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ARCHIVE
Don’t Forget the 401(k): America’s Retirement System Helps Workers Save and Preserve Assets
By Paul Schott Stevens
February 26, 2019
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the Wall Street Journal by Paul Schott Stevens, ICI president and CEO, in response to an article published on February 11, 2019:
American workers have many options to ensure that their retirement savings follow them throughout their careers (“Forget the 401(k),” February 11). Each year, millions of job changers roll their assets from employer plans into individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Millions of self-employed individuals save through Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs), SIMPLE IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, or other plans. And millions of workers who lack employer plans fund their own tax-favored traditional or Roth IRAs.
In short, we already have a system in which your retirement savings can follow you wherever you go or however you work. And our system actively engages employers in promoting and facilitating workers’ retirement saving; features vigorous competition among investment providers; and has fostered such private-sector innovations as auto-enrollment, auto-escalation, target date funds, employer matches, and participant education and empowerment. Our system also preserves individual choice and control of investments—prized by 94 percent of savers with 401(k)s and similar plans.
All of those features would be at risk under proposals, like those in your article, that would reduce employers’ role and create new bureaucracies.
Working together, America’s workers, employers, and financial institutions have constructed a sound retirement system, amassing $29.2 trillion in savings. Let’s build on that strength—not tear it down.
Paul Schott Stevens
President and CEO
Investment Company Institute
Permalink: https://www.ici.org/viewpoints/view_19_401k_pss_wsj
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
Growing Better with Age: The 401(k) Turns Forty
By Miriam Bridges and Christina Kilroy
November 30, 2018
This month marks the fortieth birthday of the most prevalent retirement plan available to workers today: the 401(k). It’s a milestone, to be sure, but there are no mid-life doldrums here—401(k) plans continue to grow, and currently hold $5.3 trillion in assets on behalf of more than 55 million active participants and millions of former employees and retirees.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholderTarget Date Funds
IRA Investors Are Concentrated in Lower-Cost Mutual Funds
By James Duvall
August 8, 2018
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) represent the largest share of assets in the US retirement market, with assets totaling $9.2 trillion at year-end 2017. Forty-seven percent of this total is held in mutual funds, with IRA mutual fund investors primarily invested in equity funds. As part of ICI’s ongoing efforts to shed light on important insights into IRA investing, ICI is offering an updated analysis of expense ratios that investors pay on mutual funds in their IRAs....
TOPICS: 401(k)Bond FundEquity InvestingIRAMutual FundRetirement ResearchShareholder
Americans: In Defined Contribution We Trust
By Sarah Holden
March 8, 2018
Millions of Americans personally direct their retirement investments in defined contribution (DC) plans, which account for nearly $8 trillion in savings. Because it is vitally important that regulators, policymakers, and employers understand the beliefs and behaviors of these investors, ICI asked Americans what they thought of DC retirement plan accounts, which include 401(k) and 403(b) accounts.
The results, which we summarized in “American Views on Defined Contribution Plan Saving, 2017,” were clear: whether they had DC accounts or not, Americans appreciate DC plan accounts and are confident that these plans can help people meet their retirement goals...
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement Research
Fund Investors Will “Run”? Sorry, Charlie Brown
By Sean Collins and Sarah Holden
March 7, 2018
For decades, Charles Schulz kept us in suspense: surely this time, Lucy would let Charlie Brown kick the football. Nope. Every time, at the last second, she pulled the ball away—and Charlie Brown fell flat on his back.
We’ve seen the same gap between wish and fulfillment around market turmoil and mutual funds. For decades, commentators have predicted that investors in stock and bond funds, faced with market turmoil, would redeem en masse, perhaps adding to the market turmoil. Despite plenty of opportunities, that just hasn’t happened.
Stock market turmoil in February provides yet another example of this...
TOPICS: 401(k)Bond FundEquity InvestingFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityInterest RateInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement ResearchTrading
Let’s Give the US Retirement System the Credit It Deserves
By Sarah Holden
December 27, 2017
The Washington Post’s latest article on the future of retirement security (“‘I Hope I Can Quit Working in a Few Years’: A Preview of the US Without Pensions,” December 23) is not a preview but a retrospective look at some of the challenges that workers face in defined benefit (DB) pension plans even at “blue-chip” firms. As documented in the article, with traditional DB plans, workers often failed to get their full promised benefits, thanks to vesting rules, back-loaded benefit accrual, business failure, and labor mobility.
TOPICS: 401(k)Financial StabilityRetirement PolicyRetirement Research
More People Are Building Nest Eggs with Their IRAs
By Sarah Holden
December 20, 2017
Individual retirement account (IRA) owners are good stewards of their money. They take a thoughtful approach to preparing for retirement by taking advantage of the dual role of IRAs and by researching important investment decisions, according to recent research from ICI. These are among the findings from “The Role of IRAs in US Households’ Saving for Retirement, 2017,” which details ICI’s research on IRA-owning households.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement Research
Autumn Air, Playoff Baseball, and…National Retirement Security Week
By Christina Kilroy
October 17, 2017
The baseball postseason is well underway and the air has finally turned crisp. Perhaps that’s why—as we’re marking National Retirement Security Week—our thoughts have turned to the words of Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankees catcher. He was credited with so many pithy, wise, and witty sayings that, in classic Berra style, he remarked, “I really didn't say everything I said.”
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundSavingsShareholderTaxes
In Reality, Data Tell a Different Story of Old Age in America
By Sarah Holden
October 10, 2017
“The New Reality of Old Age in America” (September 30) portrays economic security in retirement by pairing anecdotes about workers who have fared poorly with selected statistics. Comprehensive data on how our system is working overall tell a far different story: America’s retirement system enables most of today’s retirees to maintain their standards of living.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
It’s National 401(k) Day!
By Sarah Holden
September 8, 2017
ICI is marking National 401(k) Day by spotlighting the strengths of 401(k) plans and their role in the American retirement system, and by reminding workers to get the most of their own 401(k) plans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationRetirement Research
Americans Trust in Their 401(k) Plans
By Sarah Holden
July 7, 2017
Defined contribution (DC) plans have long been a key component of Americans’ retirement savings. And with more than $5 trillion in assets and about 54 million active participants, 401(k) plans are the most common type.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement Research
Scratch That: Why Arguments of a Broken Retirement System Are Misguided
By Peter J. Brady
April 6, 2017
What if you were given the task of designing a retirement system from scratch? In a recent paper, New York University law professor David Kamin proposes a retirement system that combines a mandatory savings floor with tax incentives to encourage savings above the mandated minimum. He is not the first to propose a new mandatory retirement plan, with others proposing that either employers be required to offer a plan or workers be required to contribute to a plan.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavings
ICI Staff Take Local Students on an “Investing Road Trip”
By Christina Kilroy
March 31, 2017
Among the eighth graders who walked into Junior Achievement’s Finance Park were an aspiring filmmaker, a model, and a sports agent. But for their daylong budgeting simulation—where each student is assigned an age, family, debt, credit score, job, and salary—they would transform into an auto mechanic, an insurance agent, and a bus driver.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundSavings
Exemptions from Investor Protections Put California Savers at Risk
By Paul Schott Stevens
March 22, 2017
The following ICI Viewpoints is a letter to the editor by Paul Schott Stevens, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, in response to an editorial published on March 8, 2017, in the Los Angeles Times.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsShareholder
ICI Study: 55 Million US Households Own Mutual Funds
By Sarah Holden
February 24, 2017
Gathering and analyzing data about how shareholders purchase and use mutual funds are critical to ICI’s work to facilitate sound, well-informed public policies affecting funds, their investors, and the retirement markets.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investor ResearchMutual FundRetirement ResearchSavings
Ten Years After the PPA, the Path to Retirement Saving Is Easier
By Sarah Holden and Elena Barone Chism
August 22, 2016
Ten years ago, on August 17, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Pension Protection Act (PPA) into law, with the goal of ensuring greater retirement security for American workers. With regard to defined contribution (DC) plans, such as 401(k) plans, PPA further encouraged automatic enrollment while paving the way for diversified default investments and the creation of Roth accounts inside DC plans. PPA also made permanent previously legislated contribution-limit increases and the saver’s credit.
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchTaxes
Building on the Success of the Private-Sector Retirement System Is the Real “Secure Choice”
By David Blass
July 8, 2016
Retirement assets in the United States totaled $24 trillion at the end of 2015, bolstered by investments through employer-sponsored plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationGovernment AffairsMutual FundRetirement Policy
Getting Started in a 401(k) Plan—and Getting the Most Out of It
By Christina Kilroy
February 26, 2016
This week, ICI and the Investment Company Institute Education Foundation (ICIEF) joined thousands of corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies to celebrate America Saves Week.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationInvestor ResearchRetirement ResearchSavings
How America Supports Retirement: The Incentive to Save Is Not Upside Down
By Peter J. Brady
February 25, 2016
In my new book, How America Supports Retirement: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Who Benefits, and the first three ICI Viewpoints in this series, I’ve demonstrated that Social Security’s benefit formula drives participation in tax-deferred employer-sponsored retirement plans ; that the full system of government support for retirement is progressive; and that those in higher tax brackets don’t enjoy greater “bang for their buck” from tax deferral.
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchTaxes
How America Supports Retirement: What Do Tax Rates Have to Do with the Benefits of Tax Deferral? Less Than You Think
By Peter J. Brady
February 24, 2016
In my new book, How America Supports Retirement: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Who Benefits, I set out to gain a comprehensive view of how government policy supports American workers as they gather resources for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchTaxes
How America Supports Retirement: No, Benefits Are Not “Tilted” to the Higher Earners
By Peter J. Brady
February 23, 2016
Second in a series of ICI Viewpoints.
In my new book, How America Supports Retirement: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Who Benefits, I analyze the benefits individuals receive from the major government policies that help American workers accumulate resources for retirement: Social Security and tax deferral on compensation set aside for retirement in employer-based plans (both traditional pensions and defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans).
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchTaxes
How America Supports Retirement: Tackling the Myths That Surround Us
By Peter J. Brady
February 22, 2016
America’s retirement system isn’t perfect but it’s a lot stronger than many people think. Whether by accident or design, the U.S. retirement system provides benefits to workers across the earnings distribution and has helped millions of retirees maintain their standard of living in retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchTaxes
Retirement Planning: No Place for Fairy Tales
By Paul Schott Stevens
November 17, 2015
It is sadly appropriate that Labor Secretary Thomas Perez invokes fairy tales in his Nov. 16 commentary, “A path forward for state retirement plans.” Neither his version of the past nor his program for the future accord with reality.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationGovernment AffairsMutual FundRetirement Policy
Opinion: The Tax Threat to Your Mutual Fund
By Mike McNamee
May 7, 2015
Vanguard Chairman and CEO Bill McNabb sent “an open letter to all mutual fund investors” in the opinion pages of Thursday’s Wall Street Journal. His message: fund investors face a clear threat of higher costs, weaker returns, and a bailout tax to salvage other failing financial institutions—all if regulators get their way in imposing new rules on funds or their managers.
TOPICS: 401(k)Federal ReserveFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFund RegulationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTradingTreasury
GMM Policy Forum: “It Always Comes Down to Trust”
By Todd Bernhardt
May 6, 2015
Over the 75-year history of the modern mutual fund industry, funds have helped to democratize investing, providing a tremendous array of investing options at a reasonable cost for millions of people. And given rapid advances in technology and the efficiencies that they can bring, the future looks even brighter, said Walter W. Bettinger II at the opening session of ICI’s 57th General Membership Meeting (GMM).
TOPICS: 401(k)EventsFund RegulationGMMMutual FundShareholder
On Fiduciary Rule, New York Times Relies on Fatally Flawed Research
By Paul Schott Stevens
April 8, 2015
Today I submitted the following letter to the editor of the New York Times:
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationInvestment EducationRetirement PolicySavingsShareholder
Statement of the Investment Company Institute at Senate Finance Committee Hearing on “Retirement Savings 2.0: Updating Savings Policy for the Modern Economy”
By Brian Reid
September 16, 2014
This statement was given on behalf of ICI by Brian Reid, chief economist, at the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on “Retirement Savings 2.0: Updating Savings Policy for the Modern Economy.” For more information, see ICI’s full written testimony.
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestor ResearchMutual FundRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsTaxes
Happy Birthday ERISA! Congratulations on 40 Years
By Sarah Holden and Elena Barone Chism
September 2, 2014
Today marks the 40th birthday of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Signed into law on September 2, 1974, ERISA introduced bold steps to safeguard Americans’ employer-sponsored pensions and created the individual retirement account (IRA). Assets earmarked for retirement totaled $0.4 trillion at year-end 1974 (see the figure below). At this modest start, private-sector defined benefit (DB) plans accounted for 35 percent of the total; federal, state, and local plans for 34 percent; private-sector defined contribution (DC) plans for 17 percent; annuities for 13 percent; and there was a mere glimmer of IRA assets by year-end. Currently, total U.S. retirement assets are $23.0 trillion, and their composition has shifted considerably over the past 40 years.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fixed IncomeGovernment AffairsInvestment EducationInvestor ResearchPolicy ResearchRetirement PolicyRetirement ResearchSavingsTaxesTreasury
Industry Leaders Address Evolving Industry Challenges and Opportunities
By Miriam Bridges
June 9, 2014
In conversations exploring outcome-oriented investing, the globalization of the fund industry, and the next generation of retirement plans, industry leaders offered their perspectives on serving investors in an evolving world during several insightful sessions at ICI’s annual General Membership Meeting, held in Washington May 20–22.
TOPICS: 401(k)EventsGMMInternationalMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholder
Industry Leaders Reflect on Serving Investors in an Evolving World
By Christina Kilroy
June 4, 2014
Speaking on the Leadership Panel held Wednesday, May 21, at ICI’s General Membership Meeting (GMM), fund industry leaders agreed that challenges as well as opportunities abound for their businesses in today’s complex world.
TOPICS: 401(k)EventsFederal ReserveFinancial MarketsFinancial StabilityFund GovernanceFund RegulationGMMGovernment AffairsInvestment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicyShareholder
Headlining ICI’s GMM, Blair Talks of Tough Challenges, Vast Opportunities
By Rob Elson
May 21, 2014
Challenges abound in our increasingly global world, said Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom. Yet our future could be brighter than ever, he insisted.
Blair’s stirring words came during a keynote speech at ICI’s 56th General Membership Meeting (GMM). After his opening remarks, Blair sat down with ICI Chairman Bill McNabb, Chairman and CEO of The Vanguard Group, to discuss a range of issues. The session headlined the three-day meeting, which began yesterday in Washington, DC.
TOPICS: 401(k)EventsFinancial MarketsFund RegulationGMMInternationalMutual Fund
GMM Policy Forum: BlackRock’s Larry Fink Speaks with ICI’s Paul Stevens
By Todd Bernhardt
May 21, 2014
The fund industry needs to stop focusing on the moment and start focusing on outcomes when advising investors on their resources, said Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, at ICI’s Annual Policy Forum, part of the Institute’s 56th General Membership Meeting (GMM).
TOPICS: 401(k)BondsEventsFinancial MarketsFund RegulationGMMInternationalInvestment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTreasury
Washington: Put Your (Retirement) Money Where Your Mouth Is
By Mike McNamee
March 4, 2014
When President Obama announced a new effort to expand access to retirement savings opportunities, ICI was among the first to applaud. The Administration’s “myRA” looks to provide a new option for Americans who want to put money aside for retirement, but who might not have access to a retirement plan through their workplace. These accounts would complement the wide array of investment options already available to these workers.
TOPICS: 401(k)Government AffairsInvestment EducationRetirement PolicySavingsTaxes
America’s Retirement System Is Strong
By Sarah Holden
December 18, 2013
One year ago, ICI released its landmark study, The Success of the U.S. Retirement System, a compilation of research from a wide range of sources, which found that the country’s retirement system is fostering economic security in retirement for Americans across all income levels.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
ICI’s Guide to Avoiding a Common 401(k) Tax Trap
By Mike McNamee
December 9, 2013
A tax trap for retirement savings is catching many smart people unaware. If allowed to go unchecked, it could harm the retirement savings of millions of Americans. A columnist for the Washington Post was just the latest in a long list of victims.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
Yes, DC Follies Hurt Retirement Savers—But Let’s Not Overstate
By Brian Reid
October 10, 2013
“Debt ceiling follies” certainly do put retirement savers and their assets at risk. On that, ICI agrees with a recent Washington Post blog.
TOPICS: 401(k)Financial MarketsMutual FundRetirement ResearchSavings
Revenue Estimates of Restricting Tax Deferral: It Ain’t Necessarily So
By Peter Brady
September 20, 2013
Fifth in a series of posts about retirement plans and the policy proposals surrounding them.
In previous Viewpoints posts, I explained that retirement contributions are neither tax deductions nor tax exclusions, but rather are tax deferrals. I also explained why, in my opinion, the two most prominent proposals to restrict qualified deferred compensation are flawed (post three and post four).
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
Tax Reforms Should Not Favor DB Plans over DC Plans
By Peter Brady
September 19, 2013
Fourth in a series of posts about retirement plans and the policy proposals surrounding them.
In The Tax Benefits and Revenue Costs of Tax Deferral and in two previous Viewpoints posts (post one and post two), I explained the benefits that workers get from deferring tax on compensation set aside for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
A ‘Modest’ Proposal That Isn’t: Limiting the Up-Front Benefits of Retirement Contributions
By Peter Brady
September 18, 2013
Third in a series of posts about retirement plans and the policy proposals surrounding them.
In two previous Viewpoints posts (post one and post two), I explained the benefits that workers get from deferring tax on compensation set aside for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
Marginal Tax Rates and the Benefits of Tax Deferral
By Peter Brady
September 17, 2013
Second in a series of posts about retirement plans and the policy proposals surrounding them.
In a previous Viewpoints post, I discussed the difference between tax deferral—the tax treatment applied to retirement savings—and tax deductions and exclusions, such as the mortgage interest deduction or the exclusion of employer-paid health insurance premiums from income. The difference is often overlooked or misunderstood, leading to inaccurate analysis and harmful policy proposals.
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
Retirement Plan Contributions Are Tax-Deferred—Not Tax-Free
By Peter Brady
September 16, 2013
First in a series of posts about retirement plans and the policy proposals surrounding them.
In today’s fiscal and political climate, taxes are never far from politicians’ minds. Whether to achieve comprehensive tax reform or to raise revenue to meet budget deficits, members of Congress are now considering changes to a range of tax code provisions—including those governing retirement policy. Any comprehensive effort to address fiscal policy or tax reform should examine every option, but some discussions of retirement policy have been misguided. The tax treatment of retirement savings—tax deferral— too often has been lumped together with tax deductions (such as the deduction from income of mortgage interest expense) and tax exclusions (such as the exclusion from income of employer-provided health insurance premiums).
TOPICS: 401(k)Investment EducationMutual FundRetirement PolicySavingsShareholderTaxes
CAP Claims About the 401(k) System Are Misguided
By Paul Schott Stevens
September 4, 2013
The concerns of the Center for American Progress about the 401(k) system (covered August 20 in “A Better Way to Save for Retirement?”) are mistaken.
Key Points to Remember on Fund Fees
By Sean Collins and Bob Grohowski
July 12, 2013
Over the past two decades, investors have paid less and less to own shares of mutual funds.
TOPICS: 401(k)Fund RegulationInvestment Education
Americans Support Their 401(k)s
By Mike McNamee
April 25, 2013
It’s pretty obvious to anyone who reads ICI Viewpoints that we believe 401(k) plans are a successful part of an overall retirement system that is working for working—and retired!—Americans. But we’re far from the only ones who think so. Surveys show that Americans share this confidence in the 401(k) and support the key features of 401(k)s and other defined contribution (DC) plans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
The Facts on Fees and 401(k)s
By Mike McNamee
April 23, 2013
Consistently falling prices in a marketplace are usually a sign of competition and innovation.
The Facts on Limited Access to Retirement Funds Before Retirement
By Mike McNamee
April 22, 2013
One of the many strengths of the 401(k) system is its flexibility. Policymakers have built into 401(k) plans a careful mix of incentives that help workers save and preserve their savings for retirement—while still allowing limited access to their funds, in case of need, through hardship withdrawals and loans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
401(k) Plans Work in a Balanced Approach to Retirement Security
By Mike McNamee
April 19, 2013
What’s the outlook for American workers looking forward to retirement?
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
No Accident: The Strengths of the 401(k) System
By Mike McNamee
April 18, 2013
Americans have saved $5.1 trillion dollars in 401(k) and other defined contribution (DC) retirement plans—plus another $5.4 in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) that are funded largely by assets rolled over from DC and other employer retirement plans.
IRA Rollovers Serve Investors Well
By David Abbey and Sarah Holden
April 12, 2013
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is preparing to reintroduce its controversial proposal to revise the long-standing definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
Extra, Extra, Read All About It: Americans Are Preparing for Retirement
Mike McNamee
February 20, 2013
Data and academic research overwhelmingly show that Americans are taking care to prepare for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Research
In Case You Missed It: “On Retirement Policy, Don't Mess with Success”
By Ianthé Zabel
January 28, 2013
In an op-ed for InvestmentNews, ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens explains the importance of preserving incentives that help Americans save for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
401(k) Plans: Key in Helping Americans Achieve Secure Retirement
By Paul Schott Stevens
September 19, 2012
I submitted the following letter to the New York Times in response to a recent column on 401(k) plans:
The recent article, “Should the 401(k) be Reformed or Replaced” (Business Day, September 11), asks the wrong question.
401(k) plans play a key role in helping Americans achieve a secure retirement. 401(k)s have a remarkable track record of success in providing Americans incentives to save, invest, and think long-term. As of March 2012, Americans held $3.4 trillion in 401(k) plans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Fortune’s Assessment of Industry Stance on 401(k) Fees Is Misguided
By Sarah Holden and David Abbey
June 25, 2012
An article in the July 2 issue of Fortune about the 401(k) system mischaracterizes 401(k) fees and requires correction.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
The Future of Retirement and the Strengths of the 401(k) System
By Paul Schott Stevens
June 7, 2012
What is the future of retirement? In remarks today to Town Hall Los Angeles, I made the case that the 401(k) system will play a crucial role in building that future.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Facts and Common Sense Undercut Distorted Demos View of 401(k)s
By Brian Reid
May 31, 2012
By many measures, the 401(k) system has been a tremendous success, helping millions of American workers prepare for retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Article in The Week Misrepresents Americans’ View of 401(k)s
By Sarah Holden
April 26, 2012
Contrary to recent reporting by The Week (“401(k)s Are Failing Millions of Americans,” April 22, 2012), American workers both value their 401(k) retirement savings plans and are confident that 401(k)s will help them meet their retirement goals.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Research
An Important Step in the Process of Enhancing 401(k) Fee Disclosure
By Ianthé Zabel
February 3, 2012
On February 2, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations concerning 401(k) disclosures. The rule requires companies that administer defined contribution plans to disclose administrative and investment costs to employers who sponsor the plans.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Deloitte/ICI Study Shows Retirement Plan Fees Driven Primarily by Plan Size, Asset Allocation
By Sarah Holden
November 16, 2011
According to a comprehensive new study, primary factors driving fees in 401(k) and other defined contribution retirement plans are the number of plan participants and average participant account balance, as well as the allocation of plan assets to equity investment options.
TOPICS: 401(k)Policy ResearchRetirement Research
New York Times Editorial Misrepresents the Behavior of 401(k) Investors
By Brian Reid
August 23, 2011
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement PolicyRetirement Research
401(k) Plans Help Keep Americans on Track
By Paul Schott Stevens
August 1, 2011
ICI sees strong evidence that the features of 401(k) plans help Americans avoid overreaction to financial turmoil, by countering extremes in investor behavior that hard times often produce.
This was one of the key points that I made recently at the Ayco Summer InnerCircle Benefits and Compensation Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York. I invite you to look over my full presentation, which contains a trove of data and charts pertinent to retirement policy.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Let’s Set the Record Straight on 401(k)
By Paul Schott Stevens
April 13, 2011
As states and localities struggle to control their budgets, more and more policymakers are considering fundamental changes in the retirement plans offered to public employees. This year, at least eight states have taken up legislation to change part or all of their public retirement plans from traditional defined benefit (DB) pensions to defined contribution (DC) plans similar to the 401(k)s that that are now the most common plans in the private sector. Many more public employers are likely to consider such changes in coming years.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Policy
Wall Street Journal Story Inaccurately Portrays the Role of 401(k) Plans
By Sarah A. Holden
February 24, 2011
The February 19 Wall Street Journal article, “Retiring Boomers Find 401(k) Plans Fall Short,” is based upon a narrow slice of statistics and anecdotes, painting an inaccurate portrait of the role of 401(k)s in retirement.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Research
EBRI/ICI: Average 401(k) Account Balance Among Consistent Participants Rose Nearly 32 Percent in 2009
By ICI Viewpoints
November 22, 2010
The average 401(k) retirement account rose 31.9 percent in 2009, according to a report released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the ICI analyzing a group of consistent participants.
TOPICS: 401(k)Retirement Research
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