New Vanguard data shows that 72% of plan sponsors allowed for immediate eligibility of retirement saving deferrals in 2021, which is an increase over the 58% in 2012, according to own research. Although not every Vanguard...more
While the past 11 years, 401(k) plan sponsors have been concerned with cost since mandatory fee disclosure, I think there is one diagnostic that they should focus on and rarely do. The diagnostic is the deferral rate of...more
Life goes fast. Feels about 10 years ago that I started as an ERISA attorney in practice and that was almost 25 years ago. It’s 2023 and before you know it, it will be 2024. ...more
There is a gender gap with 401(k) deferrals and auto-enrollment might be the way to curb that. In 401(k) plans without automatic enrollment, men lag behind women in participation rates at all income levels, most notably below...more
While working as an ERISA attorney with a national practice (cough, cough), it’s clear to me that the biggest compliance issue that my plan sponsors clients to have these days is the late deposit of deferrals....more
To help employers properly administer their 401(k) plans, in 2022, Foley & Lardner LLP is authoring a series of monthly “401(k) Compliance Check” newsletters. This article discusses the IRS limits on 401(k) plan contributions...more
In last month’s Compliance Check, we discussed how to handle a situation where the 401(k) plan administrator is unable to reach a plan participant, i.e., a “missing participant.” In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on...more
As I’m sure you heard, the Internal Revenue Service released their 2020 Cost of Limit Adjustment limits for qualified plans and individual retirement accounts. The salary deferral limit for participants in 401(k), 403(b),...more
The road to hell is paved with good intentions and that’s how I feel when it comes sometimes to what a 401(k) plan sponsor does. Yet, there is an error that too many 401(k) plan sponsors do that the Department of Labor (DOL)...more