retirement plans Archives - Word on Benefits

The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape: DC Takeaways

Justin Held, CEBS

01 Aug 202401 Aug 2024

According to The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape: A 15-Year Look (2006-2020), the average defined contribution (DC) plan account balance increased from $23,400 at the end of 2006 to $54,100 at the end of 2020, while aggregate disbursements also grew. The increase in […]

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The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape: DB Takeaways

Justin Held, CEBS

24 Jun 202426 Jun 2024

According to recent data from Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, the fifteen-year period between 2006 and 2020 was turbulent for multiemployer defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Financial markets were volatile, and 2008 saw the biggest […]

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Matching Contributions for Qualified Student Loan Payments Under SECURE Act 2.0

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

31 Aug 202331 Aug 2023

With the federal student loan debt relief plan ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, more employers are expected to consider offering student loan repayment benefits (covered in Part 1) or retirement plan matching under the SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022. The optional […]

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A Q&A on State-Facilitated Retirement Programs

Anne Patterson

13 Jul 202313 Jul 2023

For the past several years, the International Foundation has strategically focused on the topic of retirement security. The most recent Talking Benefits podcast episode covered one crucial way to help employees reach retirement security—by giving them access to a retirement plan. Podcast […]

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State-Sponsored Retirement Savings Programs: What Employers Need to Know

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

03 May 202303 May 2023

Research shows that one of the key hurdles for achieving retirement security is having access to a retirement plan at work. And, until recently, as many as 57 million people in the United States didn’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. […]

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2023 Employee Benefits Reporting and Disclosure Calendars

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

13 Jan 202310 Mar 2023

Plan sponsors and administrators are encouraged to reference these comprehensive calendars to stay on track in 2023. Health and Retirement Plans Subject to ERISA (Includes Multiemployer Plans) Health and Welfare Plans New deadlines in 2023 are: Retirement Plans Defined Contribution Defined Benefit […]

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The Next Level—Supporting Women’s Retirement Security

Cara McMullin

01 Mar 202226 Apr 2022

March is Women’s History Month in the U.S.! This month is dedicated to reflecting on the often-overlooked contributions of women to history in countless fields. The 2022 Women’s History Month theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” This theme is “both a tribute […]

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Tackling Canada’s Retirement Crisis: An Interview With Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald

Alyssa Hodder

31 Jan 202217 Feb 2023

Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald is the director of financial security research at the National Institute on Ageing (NIA), Ryerson University(Toronto). She is also a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA) and the resident scholar at Eckler Ltd. Her research focuses on the […]

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Transitioning from DB to DC: What You Need to Know

Justin Held, CEBS

29 Dec 202129 Dec 2021

In my years compiling benchmarking data for the International Foundation, one of the most notable trends has been the decreasing prevalence of employer-sponsored defined benefit (DB) pension plans. In the 2011 Employee Benefits Survey, 57% of responding organizations offered a DB pension […]

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Know Your Plan Custodian: What Does a Benefits Plan Custodian Do?

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

24 May 202120 May 2021

As the safekeeper of plan assets, custodians are among the service providers that multiemployer benefit plan trustees have a fiduciary duty to monitor. Yet plan custodians are not discussed as often as other service providers—especially those referred to as the A-Team: the […]