Ted Godbout
By Ted Godbout 2/19/2020
Add child care payments to the mix of items that policymakers are considering as a way to help individuals save for retirement in their DC plans. And 403(b) and 457(b) plan participants are among those whom the bill could affect.
Introduced Feb. 10 by Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Hakeem Jeffries...
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By Ted Godbout 2/14/2020
Another state legislature is moving forward with a state-run retirement savings program for private sector employees—this time in the form of an open MEP.
Introduced by Delegates Hala Ayala (D-Prince William) and Ibraheem Samirah (D-Fairfax/Loudoun), the Virginia House of Delegates on Feb. 6...
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By Ted Godbout 2/5/2020
With the SECURE Act recently enacted and several high-profile issues coming to the fore, 2020 has the potential to be a landmark year, according to a new white paper by MFS.
In “Retirement Outlook 2020,” MFS Senior Retirement Strategist Jonathan Barry and DC Strategist Jessica Sclafani warn that...
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By Ted Godbout 1/13/2020
Amid ever-increasing fee pressure and evolving expectations from plan sponsors, a new report warns that retirement plan providers must be prepared to consider economies of scale and to prioritize technology initiatives in order to maintain profitability.
According to findings from “The Cerulli...
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By Ted Godbout 12/31/2019
There’s much good for retirement plans and those who work with them in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, but there are a couple of nuggets of “coal” in there as well.
One such provision that retirement plan advisors, administrators and sponsors should be...
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By Ted Godbout 12/30/2019
The future looks bright, as many Americans are feeling optimistic about their current and future financial situation, and many plan to take proactive steps to help meet their financial goals.
According to Fidelity Investments’ 2020 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 82% of Americans say they...
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By Ted Godbout 12/23/2019
President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act into law on Dec. 20.
The bill was tucked into the 1,700 page, $1.4 trillion Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865, as amended) to fund half the government for the remainder of fiscal...
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By Ted Godbout 12/18/2019
The House of Representatives on Dec. 17 approved the “minibus” government funding bill that contains the bipartisan Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, moving the bill one step closer to enactment. The bill passed by a 297-120 margin.
Contained in the Further...
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By Ted Godbout 12/18/2019
While the SECURE Act is garnering most of the attention, it’s not the only retirement-related legislation included in the spending bill now headed to the Senate.
Distributions for Qualified Disasters
In addition to the SECURE Act, Congress added special disaster-related rules for the use of...
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By Ted Godbout 12/12/2019
With longer life expectancies and workforce participation rates pushing past age 65, Americans’ notion of “normal retirement” is changing, according to a biennial survey.
The 2019 edition of Deloitte’s Defined Contribution Benchmarking Survey confirms this trend, showing that many employees...
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By Ted Godbout 12/11/2019
New research overwhelmingly supports the Labor Department’s proposal to allow default electronic delivery of retirement plan documents.
According to the study by the SPARK Institute, allowing retirement plan sponsors to make electronic delivery the default method for plan communications would...
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By Ted Godbout 12/6/2019
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and key Republican lawmakers added their voices to growing concerns over the effect a potential financial transaction tax (FTT) would have on retirement savings and the U.S. economy.
In a Dec. 5 hearing before the House Financial Services Committee to review...
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By Ted Godbout 11/26/2019
An influential U.S. Senator is preparing legislation that would allow tax- and penalty-free withdrawals to pay for long-term care insurance.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, is working on a bill that would allow individuals to withdraw funds from their 403(...
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By Ted Godbout 11/19/2019
In its 3Q 2019 analysis of retirement trends, Fidelity Investments found that market conditions in the third quarter caused average account balances to dip slightly after reaching near-record levels the previous quarter. And while 403(b) balances dipped in the short term, longer-term results were...
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By Ted Godbout 11/14/2019
Most current retirees say they rely primarily on Social Security or a pension to fund their retirement, but a new study finds that younger generations have a different mindset altogether.
More than 8 in 10 (86%) retirees fund their retirement primarily with Social Security or a pension. By...
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By Ted Godbout 11/11/2019
New survey results by HealthSavings Administrators finds that employers overwhelmingly outpace benefits professionals in viewing HSAs as a retirement planning tool.
The survey of 270 benefits professionals and employers found that 90% of surveyed employers, benefit consultants, benefit brokers...
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By Ted Godbout 10/25/2019
New survey results by HealthSavings Administrators finds that employers overwhelmingly outpace benefits professionals in viewing HSAs as a retirement planning tool.
The survey of 270 benefits professionals and employers found that 90% of surveyed employers, benefit consultants, benefit brokers...
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By Ted Godbout 10/14/2019
Guidance on student loan payments under qualified retirement and section 403(b) plans has been added to the updated Treasury/IRS Priority Guidance Plan released Oct. 8. It includes guidance on timing of amendments to 403(b) plans.
While the plan does not specify what the agencies are...
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By Ted Godbout 10/7/2019
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has put forward a comprehensive labor proposal that seeks to scale back the broad protections offered by ERISA preemption and resurrect the DOL’s fiduciary rule.
The presidential candidate released a 14-page proposal on Oct. 3, “Empowering American Workers and Raising...
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By Ted Godbout 9/26/2019
Legislation approved recently by the U.S. House of Representatives would restrict the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements – potentially including their use in workplace retirement plans.
Many retirement plans include provisions requiring employees and plan participants to arbitrate any...
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