Smart401k Blog

With the end of April quickly approaching, many of you have already taken part in your own version of spring cleaning. Whether it’s finally reorganizing that garage, getting the yard work done or just freshening up the house, this time of year represents a time of rejuvenation and fresh beginnings. What better time than now to discuss the often-overlooked importance of cleaning and reorganizing your 401(k) investments?

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If you’ve spent any time reading the Smart401k Blog or our educational material over the past few years, you know we are passionate about setting up a proper asset allocation to help reach retirement goals. We’ve spent countless hours explaining the benefits of understanding your risk tolerance and your investment time horizon; then we’ve taken more time explaining how to use that information to build a portfolio using the asset class categories suited to your needs.

Then there is re-balancing. (more…)

Human resources consulting firm Aon Hewitt (www.aonhewitt.com) just released a study that delved into employee retirement benefits. The firm surveyed 210 mid-to-large U.S. companies representing 6.2 million workers.

The results revealed that just 38% of employers are confident that workers are taking accountability for their financial future, down from 43% in 2010. Further, only 30% of companies are confident employees are sufficiently prepared for retirement, showing no improvement from 2010.

In other words, companies believe employees are not in control of retirement planning, even though 401(k) plans and similar self-directed work retirement plans are designed to put employees in control. What this tells me is that employees – you, me and everyone we work with – need to take control of retirement planning because no one else is going to do it for us.

Perhaps that’s easier said than done. I think surveys are most useful when the findings are actionable, so here are … (more…)