Defaults on 401(k) disaster-relief hardship withdrawals trigger income tax plus a 10% penalty explains, Wharton Professor Olivia S. Mitchell via the WSJ.…Read More
Americans Tap 401(k) Plans After Hurricanes and Natural Disasters
401(k)
Long Overdue, Pension Auto Portability Is Coming
Auto portability facilitates transfer of Americans’ 401(k) funds to new employers, keeping savings in the retirement system: Michael Kreps of Groom Law Group, at the RetireSecure blog.…Read More
Pure target-date fund investors see significantly more gains
Target-date funds in 401(k) plans can provide better returns, according to a new study by Wharton Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell and Stephen P. Utkus of Vanguard, cited in Pensions & Investments.…Read More
Americans will soon be able to take penalty-free withdrawals from their 401(k)s, but experts say think twice about using retirement savings
New CARES Act lets Americans take penalty-free withdrawals from their retirement savings, but many have no retirement accounts, while those who do cash out could face future shortfalls, Wharton Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell explains to CNBC Make It.…Read More
This one change can improve your retirement wealth by 50%
Mark Hulbert of MarketWatch cites new work by Wharton’s Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell & Stephen P. Utkus of Vanguard, showing that using target-date funds as 401(k) plan defaults makes participants far more likely to invest in them. …Read More
What ‘Rothifying’ 401(k)s Would Mean for Retirees
Taxing contributions to retirement accounts, or “Rothification,” boosts tax revenue in the short term. However, it would harm workers in the longer term, particularly the lower-paid, report Profs. Olivia S. Mitchell of Wharton and Raimond Maurer of Goethe University Frankfurt in the Wall Street Journal, citing their study.…Read More
Economists say a recession is coming: How can 401(k) investors prepare?
Borrowing against your retirement savings can be tempting but counterproductive in a recession, says Nick Strain at MarketWatch, citing “Borrowing from the Future: 401(k) Plan Loans and Loan Defaults,” the Pension Research Council study by Timothy Jun Lu, Olivia S. Mitchell, Stephen P. Utkus and Jean A. Young.…Read More
Would you take a money-back guarantee from a 401(k)? (The answer should be no)
Are money-back guaranteed retirement accounts a good deal? Not now, explains Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell to MarketWatch here, citing her recent study with Vanya Horneff, Daniel Liebler, and Raimond Maurer (posted here).
401(k) Early Withdrawals Will Be Easier: Be Careful!
Economic hardship 401(k) withdrawals to get easier from January 2020, which Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell thinks will boost popularity of 401(k) withdrawals over loans and help people avoid penalties from defaulting on those loans. Read here.
Alpha Opportunities In A Sluggish Return Environment
The global economic environment presents new challenges for investors across the board. Public and private pension plans, consultants, Wall Street strategists, and money managers have all ratcheted down their forward-looking views on asset returns, meaning that defined contribution plan participants will be hurting if the financial community’s morose predictions bear fruit.…Read More