Nevin's Data "Points"

By now, most brackets tied to NCAA March Madness   are already busted . That didn’t take long. Then again, it never does. Every March, millions of us confidently — or at least optimistically — predict outcomes in a tournament defined by unpredictability. We study matchups, trends, seeding history, and (too) often assume that the track record of colleges of our youth remains constant — and then watch a 12-seed dismantle our assumptions before the first weekend is out. Though in fairness,  alumni  affections DO plan a role (well, for those of you whose alma mater makes it into the tournament, anyway). If that sounds familiar, it should. Because in a lot of ways, retirement planning isn’t all that different. It’s focused (or should be) on projections based on reasonable assumptions — expected returns, steady contributions, rational behavior over time. And then reality intervenes. Markets don’t cooperate. Emergencies emerge. Excrement occurs. Life happens. And ...

  Last year, we took some family to the nearby Great Smoky Mountains in search of a waterfall of note — one that the guidebooks said was “readily accessible.”  That said, it took longer than we thought — we’d come up around a curve on the mountain trail, sure that it would be right there —– only to find (just) another curve. As we crossed folks coming back down from the falls, we’d (breathlessly) ask — “how much further is it?” — and while the responses were varied in terms of their accuracy and descriptive depth, they all added “it’s worth it.”  And you know what? It was.   Well, believe it or not, we’re nearing another kind of summit; a week from today we’ll be about halfway through the 2025 NAPA 401(k) Summit. It’s later than “normal” this year — and it’s been a long-time coming. Indeed, your Summit Steering committee has spent nearly a year putting this all together — leveraging YOUR input on topics, each has aligned themselves with a specific workshop — lit...

  This is the time of year when resolutions for the cessation of bad behaviors and the beginning of better ones are in vogue. Here are five for plan fiduciaries for 2025. Develop a (plan) budget. Most financially-focused New Year’s Resolutions focus on spending (less) or saving (more) —and the really thoughtful ones do both — all tied around the development of a budget that aligns what we have to spend with what we actually spend. I expect that most, or at least many, plans also have a budget when it comes to the expenditures that require corporate funding.  Less clear is how many establish some kind of budget when it comes to what participants have to spend.  Now, granted, what they pay will vary based on any number of …variables — but an essential part of ensuring that the fees paid by the plan (for the services provided to the plan) is knowing how much — and for what. At some level that means not only keeping an eye on things like expense ratios, the options with reven...

  I’ve written previously – albeit just a couple of times – about my decision to “retire.” Not that I don’t have stories to share, and perhaps even insights to impart. [i]   I’ve mostly held off because (a) people keep telling me I “suck” at retirement, and (b) I have come to believe that every retirement experience is unique.  That said, of late, I have become aware of just how many folks write and counsel about retirement – who are actually well short of that milestone. I’m not saying that guidance is irrelevant – I’m just saying that I have found that the reality is… different. My good friend and podcasting partner Fred Reish (who hasn’t yet crossed over into retirement, it bears noting) came up with the idea of doing a podcast where we talk to retirement industry people about their retirement(s). We’ve now done  three of those interviews  – and I hope that you’ll come check them out.  In the most  recent episode , [ii]  Fred thought it would b...

   The solution to the coverage gap lies through small business—but only about a third have been approached in the past year about offering one, according to a new survey. That’s not exactly a new revelation—any number of surveys and government data throughout the years indicates that the vast majority of large(r) employers already offer a workplace retirement plan. [i]  The coverage “gap” so often held out as a sign of “failure” by the critics of the 401(k) lies almost exclusively among smaller employers. Which means that closing it will require a focus on small business—and understanding the “resistance.”   At the outset, it’s worth acknowledging a certain truism about small plans (the kind small businesses set up)—they are sold, not bought. Consequently, it was disappointing to see that datapoint about just 31% of the businesses that do not currently offer a plan having been approached in the last 12 months about offering one. [ii]   That survey finding ...