Employee benefits

The Department of Labor on Monday issued final rules on investment advice in 401(k) plans, largely in line with its initial definition of advice.

FINRA this week issued an investor alert urging the roughly 30% of American workers who are not contributing enough to their 401(k) plans to receive a full employer match to step up their contributions in order to meet their eventual retirement needs.

MFS Investment Management has launched an additional 401(k) module for financial advisers called “Building a Standout Approach.” The module helps advisers decide which content to present, and how to organize and structure it to various industries and audiences.

Great-West Retirement Services has launched a marketing campaign this week to participate in the National Save for Retirement Week.

Vanguard announced that the small 401(k) plan service that it introduced last month for plans of up to $20 million in assets under management has been receiving a great deal of interest, particularly the platform’s concentration on low-cost index and target-date funds, and its “all-in” plan fees that include investment, recordkeeping and administration costs.

Congress is currently considering a bill that would permit 401(k) investors in danger of losing their primary home to foreclosure to use up to $50,000 or 50% of the balance, whichever is less, to prevent that from happening.

The Hartford is taking part in the upcoming National Save for Retirement Week of Oct. 16 with the “It’s In Your Power Campaign,” based on superheroes. The campaign, aimed at 1.4 million participations in 32,500 plans, shows two superheroes flying around on scooters, enjoying leisure time with friends and family and generally just enjoying being retired.

In the wake of economic and stock market volatility, many 401(k) investors are questioning the wisdom of 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, a survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company finds.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has unveiled a new set of features for its 401(k) and employee financial benefit programs including new mobile access to retirement account information.

Automatic enrollment greatly increases participation in 401(k) plans for all racial and ethnic groups, with particular success for Blacks and Hispanics, even among low earners, Vanguard research shows.

ING’s U.S. retirement division has launched iEnroll, mobile enrollment for 401(k) plans whereby participants can instantly enroll in their workplace retirement plan. iEnroll is available on mobile devices as well as through tablets that on-site ING enrollment specialists will have on hand.

Investors appear to have switched gears from focusing on replenishing their balances from 2008’s market downturn to taking all of the responsible steps to prepare for retirement.

Got downside protection? That's the question many 401(k) plan sponsors and investors are now asking.

401K GPS has launched it personalized 401(k) monitoring service, to ensure participants’ strategies fit their risk profile. While the service monitors portfolios on a daily basis, it issues quarterly recommendations on how investors should reallocate their holdings, based on retirement goals and market expectations. Should volatility in the markets become pronounced, 401K GPS will issue intra-quarterly alerts.

A significant number of advisers who serve 401(k) plans will ramp up their retirement income planning practices over the next few years, according to a new report from Principal Financial, called the “2011 Best Practices in Retirement Income Planning Study.”

MassMutual Retirement Services’ 2011 campaign to prompt 401(k) participants to save more has succeeded in boosting deferral rates by 4.34%. It also was aimed at getting those who were not saving into the game, and helping those with portfolios to revisit their allocations.

New York Life Retirement Plan Services has reorganized into four industry-focused service teams serving: Taft-Hartley, technology, finance and professional services, and manufacturing, materials and retail. Each of these teams will have its own relationship managers, communications consultants, investment specialists and ERISA consultants.

Eighty-four percent of 401(k) sponsors surveyed by Mercer and the U.S. SIF Foundation (formerly known as the Social Investment Forum Foundation) believe that sustainable and socially responsible investing (SRI) funds will either hold steady or grow in the next five years.

Investors who relied on professional help in the form of target-date funds, managed accounts and advice earned nearly three percentage points more than those that did not, according to an analysis of eight large defined contribution plans between 2006 and 2010 by Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines. The plans covered 400,000 participants with $25 billion in assets.

Fidelity Investments announced Wednesday it has received commitments for an additional $17 billion in 401(k) assets under management from 269 plans representing 315,000 participants. More than $15 billion of those assets are due to new sales, with the remaining $2 billion the result of mergers and acquisitions by existing clients.