Benefits integration Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

Making Retirement Real: Helping Participants Budget for the Future

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Trends, benefits committee, Benefits integration, Communication, Confidence, DC plans, education, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Fiduciary, Financial planning, Financial Wellness, participation

Saving for retirement can feel abstract, especially when participants haven’t considered what their life after work might actually cost. Following a recent TPSU program at...

When Should Participant Preferences Shape Retirement Plan Decisions?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k News, benefit education, Benefits integration, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee Survey, Employee training, employer match, erisa, Fiduciary, financial literacy, Financial Wellness, Retirement plan management, Retirement Plan Participation

Participant feedback can offer valuable insight into what employees want from their retirement benefits. But translating those preferences into plan decisions requires plan sponsors and...

How Plan Sponsors Can Better Engage Employees in Their Financial Lives

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, benefit education, Benefits integration, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, education, Employee engagement, Employee happiness, financial literacy, financial stress management, Financial Wellness

Employee engagement continues to be one of the most persistent challenges facing retirement plan sponsors, particularly as employees juggle retirement savings alongside healthcare costs and...

AI Can Help Run Your Plan But Fiduciaries Still Own the Mistakes

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, AI, AI for Retirement, Benefits integration, cybersecurity, erisa, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Independent TPA, managed accounts, TPA Landscape

AI is showing up in more corners of plan administration: personalized communications, claims processing, investment reviews, even committee minutes. The time savings are real. But...

Connecting Health Benefits and 401(k) Savings

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, benefit education, Benefits integration, CEO Engagement, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Financial Advisors, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Health Savings Account, Healthcare & other benefits, investment, Lifestyle Benefits, Retirement Readiness

Financial wellness decisions rarely happen in isolation. Employees are often weighing health plan costs, household budgets and retirement savings at the same time — which...

Are PEPs Really Going Mainstream?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, Benefits integration, Communication, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Fiduciary, Financial Security, Financial Wellness, Investments, PEPs, pooled employer plan, Retirement Plan Committee, Retirement Readiness, SECURE 2.0, Secure Act Changes

Pooled Employer Plans have grown rapidly since being authorized under the SECURE Act of 2019, with assets now estimated at $30 billion to $40 billion....

Why Auditors Are Warming Up to Pooled Employer Plans

By Fred Barstein / 401k Advisor, 401k plan, Audit, Auditor, Benefits integration, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee feedback, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Investments, Multiple Employer Plans, PEPs, pooled employer plan, Retirement Plan Participation

Retirement plan administration has never exactly been a thrill ride — but Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) are giving plan sponsors a reason to pay attention. ...

Employees Feel Better About Their Finances, But Employers Are Overestimating How Much

By Fred Barstein / 401k plan, benefit education, Benefits integration, Communication, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Employee training, Employer Contribution, employer match, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Healthcare & other benefits, HR, investment, multi-generational workforce, Retirement Income, Retirement Readiness, workplace benefits

Employee financial well-being has reached a four-year high, but employers are more optimistic about their workforce’s financial health than employees themselves. Bank of America’s 2026...

Fiduciary Duty Doesn’t End With a Good Hire

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, benefit education, benefits committee, Benefits integration, Client connection, Confidence, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, DOL Guidance, Due Diligence, education, Employee engagement, Fiduciary

Plan sponsors are held to a fiduciary standard most never trained for — on top of the job they were actually hired to do. Understanding...

Aligning 401(k) Auto-Escalation With Employee Pay Raises

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k rollovers, Adaptability, auto enroll, auto escalate, Auto Portability, auto re-enroll, benefit education, benefits committee, Benefits integration, Client connection, DC Plan Sponsors, education, Employee engagement, Employee happiness, employer match, Financial Wellness, HR

Increasing employee retirement contributions can be difficult when workers worry about reducing their take-home pay. Thoughtful plan design, however, can make higher savings rates feel...