Edelman puts a dealmaker in charge of retirement plan services
Christian Mango's appointment puts acquisitions at the center of Edelman's workplace retirement strategy.
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Judge revives 3M target-date suit on Fidelity benchmark
A Minnesota federal judge let prudence claims against 3M's target-date funds proceed, giving plaintiffs' lawyers a concrete test of what a meaningful benchmark looks like.
Employers get a $2,500 tax-free lane into a child's Trump Account
Proposed Treasury rules open a tax-free employer route, but the fee cap and small-business guidance are still unsettled.
Principal survey: AI adoption and delayed retirement
Employer confidence is recovering, but most still see workers postponing retirement.
SEI brings Zocks AI to its $2.1 trillion adviser network
The partnership pairs an AI assistant with adoption programming, targeting the back-office work advisers would rather skip.
Finding a lost 401(k) now starts at Login.gov
A SECURE 2.0 search tool for lost 401(k)s and pensions is live. Whether it helps depends on passing Login.gov's identity check and what old employers actually reported.
Trump account proposal caps contributions and bars trustee steering
Employers get a dependent care-style playbook for tax-free Trump account contributions, with a single $2,500 cap per worker and a ban on steering money to a chosen custodian.
Zero-fee IRAs can still cost savers $1,400 a year
PensionBee's white paper sizes the revenue streams hiding inside fee-free IRA accounts.
Retirement planning now runs from birth to late-life care
Guardian's Trump Account math starts wealth-building at age zero; Bquest says advisers ignore the costs of growing old.
The last mile of retirement is a spending problem
A new IRIC white paper calls underspending a design flaw and gives advisers a playbook built on paychecks, buckets, and menu changes.
DOL proposes extending e-delivery rules to group health plans
Group health plan sponsors could gain the same electronic delivery path retirement plans have had since 2020.
Zero-fee IRAs can carry more than $1,400 in hidden annual costs
PensionBee's analysis of cash sweep spreads and other charges gives retirement advisers a checklist for vetting IRA providers.
The 401(k) Fight Now Starts Before the Recordkeeper Is Chosen
OpenArc and Mesirow are moving to control plan design before a recordkeeper is hired, shifting who shapes the menu.
Edelman turns its retirement unit over to a dealmaker
Edelman hires a dealmaker to run its retirement unit, a clue it plans to buy its way toward turning 401(k) participants into planning clients.
PGIM hires Franklin Templeton veteran to run DC solutions
Yaqub Ahmed will lead PGIM's defined contribution push across wealth and international channels as the $1.5 trillion manager competes for plan menu spots without a recordkeeping arm.
EBSA bulletin resets ESOP enforcement priorities
ESOP fiduciaries and sponsors face a lighter enforcement climate, with an 'adequate consideration' rule still to come.
Deep AI Users Report Stronger Profit and Revenue Gains
A Fieldguide survey and Cerulli data show heavy AI adoption tied to growth, even as advisers give their broader tech modest marks.
Final UBIT rules lock in the tax for retirement-plan investors in private funds
The IRS finalized the UBIT rules for retirement-plan stakes in debt-financed private funds, with a transition window that reaches back to 2018.
Small employers misjudge the cost and value of retirement plans, Boston College says
A new Boston College brief says small employers overestimate what a plan costs and underestimate what it does for recruitment and retention. Its proposed answer is education.
OpenArc expands fiduciary reach into provider search
The Dynasty-backed RIA is betting sponsors will pay for an independent hand in choosing benefits providers, not just investment oversight.
Stone Point and Genstar take equal stakes in Ascensus
The two private equity firms will split ownership of the retirement recordkeeper and fund its technology and AI push.
Small-business 401(k) adoption jumps 64% since 2019, Gusto finds
Hourly workers posted the largest access gains as SECURE incentives push plan availability to 31% of small businesses.
Savvy Wealth tops Inc. 5000 financial-services list at No. 11
Three-year revenue growth of 13,086% put the New York RIA at the top of Inc.'s financial-services category and gave its advisor-recruiting pitch a credential.
Employers Expect AI to Add Staff as Retirements Slip
Principal's Financial Well-Being Index shows AI adoption spreading while 69% of employers say the economy is delaying retirement.
Mesirow buys flexPATH's 3(38) business in second fiduciary deal
The deal deepens Mesirow's custom-portfolio reach and gives it a second outsourced-fiduciary acquisition this year.
401(k) silos are cracking under wealth-pressure
Technology, participant expectations, and advisor demand are pulling workplace retirement accounts into the wider wealth-management orbit.
Equities carry institutional plans to strongest quarter in years
Foundations and endowments led with a 7.0% median return, but the S&P 500's 15.2% gain did the heavy lifting.
MissionSquare moves into wealth management, putting advice beside retirement
The $73.6 billion retirement services company adds a brokerage and robo, turning the plan administrator into an advice provider.
OpenArc moves into recordkeeper searches as an independent fiduciary
The RIA is taking its fiduciary practice to the search stage, where provider selection sets up the ongoing oversight to follow.
OpenArc adds recordkeeper search to its fiduciary platform
The independent RIA is turning recordkeeper searches into a way to pitch its no-revenue-sharing model to sponsors with 401(k), equity comp, and HSAs.
Vanguard custom models put a dial in advisers' hands
The new portfolios run through Vestmark, SS&C Black Diamond, and Orion workflows.
Vanguard opens model portfolios to adviser customization
Advisers can tailor Vanguard's models without leaving its low-cost investment approach; the two-thirds time-savings claim is the pitch.
Alto launches a single-workflow private-market platform for RIAs
The self-directed IRA custodian is betting that operational friction, not client demand, has kept private-market deals out of retirement accounts.
Wellness engagement moves older savers to act on retirement planning
Most older savers who used virtual wellness took concrete planning steps, even as retirement confidence keeps slipping.
A year in a virtual wellness benefit moves older workers toward retirement readiness
Financial Finesse data shows older workers taking concrete planning steps even as confidence in retirement security falls.
Alto's Private Deal Room targets back-office friction in IRA private-market deals
New platform for RIAs bundles custody, processing and compliance into one workflow, betting that less friction moves more retirement dollars into private assets.
Treasury, IRS issue sample forms to speed electronic rollovers
The optional templates target the four-to-six-week delays that leave retirement money in transit and old accounts stranded.
Mesirow buys flexPATH's 3(38) book in second fiduciary deal
Mesirow's second fiduciary acquisition of 2026 folds flexPATH's plan-level 3(38) book into a $164 billion platform.
A 50% annuity purchase beats the 4% rule in AEI-ACLI models
A tax-aware comparison of four retirement income strategies puts a one-time 50% annuity purchase ahead of both the 4% rule and full annuitization, while leaving about $500,000 in the account.
CITs take the lead in target-date assets; income is next
Two decades after the Pension Protection Act, collective investment trusts hold 55% of the $5.3 trillion target-date market, and income features have become the next battleground.
OpenArc launches independent provider search for plan sponsors
The open-architecture firm with no proprietary products moves into RFP and RFI work, an entry point for its fiduciary business.
Most employers report workers delaying retirement as costs bite
Principal and PNC surveys show rising costs pushing plan participants to postpone retirement and ask for budgeting help.
Americans want Social Security saved, even with benefit knowledge gaps
AARP finds near-universal support for protecting Social Security while disability and survivor benefits remain the least understood provisions.
Saver's Match guidance settles eligibility, leaves delivery open
Sponsors know who qualifies for the federal match; the open question is how the money reaches plans and IRAs.
IRS proposes employer-contribution rules for Trump Accounts
Proposed regulations tell employers how to contribute to Trump Accounts, and what the plan document must say.
Advisers to nearly double private assets as DC plans stall
Advisers are on track to add $2 trillion in private assets while 401(k) sponsors remain stuck at 3 percent. The DOL benchmark rule is the unresolved variable.
Mesirow buys flexPATH's 3(38) retirement-plan business
Mesirow's purchase folds flexPATH's plan-level 3(38) line into a $164 billion fiduciary platform.
Treasury, IRS propose electronic-first rollover standards
A voluntary rollover framework under SECURE 2.0 lays the groundwork for ending paper checks.
Private deals are closing; the DOL benchmark remains missing
The safe harbor for private assets in 401(k) plans cannot work without a meaningful benchmark, and the latest deal data shows private fund managers still haven't produced one.
DOL's benchmark rule puts private markets to the test
The DOL's safe harbor for private assets in DC plans rests on a 'meaningful benchmark' that private markets have not produced.