The Best of Times for 401(k) Plans?

There have been significant improvements in 401(k) plans over the past 10 years, but further enhancements can go a long way toward helping American workers retire with confidence and security. Through interviews with industry professionals, the author explores solutions to the challenges that still face employers and retirement plan participants. The solutions offered in this article are not groundbreaking. They do not require massive upheaval of the industry, and they are not expensive. The solutions are practical and achievable. But like the progress we have made with retirement plans over the past 10 years, they will require a dissatisfaction with the status quo. One plan sponsor at a time can choose to improve its process and its oversight. They can choose to offer participants more help. Only then will we truly be in the best of times for 401(k) plans.