401(k) Archives

401(k) plans leading the way toward retirement security, but room for growth, experts say

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Unlocking retirement potential: 401(k) plans have improved retirement prospects yet many still expose retirement savers to longevity risk. Wharton Professor Olivia S. Mitchell recommends bolstering #DC plans with deferred annuities. Via PIOnline.…Read More

UAW wants pensions back. Automakers really don’t

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Though the United Auto Workers want traditional defined benefit plans restored, Olivia S. Mitchell, Executive Director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council argues that deferred annuities in a 401(k) plan provide more secure retirement incomes for today’s labor force, via Investment News.…Read More

The UAW’s ‘record contract’ hinges on pensions, battery plants

An automotive assembly line with several partially assembled car bodies. Workers in blue uniforms are inspecting or working on the vehicles. The environment is industrial and brightly lit.

Including annuity options in company 401(k) plans could provide UAW retirees assurance of lifetime income, says Wharton Professor Olivia S. Mitchell, via Reuters.…Read More

Americans Tap 401(k) Plans After Hurricanes and Natural Disasters

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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

Long Overdue, Pension Auto Portability Is Coming

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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

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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

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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%

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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

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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?

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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