Vanguard Reports Majority of 401(k) Account Balances Have Recovered Investment giant Vanguard has released a new report that shows what’s really happening with consumer’s 401(k) balances. Source: American Banking News

What Every Tax Payer Should know about Marginal Tax Brackets Many people get confused with marginal tax brackets, although, in effect, they are pretty straightforward. Source: Best Syndication

How the Retirement Plan System Has Changed Over Time How has the distribution of assets in private-sector retirement plans changed over recent years? Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute

Employer Commitment to Workers' Retirement Plans Has Declined Over Last Decade Corporate America's commitment to workers' retirement plans, measured by benefit values as a percentage of pay, has dropped consistently over the last decade, according to research by Watson Wyatt. Source: 401khelpcenter.com.

Employee-Benefit Cost Pressures Plague CFOs Of all the pricing pressures that senior finance executives are most worried about, employee benefits tops the list by far, according to the results of a Grant Thornton survey. Source: CFO.com.

Companies Plan to Reinstate 401k Matches Many businesses are quietly restoring plans to match a portion of their employees' 401k contributions. Source: Wall Street Journal.

Thinking Differently About 401k Matching Contributions The danger in cutting matching contributions is that employers may be sending a message to employees that helps rationalize cutting workers' own deferrals into the plan. Further, there are other questions for employers to consider. Source: Employee Benefit News

Restoring Americans' Retirement Security a Shared Responsibility Even before the financial crisis that began in the fall of 2008, Americans were woefully unprepared for retirement. While the subsequent drop in the stock market exacerbated the problem, it also heightened anxiety and awareness about the issue of retirement security among individuals, employers and government leaders. This could prove to be the silver lining in the crisis: an end to complacency and the willingness to change attitudes, behaviors and policies to restore Americans' retirement security. Source: McKinsey & Co.

Average American Family Faces a 37% Shortfall in Retirement Income The average American working household will have only 63 percent of what it will need for a dignified retirement, leaving millions of Americans to face very difficult choices about housing, food, and health care upon retirement, according to new report by McKinsey & Co. Source: 401khelpcenter.com.

Four in Five Investors Misusing Target-Date Funds Target-date fund investors may be happy with their plans — but they don't seem to be using them properly, according to a new study by AllianceBernstein. Source: Investmentnews.com

Target Date Funds a "Particular Focus" for SEC The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a hard look at retirement products, including the positioning of target date funds. Source: Planadviser.com.

403(b) Plans and EFAST2 This article focuses on how EFAST2 will affect the Form 5500 filing requirements for 403(b) plans. In addition, the article discusses the DOL's changes to the Form 5500 filing requirements for 403(b) plans. Source: Sungard/Relius.

Redefining DC Plans to Enhance Retirement Security This paper describes how and why DC plans became so important in ensuring retirement security, reviews the benefits that today's DC plans offer, proposes specific enhancements to DC plans, and discusses the benefits of such enhancements. Source: Prudential Retirement

Attitudes in the Wake of the 2008–2009 Market Decline A survey conducted by Vanguard Center for Retirement Research in May–June 2009 examines investor attitudes toward equity investing following the market turmoil of 2008–2009. Although the study found that expectations for investment returns were relatively modest and worry about market risks remained high, it also found an ongoing commitment to holding equities for retirement and other long-term goals. Source: Vanguard Center for Retirement Research

Supplemental FAQs About the 2009 Schedule C The U.S. Department of Labor released this additional guidance to help plan administrators and service providers comply with the expanded requirements for reporting service provider fee and compensation information on the Form 5500 Annual Returns/Reports. Source: Department of Labor.

Sponsors of DC Plans Must Determine Minimum Distribution Policies by Nov. 30, 2009 The IRS provided new guidance on the minimum distribution rules governing retirement plans. As described in IRS Notice 2009-82, employers that sponsor defined contribution plans have until Nov. 30, 2009, to make certain key decisions, although any actual plan amendment may be delayed until the last day of the 2011 plan year. Source: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

Moving 401k After-Tax Contributions to a Roth A financial newsletter has reported that the IRS has issued a private ruling that after-tax contributions to a 401k plan can be pulled out in a lump sum and rolled over to a Roth IRA without triggering income tax. Source: Wall Street Journal