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.
-
Workers want help making these financial decisions
Decision-making fatigue—just another unexpected side effect of the pandemic. With so much uncertainty, it’s no wonder that 82% of our retirement plan participants say they’d like to be more confident making financial decisions. And they’ve told us the types of help they need.
Read more -
What are the lifetime income illustrations on my 401(k) statement?
If you’re saving in a defined contribution (DC) retirement plan, you receive a quarterly statement that shows your account balance and investments. To help you see how much monthly income your account balance will generate, your statement will start including two lifetime income illustrations.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
Six myths about retirement plans for small businesses—debunked!
We debunk the myths that keep many small business owners from offering a retirement plan.
Read more -
Three participant realities—and ways to improve your next retirement readiness assessment
Inspired by the research in our “State of the participant 2021” report, here are three observations on what retirement plan savers are going through today—and next steps you might consider to ease their journey going forward.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
Financial wellness programs can help increase employee loyalty and reduce stress
Even before 2020 became a four-letter word, financial stress was on the rise among Americans—and the pandemic has made it worse. In our latest financial stress survey, we learned how employees feel about financial programs and the types of help they’d like from their employers.
Read more