Viewpoints from John Hancock Retirement
As one of America’s most trusted financial brands, we believe everyone deserves the tools and guidance to achieve financial wellness and retire with confidence. We’ve made retirement plans work for nearly 50 years, and today we’re one of the largest full-service providers in the industry.
At John Hancock, we make retirement plans work.
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Not what we expected—a chance to help reduce financial stress
As we start the new year, I can’t help but think that 2021 wasn’t what we expected—and I have to wonder what 2022 has in store for us. We recently took a look at stress, finances, and well-being in our eighth annual survey, and it seems that our retirement plan participants are feeling the same way: The pandemic has had a complicated effect on American workers and their finances. But one finding is loud and clear—people want help making financial decisions, and they want help from their employers, financial professionals, and their retirement plan providers.
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Adding a nonqualified deferred compensation plan to your benefits package
In a tough labor market, you may want to consider adding a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan as a supplemental, tax-advantaged savings opportunity for executives and other employees.
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Six myths about retirement plans for small businesses—debunked!
We debunk the myths that keep many small business owners from offering a retirement plan.
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Cybersecurity guidance from the DOL for retirement plan fiduciaries
The DOL has issued three documents outlining cybersecurity tips and best practices. Retirement plan fiduciaries need to take the threat seriously by adopting the DOL’s best practices and tips for plan fiduciaries, service providers, and plan participants.
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When are participant change notices required under ERISA 404a-5?
Being a plan sponsor comes with administrative and fiduciary duties. Knowing whether a retirement plan event triggers the need to send a change notice or not is one of those confusing areas that can require guidance. This guide can help you understand your requirements beyond the annual and quarterly notices.
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Takeaways from the ARPA relief for single-employer pension plans
On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law. Two provisions of the stimulus package are a welcome followup to previous pension plan legislation, as they’re intended to stabilize single-employer pension plan funding. Defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors should understand how these changes will lower and smooth out their plans minimum required contributions.
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Six tips to help you locate missing retirement plan participants
If you’re a plan fiduciary and you’re wondering whether you need to pay attention to the recent guidance from the DOL—the answer is yes. We’ll help you understand how participants go missing and provide you with best practices to find them.
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Is there relief from partial 401(k) plan termination during the pandemic?
Many businesses have been forced to make some tough decisions because of the pandemic—including laying off or letting go of staff. Normally, if a company lets go of a certain percentage of its active 401(k) participants in a plan year, the IRS can declare its 401(k) plan partially terminated, which triggers full vesting. But because of the COVID-19 relief package passed in December 2020, companies hurt by the economic slowdown may be able to avoid partial termination—if they meet certain requirements.
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2020’s lessons for 401(k) participants and financial professionals
Now that 2020 is hindsight, it’s important to look back and see what lessons it has for us. We’ve taken a look at the actions our retirement plan participants took in 2020 to gauge what kind of help they may need as they look forward in 2021.
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Five things you should know about the IRS’s latest 401(k) plan restatement cycle for preapproved plans
Learn about the 401(k) plan restatement process and the document options that are available to plan sponsors.
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