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Posts from the ‘Retirement’ Category

Apr 2

Scott Ruba-1C (2)

Helping DB Plan Sponsors Sleep at Night

In my previous blog, I talked about risk as it relates to managing a defined benefit (DB) pension plan. The long and short of it is that risk is what happens when DB plan sponsors are busy making other assumptions.

Today, the combination of several factors—including market volatility, low interest rates and recent legislation—has created significant challenges for DB plan sponsors. Fortunately, the pension industry is helping plan sponsors manage these risks with a number of innovative approaches.HZ1349

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Apr 1

jerry ripperger's picture

1974 Was a Good Year

On September 2, 1974 President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) into law.  This landmark bill included provisions creating Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).  ESOPs have allowed millions of American workers to experience the benefits of company ownership.

Harness the power

ESOPs weren’t the only famous invention in 1974.  The brightly colored Hasbro® Rubik’s Cube was also introduced.  People spent countless hours twisting and turning trying to solve the puzzle.  They found that the toy allowed almost limitless flexibility (and frustration for many).

Rubix Read more

Mar 22

aaron friedman's photo

High Maintenance – or Huge Opportunity?

I have food allergies. Since I’ve gotten used to not having certain things in my diet, it’s more of an inconvenience than a problem. I can eat out, but I always have to give explicit instructions to the server. I used to work with a guy (who probably reads this blog) who called me “high maintenance.”

I was reminded of this during our recent national distribution conference. At dinner, I had the pleasure of sitting at the table of one of our field offices, with several people I had never met. After I had given instructions to the server, the woman sitting next to me brought up that “high maintenance” term again. Well, maybe I am.

This also calls to mind another area sometimes considered “high maintenance.” It’s a reason we hear occasionally from financial professionals as to why they don’t want to branch into the 403(b) plan space. Read more

Mar 19

Scott Ruba-1C (2)

The Best-Laid Plans Are Nice and Then…

Sponsors of defined benefit (DB) plans face big challenges. These challenges usually happen when business (like life) doesn’t quite go as planned.

HZ1348 Read more

Mar 15

A Change of Pace

For more than six months I have been posting about Employee Stock Ownership Plans. I thought we would change it up with this post and use a short video (11:8) to highlight many of the advantages of ESOPs. Let me know what you think or if you have ideas for future posts.

In addition to blogging here, I also tweet regularly about topics of interest to ESOPs. Click to follow me on Twitter-  @jlripperger  .

Click here to follow my ESOP blog Read more

Mar 11

jerry ripperger's picture

4:44 of Fame

ClockIn 1968 Andy Warhol stated “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”  This statement seems less prophetic in the Internet age combined with reality shows dominating prime time television than it did at the time. Yet it remains a goal for many.

I recently used up 4 minutes and 44 seconds of my 15 minutes in an Advisor TV interview discussing Employee Stock Ownership Pans (ESOPs).

Click here to view the video

I’m fairly confident that this would not meet Warhol’s definition of world-famous but I have 10 minutes and 16 seconds left. Stay tuned, I plan to use every second.

In addition to blogging here, I also tweet regularly about topics of interest to ESOPs. Click to follow me on Twitter- @jlripperger .

Click here to follow my ESOP blog Read more

Mar 7

aaron friedman's photo

Helping Your 403(b) Plan Stay Healthy

I can tell the flu season is still raging, judging by all the empty desks in our office. We all know one of the best ways to stay healthy is good old-fashioned hand washing with soap and water.

A similar type of thorough clean-up work has been going on with 403(b) plans to keep them healthy. First, we saw significant activity around plan design review and changes when the final 403(b) regulations came out in 2007. By the time the regulations were effective in 2009, a significant number of 403(b) plans had reviewed their ERISA status, changed plan design features, reviewed – and in many cases eliminated – various investment choices and service provider choices and modified administrative procedures to take into account the requirements of the regulations. Read more

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