401(k)

The Labor Department finalized an amended version of its fiduciary rule, providing wealth management firms a lengthier timeline for implementation as well as more relaxed requirements for the best interest contract exemption.

Forty-four percent of parents said they had used retirement savings to fund non-emergencies in the past two years.

Many investment products are still designed with men's needs in mind, despite studies that show women are more active in saving for retirement.

TIAA-CREF rebranded itself last month, renaming itself TIAA and launching a redesigned website, TIAA.org.

"In the small plan market, we try to bubble wrap the plan sponsor from fiduciary issues," says John Hancock Retirement Plan Services CEO Peter Gordon.

More sophisticated mobile apps and better industry partnerships are being credited with easing access to 401(k) plan information and paving the way for wiser retirement planning decisions.

Earlier this year BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, announced that it would follow Fidelity and Federated in making changes to its money market fund offerings.

In 2015, lower-paid plan participants contributed an average of 5.8% of their salary into their 401(k) plan, while higher-paid participants contributed an average of 6.9% of their salary to their workplace retirement plan.

The funded status of the nation’s largest corporate defined benefit plans ended just as it did in 2014, due in large part to a rise in interest rates that were offset by a weak global stock market.

With people preoccupied with planning a get-together or last-minute shopping, 401(k) communications during the busy holiday season might get lost in the shuffle.

Plan sponsors need to be aware of what will happen to 401(k) plan loans now that rates have gone up.

It bears paying attention in the coming year as to what inroads digital-first firms can make into the DC space.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced that the administration's "myRA" retirement plan will be available nationwide, with an expanded menu of funding options.

Municipal bond sales in the U.S. are set to decrease in the next month while the amount of redemptions and maturing debt rises.

Almost half of U.S. workers didn’t have a company-sponsored retirement plan in 2013, compared with 39% in 1999, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York.

The median state pension last year had 70% of the assets needed to meet promised benefits, up from 69.2% in 2013.

Small market participants have less access to support and appear to be less knowledgeable and engaged in their workplace retirement plans.

Employees are gaining confidence in their short-term finances but the majority is still not saving enough for retirement.

Having developed robo platforms for retail clients and advisors, Betterment is expanding further into the asset management industry with a 401(k) offering for businesses.

"Many expect to continue working in retirement,” says Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.