates are having in Washington, none of the leadership in the Senate or the House opposes passage of the SECURE Act.
The president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Financial makes a case for how passage of the SECURE Act will improve Americans’ retirement security.
