Bethesda, MD —AFS 401(k) Retirement Services, a leading retirement plan advisor firm within HUB International, has been named to the NAPA 2024 Top DC Advisor Team list. This annual list highlights the nation's top retirement plan advisor firms, recognizing their significant impact on the quality of retirement plan advice and their role in building a more financially secure retirement for millions of Americans.

As more members of Generation X and younger Baby Boomers approach retirement age, the importance of discussing retirement income options has never been more urgent for employers with defined contribution (DC) plans. The challenge lies in determining the best strategies to help employees convert their DC plan savings into a sustainable source of income in retirement.

In today's society, it has become the norm rather than the exception for American workers to live paycheck to paycheck, struggling just to make ends meet. Shockingly, a third of Americans have $500 or less saved, while 8.5% have between $501 and $1,000, and 11.4% said they have no savings. This lack of financial preparation leaves them vulnerable to unexpected expenses and places them at a higher risk of financial strain.

For retirement plan employers, 401(k) nondiscrimination testing is one of the most critical functions of operating a healthy retirement plan—and it’s also an important mandate of ERISA. Here’s a look at some commonly asked questions and need-to-know terms and concepts, as well as how this important task affects your company’s retirement plan.

Reposted from 401(k) Specialist by John Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief

Understated isn’t a term generally associated with Alex Assaley, but he managed to pull it off when describing current market conditions.

“It’s been a really interesting year for investors and advisors,” Assaley, Managing Principal with AFS 401(k) Retirement Services, said from the floor of the Wealth@wor(k) conference in Las Vegas.

In today’s digital world, we all have a lot of data and personal information stored online – information like e-mails, phone numbers, personal contacts, and even financial asset values and information. Most of us trust companies (like banks, financial institutions, social media, and tech firms) to manage and protect this information and provide us with it in a matter of seconds. This raises some concerns about “who has access to this data,” and how can they protect it.

On August 16, 2022, the Retirement Advisor Council recognized Wiley|Wilson, as an honoree of its Financial Wellness Excellence Awards. This recognition was presented at the Retirement Advisor Council’s 2022 Annual Planning Meeting in Des Moines, IA. Connie Burnette of Wiley|Wilson accepted the award on behalf of her team and was recognized for her thoughtful leadership and dedication to providing the best possible employee financial wellness program to her organization.

Bethesda, MD — Alex Assaley and Kevin Phillips of AFS 401(k) Retirement Services recently participated as delegates to the National Association of Plan Advisors’ (NAPA) Annual DC Fly-In Forum, an exclusive gathering of the nation’s leading retirement plan advisors.

At this year’s NAPA 401(k) Summit, the nation’s largest and most prestigious conference for retirement plan advisors and industry leaders, our Managing Principal, Alex Assaley took to the stage to give his final Presidential remarks and share a special story of one of his proudest moments as a retirement plan advisor. You can watch the live presentation below or read through the video transcript.

Alex, as the 2021-2022 President of NAPA.

As retirement plan advisors, we’re often asked about how to evaluate a financial advisor so here are five questions from our team to ask yourself and ensure your current advisor is adequate for your financial life. The beginning of the year is a perfect time to check in on your financial life to ensure you are on target with your financial goals and initiatives. A respectable advisor will have you feeling confident in how your financial life is progressing, and assessing your financial life goes together with evaluating your advisor.