Ted Godbout
By Ted Godbout 3/27/2024
As the Department of Labor defends its rule allowing the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors by fiduciaries when selecting plan investments, legislation to restrict the use of ESG in making investment decisions—including for 403(b) and 457 plans—has been reintroduced in...
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By Ted Godbout 3/13/2024
Harkening back to the early days of the administration, President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget, once again, proposes significant tax increases on corporations and upper-income taxpayers, including a proposal to limit how much taxpayers are allowed to accumulate in their retirement plans. ...
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By Ted Godbout 3/7/2024
Even with other ongoing financial struggles, retirement savers ended the year on a positive note with improved market conditions and consistent contributions helping boost average account balances to their highest level in nearly two years.
The good news comes from Fidelity’s Q4 2023 analysis,...
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By Ted Godbout 2/22/2024
Amid the recent attacks on the 401(k) savings system, the key Senate committee with jurisdiction over ERISA plans to hold a hearing next week to examine what it describes as “confronting the retirement crisis facing working class Americans.”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP...
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By Ted Godbout 2/16/2024
While the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recovered $1.435 billion in direct payment to plans, participants and beneficiaries in fiscal year 2023, that number has been trending downward for the past few years.
According to a fact sheet released by EBSA,...
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By Ted Godbout 2/16/2024
Coming slightly more than a month after its first hearing on the Department of Labor’s proposed investment advice fiduciary rule, a second subcommittee of the House of Representatives debated the merits of the proposal, with the battle lines drawn between the two parties.
The Feb. 15 hearing by...
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By Ted Godbout 2/13/2024
While workplace retirement plans are becoming an expectation for employees, the results of a new survey show there are multiple areas where savers are seeking additional support.
In fact, according to Vestwell’s annual Savings Industry Report, four emerging trends for 2024 all point to a growing...
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By Ted Godbout 2/5/2024
More American savers will turn 65 this year than at any point in history, with roughly 12,000 people a day reaching the age that most target for retirement, but a new report suggests that many are second-guessing whether they are ready to retire.
The Nationwide Retirement Institute surveyed 1,...
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By Ted Godbout 1/11/2024
With several references made to the movie Groundhog Day, witnesses testifying at a House subcommittee hearing to examine the DOL’s proposed investment advice fiduciary rule suggested the proposal goes beyond its legal authority and called on Congress to act before the guidance ends up in litigation...
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By Ted Godbout 12/21/2023
The IRS has just released new guidance in the form of questions and answers addressing several key provisions contained in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.
The IRS advises that the notice (Notice 2024-02) is not intended to provide comprehensive guidance as to the specific provisions of the SECURE 2.0...
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By Ted Godbout 12/6/2023
In a positive sign that lawmakers are committed to fixing several errors contained in the SECURE 2.0 Act, the House and Senate have just released a draft technical corrections bill, including changes to allow catch-up contributions and provide parity for Starter 401(k)s championed by the American...
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By Ted Godbout 12/1/2023
When asked what actions they were likely to take in 2024 as to their overall savings picture, new research finds a hint of optimism appears to be shining through, even though challenges remain.
In fact, findings from Voya’s Q4 Retirement Report based on the firm’s Financial Consumer Insights...
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By Ted Godbout 11/30/2023
While contribution levels have remained consistent, a troubling trend is that many individuals increasingly have been tapping their retirement savings through hardship withdrawals or loans.
This is according to the latest data from Fidelity Investments’ Q3 2023 retirement analysis, which shows...
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By Ted Godbout 11/15/2023
The Plan Sponsor Council of America’s (PSCA) 5th annual health savings account (HSA) Survey of more than 500 employers indicates that more employers are framing HSAs as part of a holistic retirement savings approach and not just a spending account for current health care expenses.
In fact, the...
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By Ted Godbout 11/15/2023
It’s been a couple of fast-moving days for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to amend the definition of investment advice fiduciary, as the House GOP has stepped up efforts to block the DOL from implementing its proposal, while the department has now denied a request to extend the comment...
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By Ted Godbout 11/15/2023
The SECURE 2.0 Act’s creation of an online searchable lost and found database at the Department of Labor (DOL) to help American workers find lost retirement savings benefits has moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF)—which invests in technology...
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By Ted Godbout 11/6/2023
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has now been officially published in the Federal Register.
The DOL also published Nov. 3 the proposed amendments to Prohibited...
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By Ted Godbout 11/1/2023
Morningstar’s 7th annual landscape study on health savings accounts (HSAs) available to individuals shows continued industry improvement, even though persistent issues with transparency and fees remain.
The study evaluated 10 of the top HSA providers on two different use cases[JI1]: (1) as...
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By Ted Godbout 10/20/2023
The nation’s youngest members of the workforce have ambitious goals to retire at an early age, though they also believe they are facing more obstacles to do so than those before them.
In fact, according to Charles Schwab’s annual nationwide survey of 401(k) plan participants, Gen Z workers (21–26...
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By Ted Godbout 10/5/2023
After enduring one of the worst stock markets in decades, health savings account (HSA) investment assets have grown rapidly, according to Devenir’s 2023 mid-year HSA market survey report.
As part of its 26th semi-annual HSA survey, Devenir reports that, at the mid-point of 2023, $116 billion in...
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