Nevin's Data "Points"

Last week, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released its much-anticipated proposal regarding participant fee disclosures (see " EBSA Finishes Regulatory Package with Participant Disclosure Proposal ". The industry’s response, by and large, has been positive (a notable exception: Congressman George Miller, author and sponsor of the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2007—see “ Miller Fee Bill Cruises through House Committee ”), though one got a sense that there would be a LOT of comments forthcoming on the proposal, not the least of which was timing. After all, the DoL is soliciting comments through September 8 (so much for vacation), and says it plans to have the new rules in place by January 1. My first thoughts on opening the proposal doubtless mirrored many of yours—“Holy cow, 103 pages!” And then, also perhaps like many of you, I set it aside for a time when my brain could handle 103 pages of proposed governme...

By some accounts, I just spent the past week in “retirement”—driving around sightseeing, reading some good books, and yes—even sitting on a beach. And I have to tell you—if that was retirement, I don’t know how I’m going to afford it. Now, I realize that isn’t the stuff of most “real” retirements, though it is frequently the stuff of retirement planning brochures. My week was a family vacation, and it was spent doing the things that families do on vacations. And it served as a stark reminder that, whereas sitting on a beach doesn’t cost much, making arrangements to stay—and eat—in proximity to the aforementioned beach is a whole other financial consideration. Having said that, there were plenty of older folks sunning themselves out there—and most had the equipment and tan lines that suggested they got to do this kind of thing more often than yours truly (in fact, an entire busload descended on our hotel at 6 a.m. one morning, making the kind and volume of noise generally associated w...

As anyone who has (or has been) a teenager can attest, motivation is a tricky business. Once upon a time, it took little more than a smile or a “good girl” to motivate my children to do the right things (alongside the occasional threat to rely on corporal punishment). But as they have grown older, the “motivations” have become more “challenging” (and, unfortunately, frequently louder); not because they are not interested in doing the right things—it’s just that they have other priorities. Of course, teenagers are really just human beings (despite the occasional rumor to the contrary), and as such, they don’t always do the right thing, or do it as soon as a parent might prefer. So it also goes for adults—specifically, adults in the context of saving for retirement. Realizing that, we have long used certain subtle means of encouraging them to do the right things. We impose vesting schedules to encourage their continued employment, we offer “free money” in the form of company matches...

Over the past several years, it has become “fashionable” in some quarters to bash the workplace retirement savings plan; most frequently, the 401(k). Critics have long bemoaned “anemic” participation rates as a sign that the programs aren’t working, faulted what were perceived as inadequate savings rates as an indication that participants didn’t grasp the need, and pointed to less-than-optimal investment allocations as proof that those who did save were not capable of, or not interested in, making those decisions. In fairness, much of that “criticism” has been of a constructive nature—from professionals who care about retirement savings adequacy, who believe strongly in the support of the employer-sponsored system, and who truly want to see people have the opportunity to do the right thing, and to do the right thing with that opportunity. However, those well-intentioned voices were sometimes employed in contexts that, over time, have hinted (and sometimes done so more overtly) that ...