Life requires us to face many challenges and make countless monumental decisions—nearly every day! Sometimes those hurdles are tough and overwhelming, our brains get overloaded, and we don’t make the best choices.
Learning how to recognize and deal with some of our stress triggers is the premise of The Curious Behaviors That Can Ruin Your Retirement, an interactive program by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. This informative, yet fun, exercise is described in more detail in our article Behavioral Impediments Can Stall Retirement Preparations.
Making good investment choices is also hard for many retirement plan participants. A recent study shows an overwhelming number of adults are so afraid of losing money that their risk-averse behavior may have them choosing return options that don’t even keep pace with inflation! In Counter Risk Aversion with Targeted Education we share some of the highlights from this Gallup study and suggest ways plan sponsors can help participants overcome some of this risk aversion.
Interestingly, despite this aversion to risk and thought of losing money, not all participants understand plan fees. Clearly communicating these fees and making sure they are closely evaluated and monitored are key fiduciary responsibilities of a retirement plan sponsor. We outline the primary fee categories and provide some key oversight considerations in Fee Oversight Must be Ongoing.
We welcome your thoughts and comments on any of these topics. Likewise, we are always happy to help you navigate the intricacies of being a retirement plan sponsor.
