News & Insights

Employers and retirement plan sponsors continue to be focused on participant outcomes when it comes to fine-tuning and managing their company’s retirement plans, Fidelity Investments’ 2020 Plan Sponsor Attitudes survey reveals. In this article, we will review survey highlights and…

As American workers and businesses continue to grapple with the health and economic ramifications of the COVID-19 global health crisis, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (otherwise known as CARES Act 2.0) was signed into law on December 27, 2020.

In this issue of Tax Talk, we update you on important upcoming compliance deadlines for defined contribution plans as well as provide a quick reminder of the SECURE Act’s ruling on part-time employee participation effective this year. Upcoming Compliance Deadlines…

The SECURE Act, implemented at the end of 2019, and the CARES Act, implemented in March of 2020, provided a number of new retirement plan provisions for plan sponsors to consider. During the pandemic, as some businesses and industries have…

While some employees are still facing financial challenges, other employees may be ready to get back on track with their retirement goals—and many of them may need information so they can determine their next steps. Plan sponsors should start…

The economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt across the U.S., and employees and businesses are bearing the brunt of the challenges. As many businesses partially open or close entirely, plan sponsors are faced with managing numerous…

As we begin to wrap up the year and the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact our communities, ABG Southwest is ready to help in any way we can, from discussing retirement plan participation and trends to highlighting approaching deadlines. In…

President’s Letter Dear Colleague: The economic impacts from the pandemic continue to be felt across the U.S., and employees and businesses are bearing the brunt of the challenges. ABG offices are proactively partnering with plan sponsors and financial advisors to…

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted many from a health and/or financial perspective, and caused some retirement plan participants to evaluate their engagements in retirement plans. Recent stock market volatility, resulting from economic pressures prompted by business shutdowns across the…

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact our communities, ABG Southwest is ready to help in any way we can, from discussing retirement plan participation and trends to highlighting approaching deadlines. In this issue of Tax Talk, we provide some important compliance due dates for defined contribution plans and noteworthy new provisions from the IRS.

In light of the pandemic, plan participants are evaluating their continued participation and looking at CARES Act withdrawal provisions.

As American workers and businesses continue to grapple with the health and economic ramifications of the COVID-19 global health crisis, plan sponsors are also evaluating the potential impact of both the CARES and SECURE Acts on their retirement plans.

Since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act became law, ABG Southwest is carefully reviewing the retirement relief remedies in the $2 trillion stimulus package.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact our communities, we want to communicate the steps we're taking at ABG Southwest to mitigate the effects it will have on our clients

One in three U.S. workers is a millennial, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Although two-thirds work for an employer that offers a retirement plan, only one-third of millennials participate in those plans. We talk to Erica Bonser, Director of Marketing at Alliance Benefit Group Rocky Mountain, and a millennial herself, about the underlying reasons for this lack of retirement plan engagement and what more can be done to encourage millennial participation.

Heightened stock market volatility may have retirement plan participants nervous about their long-term nest eggs and making the “right” decision when it comes to their 401(k)s. In this issue we discuss the importance of being intentional when it comes to investing. We also review highlights from the Investment Company Institute's research on retirement plan participant behavior.

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2019 Retirement Confidence Survey, the percentage of employees who feel confident about their ability to live comfortably in retirement has rebounded back to pre-financial crises levels. In this issue we review highlights from this annual survey and provide our perspective on participants' current attitudes to retirement.

Student loan debt in America now totals more than $1.5 trillion and is now the second largest consumer debt in the U.S. after mortgages. How are employees able to juggle making student loan repayments as well as save for retirement? In this issue we look at developments in the retirement plan industry that have the potential to help.

Getting employees to participate in retirement plans is no light undertaking. Much time and effort is spent at many companies in employee enrollment meetings and education sessions. Yet, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, typically, in any given year, only half of eligible employees participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. In this issue we look at how plan design can be used to boost participant engagement.

When 401(k)s were originally introduced by the IRS in 1981, a loan feature was included with the idea that the ability to access funds when needed, would help participants become more comfortable with contributing regularly to a 401(k). In this issue we look at how 401(k) loans can actually be detrimental to a participant's retirement readiness.