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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

For investment Committee members of employee-directed retirement plans, such as 401(k)s or 403(b)s, crafting and monitoring your Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is essential to maintaining your fiduciary responsibilities. Continued yearly education is important for Committee members to stay on top of the necessary practices and measures.

The process to approve a new Fiduciary Rule by the Department of Labor is proving to be more of a marathon than a sprint. On August 9, 2017, the Department of Labor requested to delay review and applicability of the long-awaited fiduciary rule until July 1, 2019. Here we unpack what led to this, what it means for you, and what direction we can most likely expect things to go next. 

Since Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th, 2017, things in Washington, DC have been eventful, to say the least. Of course, depending on who you ask, opinions on recent developments and predictions about what is to come for Americans vary extremely from positive to negative. No matter which side of the political spectrum you fall on, it's safe to say that many changes are about to happen and the employee benefits industry will not be immune to them.

It's no secret that financial literacy is not a strong skill for many Americans. In a recent study, it was noted that nearly two-thirds of adults couldn't pass a basic financial literacy test. That fact is not too surprising when you consider that currently, only 4 states require students to take a personal finance class in order to graduate. With rising student loan debt, increases in the cost of living, and medical costs continuing their upward trajectory, how can we get a handle on our financial lives?

Target date retirement funds (also called target date funds or TDFs) have become an increasingly popular investment option in 401(k) plans and similar employee-directed retirement plans. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) prepared the following general guidance to assist plan fiduciaries in selecting and monitoring TDFs and other investment options in 401(k) and similar participant-directed individual account plans.

Download the document here.