T. Rowe Price's fifth annual Defined Contribution Consultant Study captures current perspectives from the DC consultant and advisor community on a variety of retirement topics. Continuing trends from previous years, the study addresses issues such as target date solutions, retirement income, managed accounts, fixed income investments, and financial wellness programs. New for 2025, the study examines consultants' adoption of artificial intelligence, expectations for implementing private assets, and financial wellness solutions focusing on student debt and emergency savings. The survey involved 36 prominent consultant and advisor firms, predominantly consultants (81%), managing nearly $9 trillion in assets under advisement, which accounts for over 70% of the $12.5 trillion DC plan market. The study was conducted from January 13 to March 10, 2025.
The DOL is intensifying its focus on cybersecurity in audits and investigations, extending beyond the 2021 Best Practice Tips for health and welfare and retirement plans. Compliance with HIPAA alone is insufficient, as the DOL also evaluates service providers’ past security incidents and legal issues. Inquiries delve into specific employer procedures, including policies on portable devices, system maintenance for storing plan data, and password requirements. To prepare for potential DOL audits, plan sponsors should assess their cybersecurity practices comprehensively. The article reviews steps to evaluate their preparedness for a DOL audit.
The 2025 BlackRock Read on Retirement survey offers ten years of insights from an annual study focused on workplace savers and retirees in the United States. This research was conducted from April 10 to May 19, 2025, while more than 450 plan sponsors were surveyed between February 2 and March 19, 2025. The survey was carried out by Escalent, an independent research firm, with all participants responding through an online questionnaire. Insights presented over 24 pages.
This policy paper examines the characteristics of nontraditional workers, particularly gig workers, who do not fit the conventional definitions of employees or independent contractors. As a growing segment of the workforce, these individuals often face significant financial challenges regarding retirement, primarily due to low earnings and insufficient savings. The paper identifies barriers that hinder gig workers from achieving financial security in retirement and discusses potential strategies to overcome these challenges. Additionally, it explores ways to improve gig workers' access to savings options and incentives to better prepare for their future financial needs.
The SECURE Act 2.0, passed in late 2022, is significantly transforming the retirement landscape with a range of phased-in provisions. As we move through 2025, plan sponsors, payroll providers, and administrators will encounter new operational and compliance challenges. This article highlights the key provisions and provides insights on how to navigate their effective implementation for defined contribution plans.
Advisors play a crucial role in helping plan fiduciaries assess whether private equity investments align with the plan sponsor's goals, risk tolerance, and the profile of participants. Before recommending private equity options to a plan's menu, advisors should consider several key factors: fiduciary prudence, operational complexity, and fees.
The DOL has released its regulatory agenda for Spring 2025. This updated agenda includes topics such as Environmental, Social, and Governance issues, the fiduciary rule, auto-portability, pharmacy benefit managers, electronic disclosure, lost and found programs, employee stock ownership plans, and interpretative bulletin 95-1. The DOL emphasized that these actions aim to alleviate burdens on employers and employees, with a focus on regulatory changes regarding ESG, independent contractors, and PBMs.
A recent article promoting auto-portability compared "traditional" automatic rollover IRAs to a landfill where those small balances languish and go unclaimed by accountholders. The "traditional" label was used to distinguish those automatic rollover IRAs from the auto-portability process. However, the auto-portability process also uses automatic rollover IRAs. To avoid being a landfill where small balances languish, automatic rollover IRAs should be assessed based on three criteria: minimal fees, a reasonable rate of return, and accessible information for better financial decision-making.
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Collected Wisdom™
Our researchers look for what they think are some of the better resources available to assist you in administering your plan or helping your clients. We group these resources in our COLLECTED WISDOM™ topics to make it easy for you to locate the information you need. Each item in a category contains a summary and date of when it was placed in the group.
We also maintain some older material in these collections for perspective and context.
