At Newport Group, we take the online security of our clients and their participant retirement accounts very seriously. Data security requires continuous adaptation, as the nature of online threats changes over time. Here are some of the recent protocols we have put in place to help prevent unauthorized access to participant data.
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"Retirement readiness" and "participant outcomes" have not only become buzzwords over the last fives years, they have become a key objective for many plan sponsors. Employers wanting to take a proactive approach toward helping employees prepare for retirement are learning that there is a great deal they can do to promote positive participant outcomes.
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Top hat retirement plans (unfunded arrangement that benefit a "select group of management or highly compensated employees" and more commonly known as "Non-Qualified deferred compensation plans") are exempt from most of the requirnment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), including the obligation to file annual information returns with the IRS on Form 5500.
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Index funds are a prominent and growing part of retirement plan design, for good reasons. The category has grown remarkably from $327 billion in 2002 to $2.2 trillion in 2015.1 In addition to low expenses, index funds offer simplicity and relative predictability in comparison to actively managed strategies. However, while index funds are commonly referred to as “passively managed” investments, they are not as simple or homogenous as many investorsperceive them to be.
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If you’re a plan advisor, you can help your plan sponsor clients revisit their plan’s eligibility and vesting requirements to ensure their plan is competitive and driving their desired participant savings outcomes.
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On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published final regulations defining the types of financial communications with plan sponsors and participants that constitute fiduciary advice under ERISA.
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The IRS announced yesterday that there will be no cost of living adjustments to the qualified plan limitations described below for 2016.
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In IRS Announcement 2015-19, the IRS announced it is making changes to its determination letter program.
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently reminded retirement plan sponsors to keep certain records in regards to hardship withdrawals and plan loans.
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