DC Plan Sponsors Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

Employers Increasingly Address Student Loan Stress Among Younger Workers

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k News, 401k Trends, benefits committee, Client connection, Creative approach, DC Plan Sponsors, education, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Employee training, financial stress management, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Student Loan Debt

As student loan debt continues to weigh heavily on younger generations entering the workforce, employers are increasingly recognizing the impact financial stress can have on...

Financial Stress Is Reshaping Employee Benefits & Retirement Saving

By Fred Barstein / Adaptability, benefit education, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee happiness, Fiduciary, financial stress management, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Investments, retirement committee, Retirement Income, Retirement plan management, Retirement Plan Participation, Retirement Readiness

Financial Stress Employee Benefits Retirement Saving

More employees are feeling financially overwhelmed — and ironically, many are responding by cutting back on the very workplace benefits designed to help them long...

Financial Stress Is Pushing Workers to Cut Back on Benefits Contributions, Including 401(k) Savings

By Fred Barstein / Communication, Company Contributions and Vesting, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Due Diligence, Emergency Savings, Employee Benefits, Employee happiness, Fiduciary, financial stress, financial stress management, Financial therapy, financial uncertainty, Financial Wellness, funds, inflation concerns, investment, Retirement Income

More than half of U.S. employees say financial stress is affecting their work, and many are responding by reducing contributions to the very benefits designed...

How the Retirement Industry Plans to Handle the Explosion of New 401(k) Plans

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, Changing dynamics, Client connection, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, Financial Wellness, PEPs, Plan Participation, Retirement Advisor Specialist, Retirement Plan Participation, Retirement Readiness

The defined contribution industry is facing a major structural shift as the number of retirement plans is expected to surge from roughly 830,000 in 2025...

Six Plan Governance Blind Spots and How to Fix Them

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, 401k Trends, Adaptability, Audit, Benchmarking & Fees (ERISA, retirement plan), Benchmarking Fees, benefits committee, Compliance, Cyber Security, DC Plan Sponsors, erisa, ERISA Advisory Council, fee lawsuits, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Liability, Financial Advisors, investment, Legislation, participation, Plan governance

Running a retirement plan involves a lot of moving pieces—service providers, investment options, fees, compliance requirements—and it’s easy for fiduciaries to get so deep into...

The Continued Rise of CITs in the Defined Contribution Market

By Fred Barstein / CIT, Collective Investment Trust, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Liability, investment, Investments, lawsuits, Retirement Income

Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) continue gaining momentum across the defined contribution marketplace as plan sponsors, advisors, and providers increasingly seek lower-cost investment solutions and more...

Improving Participant Retirement Outcomes Through Better Financial Visualization

By Fred Barstein / 401k Advisor, artificial intelligence, benefit education, Client connection, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Participant Retirement Outcomes Financial Visualization, participation, Retirement Readiness

Participant Retirement Outcomes Financial Visualization

Small increases in retirement plan contributions can have a significant long-term impact, yet many participants struggle to fully understand what those changes mean for their...

Private Credit Leaders Say It’s Time to Drop the “Semi-Liquid” Label

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Collective Investment Trust, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DOL, DOL Guidance, erisa, Fiduciary, global retirement trend, investment, Participant data, Private Credit Semi-Liquid Label, Regs and Regulators, Retirement planning

The private credit industry is doing some soul-searching—and one of the first casualties may be the term “semi-liquid.” That was a key theme at this...

The 401(k) Backbone Is Finally Getting Its Upgrade

By Fred Barstein / AI, AI for Retirement, artificial intelligence, Changing dynamics, Changing Recordkeepers, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, DOL, Financial Wellness, Retirement Readiness

The backbone of the defined contribution (DC) industry—recordkeeping technology—is finally getting a long-overdue upgrade. For decades, legacy systems built on outdated infrastructure have limited innovation,...

How Paycheck Transparency Drives Higher 401(k) Participation

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, accumulation, auto enroll, auto escalate, Auto Portability, benefit education, CEO Engagement, Communication, Confidence, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Emergency Savings, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Plan Participation

Many employees enrolling in a 401(k) for the first time hesitate because they’re unsure how contributions will affect their take-home pay. This uncertainty can be...