PCS Retirement

Amanda Umpierrez, Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist Magazine, reports that many employers are happier with their plan advisors, as more professionals engage with clients beyond retirement readiness and their 401(k).   "These employers want to engage their employees past the 401(k) plan, as 81% say advisors should speak with participants about broader financial planning needs."   According to Fidelity’s latest Plan Sponsor Attitudes Study, which surveyed 1,100 employers, 90% of plan sponsors are currently working with a retirement plan advisor. 80% reported being satisfied with the plan.   Furthermore, 81% of sponsors say they are “highly satisfied” with their advisor, an increase from 76% in 2023.   Read "Enhanced Advisor Engagement Leads to Happier Employers" https://lnkd.in/gtF8_i3G   Contact us for strategies in expanding your advisory services to wow employers: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

America's love affair with cars may be preventing many from building significant net worth.   According to Humphrey Yang, a financial adviser popular on social media, the soaring cost of buying, operating, and maintaining a new car is taking a constantly increasing bite out of people's paychecks.   First, a vehicle is an expensive purchase. Edmunds reports that the average new car costs nearly $47,000 in the year’s first quarter. Meanwhile, most people finance that purchase with near record-high interest rates, averaging 7.1% on new vehicles and 11.7% for used cars.   Then there's gas, maintenance, and insurance—the last two of which have risen substantially.   All these costs on a rapidly depreciating asset.   The biggest issue, Yang points out, is opportunity costs. "All the money you're spending on your car is money you can't invest in assets that go up in value instead of down."   Read “‘A huge wealth killer’—Your car may be ruining your shot at getting rich" https://lnkd.in/eyAdQSgh   Contact us to learn how to help your clients protect their financial future from hidden wealth killers: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

At a time, most employees were satisfied with contributing 2-3% of their paycheck to their 401(k) retirement plan. But now, an increasing number of workers are giving significantly more.   Experts have identified factors that have led to this increase—such as easier access to workplace retirement plans and automatic enrollment. Whatever the cause, workers today are contributing a larger portion of their paychecks to their 401(k)s. And that’s a positive thing.   Maurie Backman reports in Moneywise that among plans with automatic enrollment, 33% enrolled workers contributed 3% of their salary. But 29% chose a default contribution rate of 6% or more—nearly double the proportion from 2014. If this trend continues, it could lead to a huge boost to workers’ nest eggs.   Read "The new standard: More Americans are contributing 6% of their paycheck to their 401(k)" https://lnkd.in/exGdCSjT   Contact us to learn how to guide your clients in maximizing their retirement contributions: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

The worst of inflation might be past us, but the share of Americans who say they’re “doing OK financially” has hit a four-year low.   CNBC reports that among all U.S. adults, 72% say they were “doing OK” in 2023—the lowest percentage since April 2020, according to an annual Federal Reserve survey. This has been trending down since 2021 at 78%.   Notably, parents with kids who say they are “doing OK” dropped from 69% in 2022 to 64% in 2023.   A lot of that has to do with inflation. 35% of the 11,400 respondents cited financial challenges—including retirement savings and debt—as the number one cause for the shift.   As a result, people are saving less. The total share of income that consumers save has been declining over the past few months. The rate is 3.2% as of March—half of what it was before the pandemic.   Read "The number of Americans who say they're 'doing OK financially' drops to 4-year low" https://lnkd.in/eEc3AMQA   Contact us for actionable strategies in guiding your clients through today’s financial challenges: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

Over the past decade, several regulatory developments have significantly impacted the retirement income landscape—in particular, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.   Jeri Savage, lead strategist at MFS Investment Management, says that while retirement income is top of mind for many, too often, the conversation focuses solely on products, instead of on creating and articulating a retirement income philosophy.   Looking at the latest data, Savage sees four big takeaways:   1.    Retirement concerns are similar for all developed economies. 2.    In-plan retirement income solutions may not be a fit for all plan sponsors. 3.    There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the decumulation puzzle. 4.    Participants are ultimately looking for in-person advice.   Read "The retirement income conversation has been ongoing for several years, and we believe there are four lessons learned" https://lnkd.in/dzw4-3dY   Contact us to learn how to better support your clients’ retirement goals: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

Overall employee financial wellness showed improvement this year. But the wellness and retirement confidence gap between men and women remains problematic.   This is according to Bank of America Institute’s 14th annual Workplace Benefits Report, “The Resurging Workforce.”   The 2024 survey found that 47% of employees rated their financial wellness as “good” or “excellent,” up 5% from last year. However, women expressed significantly lower financial wellness scores than men, indicating that employers need to do more to address pay equity.   According to the report, 53% of men reported good financial wellness, compared to just 36% of women. This may be attributable to women in the U.S. working full-time earning 84 cents for every dollar men earn, according to the Census Bureau. Shockingly, only 44% of employers currently address pay equity, and 28% are considering it in the next 1-2 years.   Read "Financial Wellness Gap Between Men, Women Continues to Widen" https://lnkd.in/euuxCMUR   Contact us for strategies to address the financial wellness gap among your clients: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

PCS Retirement will be attending LNRS 2024: Unfiltered! We’re excited to be a part of the 2024 LeafHouse National Retirement Symposium (LNRS) from October 9-11 in Austin, Texas. This year’s theme is Unfiltered, addressing critical matters with the raw truth. Our CEO, Scott David, will be joining Chandrasekaran Vaidyanathan, Ralph Ferraro, Patrick Duffy, and Allison Dirksen on October 10th to discuss “Efficient Markets vs Moats: Competing Forces in Modern Business Strategy”, moderated by Nevin Adams. This will be an exciting discussion where Scott will have the opportunity to share his insights on selecting the ideal strategy for modernization and digital transformation in the retirement industry, and how leveraging technology has driven meaningful change and innovation at PCS.

In February 2024, J.P. Morgan Chase suffered a data breach that impacted more than nearly half a million plan participants.   Remy Samuels, writing for Plan Sponsor, says that this incident can serve as an opportunity for plan sponsors to 1) reflect on their own cybersecurity practices, and 2) consider what action they would take if they found themselves in a similar situation.   A typical cyber breach involves someone gaining access to participants’ personal information. While the J.P. Morgan incident was not an external cyberattack, Samuels writes that it is important for plan sponsors to understand which systems were impacted by the breach and to determine whether they can isolate those systems and contain the problem.   "Once the problem is contained and steps have been taken to mitigate the breach, a sponsor needs to have a plan for how the organization will communicate the issue with its participant base."   Read "How Should a Plan Sponsor Respond to a Data Breach?" https://lnkd.in/eRNCUf5N   Contact us to learn how we keep your clients’ data secure: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

As a business leader, talking about your failures may not come as naturally as trumpeting your successes. That’s not without reason: failure stings. It puts a dent in our egos, exposes us to criticism, and leaves us feeling vulnerable.   But according to Sanjay Khosla, a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Kellogg School of Management, having the courage to acknowledge failures—and the humility to learn from them—is essential for top executives to be successful. Revealed through his clients’ biggest professional failures, here are the five most common leadership mistakes:   1.    Hesitating to make tough calls 2.    Not communicating with people on an individual level 3.    Creating an environment where people don't thrive 4.    Focusing inward instead of outward 5.    Falling for "the Seduction of More"   Read the comic “An Illustrated Guide to Succeeding Where So Many Leaders Fail” https://lnkd.in/dhxcfAFj   Contact us for more winning strategies to lead a thriving retirement planning business: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

Younger people are increasingly describing themselves as having "money dysmorphia"--an inaccurate view of their true financial health. Erin Lowry writes in Bloomberg that according to a recent Credit Karma study, 43% of Gen Z and 41% of millennials say they suffer from a flawed perception of their finances. Lowry says, "While it might sound like just another form of TikTok-induced anxiety, money dysmorphia is a real problem that can cause someone to make poor or ill-informed decisions." She adds that having a financial perspective rooted in fear rather than fact is nothing new. Those of us with grandparents belonging to the Greatest Generation will recognize the Depression-era scarcity mentality. There's no easy solution. But instead of being in a constant state of unease, millennials and Gen Z should ground themselves by doing the math on what amount of money would make them sleep easier. And of course, get professional financial advice. Read "Money dysmorphia is haunting millennials and Gen Zers" https://lnkd.in/eedGm55p Contact us to find out how you can align your clients' financial perspective with their retirement goals: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting