Nevin's Data "Points"

As human beings, we’re often motivated to seek simpler solutions to life’s challenges. But sometimes “simpler”… isn’t.  While there are some amazing bundled solutions, ERISA’s admonition to act solely in the interests of plan participants (and beneficiaries), alongside the requirement that those be reasonable in terms of cost and value, call for a careful and considered evaluation.  In that vein, there are some “myths” that seem to be prevalent regarding those choices, perceptions that persist even today. Here are some points to consider: An unbundled approach is more expensive. The reality is, it can be—depending on the point of comparison. If all other things are “equal,” then certainly engaging another level of service and compliance oversight can bring with it additional costs. Then again, engaging the services of a third-party administrator [i]  (TPA)—at least the right TPA—is hardly an “all other things equal” comparison. Their involvement and ...

Ours is a complex and complicated business — constantly changing and evolving. And yet, there are key fallacies about today’s retirement system — and how it compares with what used to be — that will not go away. Back in the good old days being “covered” by a pension plan meant you would actually get a full pension benefit. We’re routinely told that “once upon a time” individuals used to work for a single employer their entire career, and that most of those workers were “covered by a workplace retirement plan, frequently a defined benefit pension.” While defined benefit plans were certainly more common a generation ago, they were not as ubiquitous as is often assumed (see here ).   Moreover, while some workers did spend their working career at a single employer (and some still do, particularly in the public sector), the data show that for the very most part we have long been a nation of relatively short-tenured workers. How short? Well, the median job tenure in the United St...