Nevin's Data "Points"

Twenty years ago, I authored [i] a cover story about the then-newly enacted Pension Protection Act of 2006 with an ambitious headline: “The Pension Protection Act: This Changes Everything.”   Twenty years later, it seems like a reasonable time to ask: Did It? The short answer, I think, is yes — though probably not quite in the ways we expected in 2006. The PPA was a sweeping piece of bipartisan legislation, addressing among other things defined benefit funding, pension accounting, and cash balance plans — it was titled the PENSION Protection Act, after all.  And it was, for the benefits promised by those plans, an important defensive measure. [ii]    However, to my eyes then — and now — the most lasting influence of the PPA was on the defined contribution side, where it helped change not just plan design, but the industry's thinking about participant behavior. To Appreciate 2006, Go Back to 1986 Twenty years earlier, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 had significantly tigh...

Several years ago, we had in mind that it would be fun to get an aquarium for our home, and (even) I got excited at the prospects of filling it with a variety of all kinds and sizes of exotic fish.  Sadly, those hopes were dashed when I discovered that , despite the massive displays of what appeared to be whole schools of fish in similarly sized tanks at the pet store, our specific-sized tank would only support a handful of the fish I had hoped to display. Apparently, the more fish you want to have (that live), the bigger the tank you need. The reason: they need room to thrive and grow. At long last the IRS  last week  announced the new contribution and benefit limits for 2022. Considering the run-up in inflation this year, expectations were similarly high for increases in those limits. And sure enough, among other things, the 401(k) limit was bumped $1,000 (to $20,500) and the defined benefit plan limit rose from $230,000 to $245,000, though the limit...

Several weeks back, I wrote a column entitled, “ 5 Things Millennials Need to Know About Saving for Retirement .” But what about those at the brink of retirement? Retirement seems close — perhaps too close for the comfort of Boomers, some of whom have already begun cycling into retirement. In fact, the youngest element of this cohort (born in 1964) is now already 51, and it’s said that 10,000 Boomers roll into retirement every day. That said, whether you’ve been saving or not, or not saving enough — here are six things Boomers need to know about saving for retirement. 1. Social Security won’t be as much as you think it will be. When you were your kids’ age(s), you too were likely disdainful about the long-term prospects for Social Security (and hey, your kids weren’t around for the  real  funding crisis back in the early 1980s!). That said, you’re not only close enough to collecting; many of you are probably in the age group where when politicians talk about making c...

As the New Year begins, we are often of a mind to think about making a fresh start. If you are an individual, you may (finally) be ready to be serious about saving for retirement - or you may have mailed in that last tuition check - or crossed that age 50 threshold where you can start " catching up " on retirement savings. If you're an employer, you may well have established new goals for your retirement plans this year—a new threshold for participation, perhaps—or maybe you’ve just rolled out a new fund menu for your participants. But whether your plans - or your programs - have undergone change or not, this is a good time of year to help participants reexamine their savings goals—and perhaps even some of their “bad” retirement savings habits. Here’s a short list of “resolutions” that can help you get started. ___ Resolve to participate in your workplace retirement savings plan. If you are not already saving for your retirement in your workplace program, you ar...

Several months back we acquired an aquarium, and I looked forward to filling it up with all kinds and sizes of exotic fish – only to be disappointed to find out that, despite the massive displays of what appeared to be whole schools of fish in similar sized tanks at the pet store, our tank would only support a handful of the fish I had hoped to display. The reason; they need room to thrive and grow. The more fish you want to have (and live), the bigger the tank. The IRS has now announced the new contribution and benefit limits for 2015 . Most were increased, notably the annual contribution limits for 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans (from $17,500, where it has been for the past two years, to $18,000) and the catch-up contributions for those over age 50 (from $5,500, where it has remained since 2009, to $6,000). But since industry surveys suggest that “only” about 9%-12% currently contribute to those levels, does it matter? It’s worth remembering, of course, that these adjustments ...