Retirement plan design best practices
Tailor retirement benefits to help retain specialized talent
Retaining top-tier talent in specialized roles typically requires more than standard benefits. Offering thoughtfully designed, customized retirement plan options is a way to address the unique needs of these professionals, helping ensure they feel valued and motivated to stay.
A simple test for your 401(k) plan design: Flip the numbers
When interpreting retirement plan data and statistics, a simple guideline is to flip the numbers to see the full story. This simple test can help employers and financial professionals better understand if plan design changes might be needed.
5 min read
Embracing 401(k) auto-enrollment with the budget in mind
Data shows that automatic features, such as automatic (auto) enrollment, auto-increase, and re-enrollment can significantly improve participation rates and help employees save for retirement.1 Explore cost-neutral ways of adding such auto features to your plan design.
4 min read
Enhanced benefits to help reduce nurse turnover
A significant shortage of registered nurses is projected through 2036. As health care administrators face challenges in both hiring and retaining nurses, there are opportunities to offer enhanced employee benefits to reduce nurse turnover.
5 min read
How to make saving in a 401(k) plan hard (to avoid)
Retirement plans today tend to be designed with features so the average person can begin saving with little effort. Yet, it’s seemingly not working for many employees. Instead of easier, do we need to make it harder to avoid?
6 min read
Retirement plan design consulting for health care organizations
Designing a retirement plan that helps all health care workers save for retirement can be challenging. Using ownership structure and tax status, Marc Howell presents plan designs to help participants save more, pass nondiscrimination testing, and watch the bottom line.
Pension plan insights
Now may be the right time to derisk your defined benefit plan
Should you lock in healthy funding levels?
5 min read
Annuity buy-ins: It’s time to explore a new pension risk management option
A comparison of the risk management options for defined benefit plans: liability- driven investing, annuity buy-outs, and annuity buy-ins.
Gain actionable insights now (PDF)
Two paths to curb PBGC premiums
Defined benefit plan sponsors can save on their PBGC premiums.
Retirement legislation and regulation
4 min read
Myths vs. Facts: The state of Social Security
Let’s dispel some of the common myths about Social Security and its funding status. Here we explore the program’s structure, demographic challenges, and possible outcomes if no legislative action is taken soon.
3 min read
SECURE 2.0: The new Roth election for 401(k) employer contributions
In the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 there’s now an option plan sponsors can add allowing participants to elect to receive employer matching and nonelective contributions as Roth contributions. While initially expected to follow the same process as employee Roth contributions, recent IRS guidance reveals a different tax treatment for employer contributions, prompting important considerations for implementation and potential tax impacts for employees.
Help boost recruiting with the SECURE 2.0 student loan repayment 401(k) match
Student loan debt is hindering employees’ retirement savings. To help, a new provision within SECURE 2.0 lets employers match student loan payments with contributions to the employee’s retirement account.
7 min read
What does the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 mean for employers?
Find answers to trending questions and answers about the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, including required minimum distributions (RMDs), Roth catch-up contributions, hardship self-certification and more.
SECURE 2.0 Act: IRS offers updated guidance to new retirement rules
Discover the latest IRS guidance on the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Get clarity on matching qualified student loan payments (QSLP), automated features, using financial incentives, and treating certain funds as Roth contributions.
Want to learn more?
Check out these helpful resources and materials below. Still have questions? Reach out to your local Principal® representative or support team.