The PLANSPONSOR 2018 Defined Contribution (DC) Survey results incorporate the responses of 4,000 plan sponsors from a broad variety of U.S. industries.

Portfolio advisory service at work managed account can be a great option for employees who want a more personalized approach to investing for retirement, one that can help them achieve the outcomes they want, and that fits easily and seamlessly into your plan.

We get it. Your clients' financial concerns and fiduciary responsibilities keep you up at night. Does their retirement plan have the right investment strategy? Do they have the proper fiduciary governance protocols? Does their plan design meet their needs and goals? Are their participants engaged? You may not have all the answers, but you do have us.

When we talk about 401(k)-type retirement plans, we sometimes focus on the contributions made by employees that are always immediately vested. In other words, it's their money and they can always withdraw it without forfeiting any (subject to IRS rules about early withdrawals).

Lead generation, sales funnels, and closing are all important aspects of our business development efforts. Lead generation refers to our internal process, while "relationship gen" focuses on how we solve other people's problems. The latter is key if we're going to be more than transactional and earn long lasting relationships.

Auto-enrollment has been proven to be effective in raising participation rates in 401(k) plans. As a result, it's been pretty widely adopted across the country, especially in mid- to larger plans.

IRS rules provide for participants loans and hardship withdrawals from 401(k) and other plans. They're not required, but rather left to the discretion of the plan sponsor. Today, there's a good bit of debate about how participant loans affect long term retirement outcomes.

Here are actions to take now as you plan your next cycle of client meetings regarding the fiduciary responsibilities for qualified retirement plans.

You already know that a 401(k) is a very popular retirement plan and, like other plan designs, it allows employees to take advantage of tax deferrals on contributions and earnings while their money accumulates for retirement.

For the most part, the news about Defined Benefit plans lately has not been particularly good. Whether a big company could no longer fund its plan or how it was bankrupting their business, headlines have discouraged many businesses from seriously considering a DB plan.

Cash Balance plans are a hybrid of a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan. Discover three key topics to help advance a Cash Balance conversation with clients.

Introducing a workplace retirement plan can be a compelling way for individuals to take control of their retirement savings, but for so many people that don't have control of their personal situation, the retirement plan at work doesn't have a chance to be successful without a helping hand and tools to achieve financial wellness.

Many business owners are comfortable with the notion of a Roth IRA. Far fewer understand and appreciate the benefit of contributing post-tax dollars in a Roth 401(k) account as compared to making traditional pre-tax contributions. In the right circumstances, a Roth 401(k) account can deliver significant tax benefits at retirement.

An important way to help employees of company-sponsored retirement plans make real progress for themselves is to offer auto-enrollment and auto-escalation features to retirement plans. Both can positively influence retirement outcomes. The problem is that not enough plans offer these features, and those that do aren't always optimized.

Not all financial advisors are like you. The key is being able to explain why. It's more than recommending a course of action. It's answering why they should do it with you.