Practice

Of the companies that have suspended matching contributions to their 401(k) plan, nearly half, 46.7%, have either already reinstated the match or plan to do so in the first quarter of 2010, the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America found. Among large companies, 52.7% have restored the match or plan to do so.

Participation in 401(k) plans, regardless of age or income, rises according to the size of a company, according to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Generation Y, those between 22 and 33, have taken the financial crisis to heart and have become more conservative about their finances, Fidelity found in a TNS Global survey of 1,017 people in that age bracket who hold a job and earn at least $15,000 a year.

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said that one of her top regulatory goals for 2010 is helping to ensure people don’t outlive their retirement savings by increasing public awareness of annuities. Solis also believes 401(k) plans should offer annuities.

In light of the economic crisis that exposed companies thought to be safe and well-established, but that had actually taken on far too much risk, New York Life Insurance has introduced a new stable-value offering for defined contribution plans and advisers that underscores its AAA rating.

While the market may have recovered significantly in the second half of the year, many investors’ portfolios are back to 1999 levels, resulting in a “lost decade” of investing, AARP Financial said.

The Insured Retirement Institute is applauding the confirmation from Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro that her staff is developing a variable annuity summary prospectus. IRI has long called for—and officially petitioned—the SEC to develop such a document to advance the interests of the investing public, and to reduce the burden placed on its members, which includes insurers, to produce lengthy documents that consumers traditionally ignore because of their complexity.

U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) have introduced a bill aimed at helping Americans save enough so that they will not be in danger of outliving their retirement savings.

While it may be too late for the Securities and Exchange Commission to pass any new regulations before the end of the year, financial experts anticipate major financial legislation and regulation to occur sometime in early 2010.

A group of Democratic lawmakers has introduced legislation that would impose a tax on Wall Street securities transactions.