Plan Sponsor

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, such as ChatGPT, promises to transform the way businesses operate across sectors. Yet as quickly as novel applications and abilities surface, so does more evidence of the limitations and shortcomings of large language models. Plan sponsors can harness the immense power and utility of generative AI to provide better support to plan participants, but they must do so only after putting prudent processes and safeguards in place.

Across the nation, more and more workers are expecting to postpone retirement. In fact, a survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute shows that 40% of older employees plan to retire later than anticipated because of inflation. And delays don’t just affect employees — more than a third of employers are concerned about increased health and benefit costs, negative impacts on their staff’s mental health and barriers to hiring new talent.

Various solutions exist to reinforce retirees’ ability to manage the drawdown of the wealth and effectively use their assets and maintain a comfortable standard of living. The portfolio management can be guided and informed by plan sponsor, but the participant has some key considerations regarding longevity and liquidity risks. Below, we break down these areas and provide a piece of communication for you to share with your participants to get them thinking their long-term plans for prudent utilization of the retirement assets.

When a giant organization with extensive resources gets sued for alleged ERISA compliance failures — especially if the organization’s own service offerings include reviewing for such violations — that could very well be the canary in the coalmine for all other, lesser endowed firms. And that’s perhaps the key takeaway for plan sponsors in light of a complaint filed late last year against KPMG for an alleged fiduciary breach.

While one could say it’s always a good idea to focus on well-being of any type — whether that’s physical, mental, or financial wellness — there’s perhaps never been a more important time to help employees improve their financial literacy, behaviors, and resilience than right now.

Department of Labor (DOL) enforcement recoveries are on the rise. A recent DOL report indicates that DOL recoveries have doubled since 2018 and tripled since 2016 (https://www.investmentnews.com/dol-retirement-plan-recoveries-198660). As a result, fiduciary liability premiums have increased 35% since last year (https://www.investmentnews.com/fiduciary-insurance-costs-401k-litigation-198407).