How you choose to handle your retirement plans when you change jobs will have a lasting impact on the size of your nest egg and ultimately on the type of retirement you can enjoy.  January 2015 Employee Memo

December’s Employee Memo is a friendly handout about Target Date funds.  “You only need to select one target date fund (TDF) to have a diversified portfolio. Each fund is designed as a stand-alone investment portfolio with an asset allocation that automatically rebalances over time, based on a planned retirement date that coincides with the year indicated in the TDF.  Please have them call us if they have any questions or need anything.  December 2014 Employee Memo

Target-date, or life cycle, funds are the cruise control of investing. After you choose which fund to invest in, the fund does all the work for you. You don’t have to think about it again until retirement.

Many target-date mutual funds are funds of funds. They hold a selection of equity funds, such as large-cap, small-cap and international funds, and a selection of fixed-income funds of multiple durations and yields.

The appeal of target-date funds is that they take care of all the asset allocation and rebalancing for you. It’s a balancing act of managing market risk, inflation risk and longevity risk.  See Target Date Funds

November’s Employee Memo is a handout for employees to let them know the upcoming limit changes for the 401k plan.  Please have them call us if they have any questions.  November 2014 Employee Memo

 

 

The IRS indexed dollar limits to qualified retirement plans for 2015 are provided in the attached document. This update is provided for informational purposes to TP Investment Advisory’s clients and prospects.  See 2015 limits

This month’s employee memo is a simple risk tolerance/life questionnaire.  It’s a great handout for your employees as well as a reminder to periodically look at their investments to make sure they are properly allocated.  October 2014 Employee Memo

As you begin to think about your retirement, you might want to consider the following planning steps to help ensure a successful transition to your new lifestyle.  September 2014 Employee Memo

To sue or not to sue your employer over your 401(k) plan? That is the question that a Forbes guest columnist poses to plan participants, providing red flags that participants should look out for when determining whether to sue or not.

Citing abuses like high fees charged to federal employees rolling out of the low-cost Thrift Savings Plan and Fidelity’s recent settlement with participants in their own plan, author John Wasik recommends that employees ask the following questions:
• Are low-cost index investments offered?
• Are various markets covered by the investments offered?
• Are fees excessive?
• What fees are paid to middlemen (suggesting that revenue sharing is a red flag)?
• Are there wrap fees, which Wasik says are a no-no?
• Does the record keeper only offer proprietary funds?

If employers don’t answer these questions with a promise to hire an independent fiduciary consultant, Wasik recommends consulting an attorney.

Don’t let Target Date Funds puzzle you! You’re a savvy participant, put your Target Date
Fund knowledge to the test and see how many of the questions you can answer below!  August 2014 Employee Memo

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make as a participant is to not contribute to your plan as soon as you are eligible to do so. The earlier you start contributing to your retirement plan, the more time compounding interest has to work on your behalf. Putting off contributions to the retirement savings plan today means increased contributions to reach the same goals tomorrow.  July 2014 Employee Memo