Retirement planning

Mutual funds have a new competitor in the defined contribution market: collective investment trusts. These investments have been around for years but are now increasingly grabbing the attention of investors in defined contribution retirement plans.

Since the financial crisis and Great Recession, 401(k) plans have undergone dramatic shifts. To foster diversification and greater participation, 51% of participants in Fidelity Investments' 401(k) plans are in automatically enrolled plans, up from 16% five years ago, and 73% of the plans use target-date funds as the default, up from 11% in 2006.

Lincoln Financial Group has launched a new, $20 million advertising campaign created by Gyro of New York.

More than half of Fidelity's 11.7 million 401(k) participants are in plans that have automatic enrollment, up significantly from 16% five years ago. Furthermore, 73% of the plans Fidelity administers default their participants into lifecycle funds up from 11% in 2006.

Three-quarters of small business owners believe that so many Americans are financially unprepared for retirement that the problem has reached the level of a crisis, but only about a fifth of them actually offer their employees a 401(k) or similar plan, according to a new survey.

Nearly two-thirds of plan sponsors have changed the investment lineup in their 401(k) plan in the past year, up markedly from a mere 20% in 2008, according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America.

Transamerica Retirement Services has added 38 new stock and bond options to its investment platform for company-sponsored retirement plans.

Author and consultant Keith Weber says financial advisors need to cater their messages and their services to different generations of clients who have divergent agendas but share many of the same retirement planning concerns.

For financial planners, it means they might have to work a lot harder to get younger investors to recognize the value of investing in stocks.

Almost seven in 10 U.S. households that own traditional IRAs have developed strategies for managing income and assets in retirement, according to a study released last week by the Investment Company Institute.

Retirement plan advisors’ top five concerns include new disclosure rules, market volatility, finding greater flexibility and customization in plans, measuring a given plan’s success and an expected redefinition of fiduciary status.

Eight in 10 advisers who sell annuities report that they are having more client discussions about retirement income planning than they did five years ago. And those discussions are becoming more emotional, according to a new report, “The Evolution of the Annuity Industry," released by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) and Cogent Research.

Living more frugally and paying off debt has paid off for one in five retirees -- but fewer are looking out to the future to estimate how long their assets will last in retirement.

Living more frugally and paying off debt has paid off for one in five retirees—but fewer are looking out to the future to estimate how long their assets will last in retirement.

Not only do Americans expect to work longer to save enough for retirement, they expect to work way longer beyond that. New research by Wells Fargo shows that the anticipated retirement age has now stretched as much as 15 years past age 65.

Not only do Americans expect to work longer to save enough for retirement, they expect to work way longer. New research by Wells Fargo shows that the anticipated retirement age has now stretched as much as 15 years past age 65.

Banks may be on shaky ground, but 43% of Americans see them as a trusted source for retirement advice, according to a survey by Hearts & Wallets. This is an increase from 41% a year ago.

Banks may be on shaky ground, but 43% of Americans see them as a trusted source for retirement advice, according to a survey by Hearts & Wallets. This is an increase from 41% a year ago.

Only 4% of plan sponsors have established goals to engage workers younger than 35 in their defined contribution plans, even though they know the younger generation's participation and contribution rates lag their older colleagues, a survey by Greenwich Associates for Northern Trust finds.

Prudential Retirement has launched a website dedicated to assisting plan sponsors and advisers help Americans put aside the money they’ll need for retirement and guarantee a sustainable source of income throughout its duration.