Nevin's Data "Points"

An early “win” for plan sponsors (perhaps more accurately, a win for a plan sponsor) was Hecker v. Deere & Co. That’s the case where, last June, U.S. District Judge John Shabaz tossed “with prejudice and costs” allegations that the plan had incurred excessive fees and had violated its fiduciary obligations by not disclosing revenue-sharing relationships to participants (see “ Fighting Words ”). It was, many experts said at the time (including this writer), a correct decision, but bad law, with Shabaz too broadly (IMHO) applying the shield of ERISA 404c to excuse an entire series of fiduciary responsibilities not encompassed by that statute. Not surprisingly, that decision has been appealed—and this time, the Department of Labor has offered its opinion as a “friend of the court” (see “ DoL: ERISA Fiduciaries Could Have Disclosure Mandate Not Specified in Law ”). And perhaps not surprisingly, the DoL also seems to think that Judge Shabaz missed the boat on a number of his conclusi...

Over the past several weeks, I’ve gotten a lot of calls from reporters across the country looking to understand more about what appears to be a recent uptick in the volume of loan and hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. By most accounts, those volumes are up—in some cases, perhaps, up by a factor of two—from a year ago. The natural assumption is that some combination of the subprime crisis, the struggling investment markets, and/or just general economic stress is forcing participants to tap into their 401(k)s. Of course, pretty much year-in and year-out, somewhere between 10% and 12% of participants have loans outstanding (though a huge database maintained by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) indicates that the percentage with loans outstanding has been in the high teens for a number of years, certainly among larger plans). Still, there is clearly movement afoot. The question, of course, is what should be done about it? If savings rates and accumulated balances ar...

When a co-worker forwarded to me an e-mail about Eliot Spitzer’s alleged tie with a prostitution ring last week, I thought it was a joke. It was no joke, of course—though, in incredibly short order, it became something of a circus (one can only hope that with Spitzer’s resignation, we’ll be spared the tiresome details about the personal life of the prostitute(s) whose services he engaged). Spitzer was touted as a crusader by some—but like the crusaders of old, his motives and actions surely weren’t always pure. And though he reportedly embraced the image of a sheriff, he more accurately brought to mind Henry Fonda’s gunslinger marshal Clay Blaisdell in “Warlock” who, hired to rid the town of terrorizing bandits, soon became an even more ominous threat to the peace and well-being of the citizenry. Spitzer made a lot of enemies during his career—IMHO, not so much because of what he did, but how he chose to do it. He was, of course, challenging large and powerful interests, but he freq...

While it’s been a relatively mild winter here (and it’s not over yet), it’s been cold enough—and our house old enough—that opening the various utility bills has been akin to a monthly exercise in economic roulette. Not that we don’t know what the rates are (though that doesn’t mean they’re reasonable, IMHO), and not that, with some effort, we couldn’t find the appropriate meters and, at least in theory, undertake the calculations that would allow us to know what we have to pay before that envelope arrives. Still, those fees (more accurately, fee rates) are disclosed, and in theory, I am able to monitor them. The reality, of course, is something different. The placements that make it convenient for the entities that deliver fuel and power to my home make it somewhat less than convenient for me to get to them on a regular basis (particularly during the winter months). Not that it would matter in any event—when it comes to utility preferences, my choices as a homeowner are relative...