Nevin's Data "Points"

 Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American” holiday —and so, even in a year in which there has been an unprecedented amount of disruption, stress, discomfort, and loss—there remains so much for which to be thankful.  I’m thankful that so many employers (still) voluntarily choose to offer a workplace retirement plan—and, particularly in this extraordinary year, that so many have remained committed to that promise. I’m thankful that the vast majority of workers defaulted into retirement savings programs tend to remain there—and that there are mechanisms (automatic enrollment, contribution acceleration and qualified default investment alternatives) in place to help them save and invest better than they might otherwise. I continue to be thankful that participants, by and large, continue to hang in there with their commitment to retirement savings, despite lingering economic uncertainty and competing financial priorities, such as rising health care costs a...

 In these extraordinary times, there’s a lot of change in the mix—and new legislative and regulatory developments that could be “game changers”—or perhaps not-so-much. Even in the most normal of times, it’s customary for businesses in evaluating future prospects to consider/identify elements under a “SWOT” analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats—and the recent Summit Insider gave us a chance to see what is on advisor minds now—and for the days ahead. For this year’s Summit Insider, we asked respondents [i]  to weigh in on how they saw various portents of change: as a game changer, for good or ill, something about which much ado had been made without justification (those that are mere “rearrangers”)—or was it simply too soon to say?  Here’s what they thought about:  1. MEPs/PEPs (Multiple Employer Plans/Pooled Employer Plans) 40% - Too Soon to Say 38% - Positive Game Changer 20% - Much Ado About Not Much 12% - Negative Game C...

Recent reports of 401(k) thefts  and an ongoing concern about cybersecurity  (should) have everybody on the alert. Here’s some things you, your plan sponsor clients, and their participants should check out—now. Find Your Account(s) It may have been a while since you checked out your 401(k) balance—indeed, many may not have  ever   checked it out online. Start by tracking down the website, your user id, your password. If you haven’t done so in a while, you may have lost those credentials—or your access may have been disabled. Even if those credentials are still valid, it’s probably a good time to change them. Make sure you remember those account(s) at previous employers’ 401(k)s that you may have left “behind.”  Oh, and it will be less frustrating if you don’t do this on the weekend. In my experience, few offer customer service support then, and if you need help getting on, you’ll need some help. You might also find that it’s a good time to ...

If you have turned on a TV, walked by a radio, driven down a residential street, or answered a phone (or more likely let it go unanswered) in the past month, you will, of course, be aware that our nation will officially go to the polls today.  Of course, our nation has been “going” to the polls—or at least casting votes—for several weeks now. And while some states (and voters) have done so in elections past, a combination of factors (not the least, concerns about the current pandemic) means that the process of voting, like so much of our lives this year, is going to be “unprecedented,” both in terms of the breadth and volume of votes cast prior to election “day”—and perhaps on that day itself. And yes, it’s been a particularly nasty—one feels compelled to say “unprecedented”—election cycle.  In that regard, I recently came across this:  “Certainly, politics has never been a pretty business, but I doubt that I would get much argument in stating that this p...