New Twist on Annuities in 401(k)s Investment-only shops create income guarantees, but clients aren't biting yet. Source: Pensions & Investments

How Many 401(k) Investment Options Do You Want? 401(k) accounts generally allow workers to specify how their retirement stash is invested. Source: US News & World Report

IRS Guidance on 2009 RMD Relief The Service recently issued Notice 2009‐82 which provides much‐needed guidance on how defined contribution plans (including 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans) and IRAs implement the waiver of 2009 required minimum distributions Source: ASPPA

Putnam CEO Reynolds Calls for a "New Generation" of Workplace Savings Plans Drawing what he described as "the right lessons" from last year's market extremes, Putnam Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Reynolds today called for a new generation of workplace savings plans that do more to lower volatility and create more dependable sources of lifetime income. Source: 401khelpcenter.com.

Employers and Employees Take Wait-and-See Approach to Retirement Many employees are waiting for an economic recovery before moving forward with retirement, and employers are taking the same attitude with retirement program changes and risk issues, according to Aon Consulting. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Fiduciary Q&A: Use of Alternative Investments in DC Plans What is fi360's position on the usage of alternative asset classes in Defined Contribution plans? Source: Investmentnews.com

NEW BOOK: Automatic: Changing the Way America Saves The new Brookings Institution Press book "Automatic: Changing the Way America Saves" from the Retirement Security Project offers a radical new way to think about how Americans can save for retirement. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

GAO Weighs How to Minimize 401k 'Leakage' A new report from the Government Accountability Office examines how to minimize the loss in retirement savings that occurs when 401k participants tap into their accounts early. Source: webCPA.com

Suspending 401k Matching Contributions The decision to suspend contributions is a difficult one. The purpose of this article is to help with the analysis by demonstrating the long-term impact of a suspension of 401k matching contributions. Source: Reish & Reicher

Investing in a 401k vs. Roth IRA The one decision you make today could severely impact the way you live your life when you're ready to retire. There are extreme differences in the two when it comes to the way taxes are handled, and it's important you understand them before making a decision on how you want to invest. Source: Des Moines Register

Auto-Enrollment Remains a Crowd Pleaser Nearly half of U.S. companies are automatically enrolling workers into 401k plans, according to a new Watson Wyatt survey. The poll also uncovered that the number of employers that use target-date or lifecycle funds as their default option has increased dramatically in the last few years. Source: Employee Benefit News

Workforce Reductions May Result in Partial Plan Termination In challenging economic times, employers may be forced to reduce their workforces. In those instances, employers must be aware that a reduction in workforce could lead to a partial plan termination, requiring affected participants to become fully-vested in their retirement benefit. Source: Prudential

Implementing a 401k Automatic Enrollment Arrangement Recent changes in the law under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and regulations issued have made "automatic enrollment arrangement" easier to implement and more palatable to both employers and employees. Source: Ivins, Phillips & Barker

What's Next for 401k Plans? Among employee benefit programs, it's probably fair to say that 401k plans stand in a class by themselves in terms of upheaval in the wake of the global economic crisis. Despite the stabilization of financial markets and, in some cases, welcome gains, employers and plan participants are asking all kinds of tough questions that essentially boil down to this: Where do we go from here? Source: Towers Perrin

Towers Perrin Retirement Legislative Tracking Chart This selection of bills represents Towers Perrin's best judgment on the likelihood of enactment and the relevance of the issue for employers. Source: Towers Perrin

Private Pensions: Alternative Approaches Could Address Retirement Risks Faced by Workers but Pose Trade-offs This GAO report was requested by Chairman George Miller of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor and includes modeling the effects of a compulsory defined contribution system for employers (i.e., universal access), with variations based on whether enrollment by employees is voluntary, automatic with an opt-out, or mandatory. Source: GAO

Making Your Nest Egg Last a Lifetime One straightforward solution to the drawdown challenge is an immediate annuity, which turns a lump sum of income into a lifelong payment stream. However, for various reasons, such annuities have not proven broadly popular. This paper examines several alternatives. Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Alternatives to the Traditional 401k Match White paper. Companies looking ahead to how they will restructure their reward programs in a recovering economy will no doubt be asking some tough questions about their 401k plans. Source: Towers Perrin

Mandatory Electronic Filing of 5500s to Begin in 2010 The Department of Labor has taken another step toward requiring electronic filing and disclosure of all Form 5500 annual reports by announcing that paper filing will no longer be accepted for filings for the 2009 plan year. Source: Seyfarth Shaw LLP

IRS Release Package to Promote Workplace Retirement Savings The Internal Revenue Service released a package of guidance generally intended to promote workplace retirement savings. The guidance consists of three revenue rulings and four notices. Source: Ropes & Gray LLP

Fall 2009 IRS Employee Plans News In this issue: Dos and Don'ts of Hardship Distributions; IRS Retirement Plans Online; When Limits Collide, Which One Wins?; Tax Return Preparer Review Board; Critical Priorities...With Monika Templeman Today's Discussion: Loans and Hardships in 401k Plans; and more. Source: IRS