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‘Living’ Proofs

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I n a calendar already chock full of special days and commemorative months, next week we’ll add another: Women’s Retirement Security Day. If this one has snuck up on you — well, it’s a first. July 14 this year, the second Tuesday in July thereafter. A national day of action dedicated to raising awareness, sharing resources, and improving retirement outcomes for women. And that’s the key — not a day of remembrance, a day for action. For much of this country’s history, women were largely expected to derive retirement security through someone else’s employment — a husband’s pension, survivor benefits, or eventually Social Security spousal benefits. The retirement system itself was largely designed around a traditional, uninterrupted male career model: one worker, one employer, one pension, one primary breadwinner. But many women’s lives — including my mother’s — never really fit that model. ad space Mom, a schoolteacher, had a career of her own, but took a fairly significant (and unpaid) ...
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The Pursuit(s) of Happiness

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This is the time of year when you hear a lot of talk about the “unalienable” rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” And while they weren’t written with retirement plans in mind — to my ears they may describe the aspirations behind retirement better than almost anything else in American public policy.  “Life” is, of course, central to retirement planning. It defines not only the time we have to prepare financially, physically, and emotionally for retirement — but also the length of time those preparations must sustain us. ad space Granted, retirement is a relatively new and for many an as yet unexplored reality. But it’s easy to take for granted that millions of older Americans today live with a degree of financial security that previous generations often lacked. Before pensions, Social Security, and defined contribution plans, growing old frequently meant dependency — on family, charity, or continued labor.  “Liberty” may be even more directly connected to re...
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‘Staying’ Power

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  For years now, I’ve been saying that the only thing wrong with the 401(k) system is that there aren’t enough of them. And to be fair, the past several years have largely validated that view. Indeed, Vanguard’s latest How America Saves report paints what is, on the surface anyway, a remarkably encouraging picture. Participation rates among eligible workers are near record highs. Contribution rates rose — 45% of participants increased their savings rate in 2025, contributing to an average savings rate of 12.1%, an all-time high. Professionally managed investments dominate participant portfolios. Most investors ignored market volatility entirely — and, doubtless as a result of all that — account balances reached new highs. Yes, after decades spent worrying about employees failing to enroll, hunkering down in stable value funds, or panic-trading during downturns, the modern defined contribution system increasingly appears to be functioning as designed — or, as Vanguard labels it — a...
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‘Watch’ Words

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The retirement industry spends enormous time modeling outcomes, but most of what really prepares us for retirement isn’t found in a Monte Carlo simulation. It’s learned from watching people around us live their lives. Often our fathers. My parents led mostly through example — and powerful as that can be, as a kid those messages are often too subtle to be noticed, much less appreciated. At 6’ 5” he was an imposing figure, all the more from the pulpit from which he did speak. He was a good speaker, but not a natural one. As a minister, he worked hard at it, studied his subject matter, and practiced his presentation relentlessly, each and every week. I always thought it amazing that such a quiet, introverted man would choose that career — but, and though it can’t have been easy, it was something he felt called to do at an early age. ad space He had opinions, but didn’t impose them on others. It was difficult (and sometimes frustrating) to wrest opinions from him. Indeed, despite his minis...
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Good-Bye — and Thanks — BenefitsLink

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  There are a handful of institutions in the benefits world that have become so woven into the daily rhythm of the industry that it’s hard to imagine the business without them. For many of us, BenefitsLink was one of those institutions. And now, after more than three decades, effective June 30 it’s coming to an end. [i] Back in 1995 — when most of us were still figuring out what the internet was, much less what it might become — Dave Baker and Lois Baker launched something that would fundamentally change how the retirement and benefits community shared information. It’s difficult to fully explain to those who came later just how revolutionary that was — and the inspiration it provided for a whole generation of benefit news sources, including my own “baby,” PLANSPONSOR’s NewsDash. [ii] Before BenefitsLink, finding timely information on retirement plans, executive compensation, health benefits, ERISA litigation, or regulatory guidance was often a scavenger hunt involving trade publi...
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Retirement Income, Defaults and Fiduciary Duty

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   I will confess that I am (still) of a mixed mind on imbedding retirement income solutions in 401(k) plans — and a new whitepaper on the implications of the new Investment Selection rule has done little to assuage those concerns. The Morningstar paper — aptly titled “ Guaranteed Income in DC Plans: Evaluating Target-Date Funds with Built-In Annuities ” — covers a lot of ground. That said, more than half the paper is background [i] — chronicling both the trend lines to date, as well as offering a readable description of the two primary types of retirement income options that have found their way into the target-date fund framework (and yes, they’re quite different!). Those trendlines have captured the attention (and doubtless recirculation) of the paper, particularly among proponents. But the “meat” of the paper considers the implications of applying the Labor Department’s “new” Investment Selection Rule (though its official label at present remains “ Fiduciary Duties in Sel...
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