401(k) Roundtable

I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy during these crazy times. This episode had a lot of twists and turns to get to you. My guest today, Sherrie Boutwell, ERISA Attorney with Boutwell Fay and I had planned this originally as a conversation about some of the trickier distribution scenarios employers face and what to do about them. As things unfolded, we felt it would be helpful to include...

I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy in these unprecedented times. There are a lot of questions about coronavirus, the new CARES Act, the bear market. All of these moving parts also brings up inevitable concern in the back of many employers heads, will we be sued over how we have handled our 401(k) plan during this time in the future? To help wade through this I am happy to welcome back...

I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy! While there is no specific Coronavirus talk today, the concept of managed accounts could get a boost once the dust settles in the financial markets. To help us navigate things I am excited to welcome back David Blanchett, who is the head of retirement research for Morningstar Investment Management. We touch on many of the basics of managed accounts,...

If you are looking for a great conversation about the realities, challenges and opportunities for individuals on their journey to retirement, this is the episode for you. If you want information and perspectives on the coronavirus, hold onto that thought for a minute. This episode features my conversation with Katherine Roy, Managing Director, Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of Individual Ret...

This episode is a first in nearly, 200 episodes. We don't have a guest. With as quickly as the financial markets, business conditions and the economy are changing I thought it might be helpful to share some timely information. My commentary is derived from a recent webinar I hosted and covers a brief update on the financial markets, ideas to communicate with employees, process to suspend your matc...

In this unprecedented economic and market environment it is more important than ever for employers and their retirement service partners to work well together. This week I am excited to welcome back Tom Kmak, the CEO of Fiduciary Benchmarks to share his perspectives. Tom has a great message that is simple in concept but not always followed by employers or their service partners. We also delve into...

Volatility, is an understatement when describing current conditions in the financial markets. To help interpret some recent events and offer thoughts on where we go from here, I am excited to welcome back Scott Kimball, CFA who is a Portfolio Manager with BMO Asset Management. During our conversation he shares very level headed thoughts on what triggered one of the quickest corrections in the stoc...

Managed accounts have been around for a while in workplace retirement plans. However, according to my guest Jason Roberts, the founder and chief executive officer of the Pension Resource Institute, a consulting firm that delivers compliance, training and technology-based solutions to financial institutions and plan fiduciaries, we are on the verge of major transition to managed accounts 2.0 which...

Originally, this was going to be a cyber episode, but based on a recent conversation with plaintiff's attorney Jerry Schlichter and some subsequent litigation, thought it might be good to expand our horizons to include employee data. My guest today, Jenny Eller, Principal and co-head of the Fiduciary Practice at Group Law Group brings her experience and perspective to the conversation. We first di...

Despite the divisiveness in our government right now, they were able to get things together and bring us the SECURE Act, arguably the most significant retirement legislation in over a decade. Today, my guest & I, Bob Holcomb, Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Empower Retirement, discuss how this came back from the dead, this significance for employers and employees, and much...

The last decade came to a close with us in the midst of a bull market in for the ages, while that was great, what's next? Will the good times continue to roll? Or, will the 2020's be a lost decade for returns? Or something in between? To help chew on this, I was happy to welcome back Rob Arnott, Chairman of Research Affiliates to the podcast. If you are not familiar with Rob, despite his fancy tit...

My now annual conversation with Jerry Schlichter, plaintiffs attorney with Schlichter Bogard & Denton has been one of the more popular episodes on the 401(k) Fridays podcast. This year was one of our best and most forward looking. In case you are not familiar with Jerry and his work in successfully brining 401(k) or ERISA litigation against employers, he has a pretty impressive track record. He bu...

Welcome back to another year and another decade of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! Sorry for the delay in getting new episodes out, had some last minute scheduling challenges along with sickness that got us off track. Don't fear though, we are back and ready for an exciting 2020! To kick things off, I am excited to welcome back Andrew Biggs, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute to the podcast...

While every industry has its own unique characteristics, not every industry has enough of them related to retirement plans to deserve a special report or podcast episode to discuss them.   Healthcare though, is one of those industries which does. To dive into the topic I was excited to welcome back to the podcast Brodie Wood, National Practice leader for Healthcare, Education and Not-for-Profit ma...

In a somewhat related follow-on to our conversation last week about the long term impact of automatic enrollment, today we tackle the emerging auto concept of auto portability.   My guest, Spencer Williams, Founder & CEO of Retirement Clearing House has been intimately involved in the   process to get this off the ground and available in a workplace retirement plan near you! As you might expect, w...

Automatic enrollment has been a regular theme on the podcast, in fact when I first launched the podcast I got a little worried because we seemed to hit on it in nearly every episode regardless of the topic.   Today, I am excited to welcome back Josh Dietch, a Vice President with T. Rowe Price and the group manager of Retirement Thought Leadership. Without stealing too much of his thunder, Josh and...

When we get to tackle new topics and shed some light where there is confusion, that get's me really excited. Regardless of what state you live in, this is timely and relevant as we tackle cannabis companies and their unique challenge of setting up 401(k) plans.   My guest, Jewell Lim Esposito an ERISA Attorney with FisherBroyles has specific hands on experience working with companies in the cannab...

We revisit our sponsor spotlight theme on the podcast this week! Tony Tomich, the Head of Pension Investments at Farmers Insurance® shares some great perspective on the company and their retirement plan.   We had fun digging into how their plan works, how it helps with recruiting and retaining talent, how decisions are made and much more.   One major theme we dig into is the concept of retirement...

The business of being in the 401(k) business has been one of our more popular themes on the podcast.   Today, should be no different.   My guest Tim Wulfekuhle, President of Northwest Plan Services and I dive into the topic of independent recordkeepers.   We start with some thoughts about different types or categories of recordkeepers, what the litmus test for an independent recordkeeper is, how i...

Today we have a little fun, I am excited to welcome back J.D. Carlson who by day is the President & CEO of Plan Design Consultants, a Third Party Administration firm and by night is a YouTube sensation as one fourth of the Retireholiks. Our conversation is a follow-up to one we had on the podcast last year where we tackled some tricky workplace retirement terms to either decipher some industry jar...

When you listen to this episode, some of what we talk about might not directly impact you if you are not a caregiver.   However, as you will hear the odds are someone you know, work with or is a client likely is.   My guest today, Bill Harmon, President of Corporate Retirement Markets at Voya Financial and a caregiver himself, talks candidly about how to define caregiver, the challenges they face...

Interest rates could be a significant risk to retirement savers that is hiding in plain sight. During my conversation with Mike Barry, President of O3 Advisory Services, we connect a lot of dots on how low interest rates could impact the retirement of current and future retirees.   We also hit on several reasons why interest rates have been trending lower, whether student debt plays into the conve...

We last spoke with my guest Fred Reish, ERISA Attorney and Partner at Drinker Biddle in the immediate aftermath of the demise of the DOL Fiduciary Rule.   Today, we catch-up on what has happened since and what implications they have for employers, their employees and retirement service providers.   Without stealing too much of Fred's thunder, we start with why this conversation and regulations exi...

Depending on who you ask, fiduciary liability insurance might not be on the top of their list as the most exciting topic, but it is important.   For my guest today, Reid Eanes, a Senior Vice President with Lockton Insurance Brokers, helping insure fiduciary is from workplace retirement plans is a key part of his day job.   We start with a few basics on how fiduciary liability insurance works and d...

This week we try something a little different.  This episode is the audio portion of a webinar I hosted a few weeks ago.  The content was great and I thought it would make sense share with you.  My conversation features Sam Henson and Ethan McWilliams, both members of Lockton's ERISA regulatory and compliance team and both spent time as investigators with the Department of Labor.  We start with a...