* This book is particularly valuable, especially in this challenging financial climate, because it gives in-depth answers to these questions about DC plan design from the nation's most qualified and experienced experts.

Foreword. Introduction. Acknowledgments. PART ONE DC Plan Evolution and Design Trends. CHAPTER 1 DC Plans in the American Retirement System. Evolution of DB and DC Plans. Making the Move from a DB Plan to a DC Plan. How Do We Measure DC Plan Success? What Is a Qualified Default Investment Alternative? Is Automatic Enrollment Enough? Auto-Escalation: How Much Is Enough? How Much Should We Save to Beat Inflation? Preparing for Retirement in an Economic Downturn. What the Future May Hold for DC Plans. In Closing. CHAPTER 2 Evolving DC Plan Design. Investment Structure of Defined Contribution Plans. Future of DC Plan Investment Design. Tier I: Qualified Default Investment Alternatives—Asset-Allocation Strategies. Tier II: Core Investment Offerings in DC Plans. Tier III: Brokerage or Mutual Fund Window. Tier IV: Passive Investment Strategies? Evolving Structures and Alternative Investment Strategies. Bringing It All Together: DC Investment Structure and Guarantees. In Closing. CHAPTER 3 Target-Date Strategies: Packaged versus Custom. Why Plan Sponsors Create Custom Target Retirement-Date Strategies. Intel: Building Is Better than Buying. Verizon: Well Worth the Effort. In Closing. PART TWO Development of Custom Target-Date Retirement Strategies. CHAPTER 4 Legal and Fiduciary Considerations. Common Legal Questions Regarding DC Plans. Investment Policy Statements and Governance. Target-Date Strategies on the Hot Seat. What May Lie Ahead in Legislation of Target Strategies. In Closing. CHAPTER 5 Record Keeping and Trust. Two Basic Approaches to Setting Up Record Keeping. Custom Target Strategies Lead to New Record-Keeping Approaches. Pros and Cons of Alternative Operational Approaches. Questions to Pose to Your Record Keeper. Key Considerations to Determine Which Approach to Choose. Establishing and Maintaining Operations. Conversion of Target Risk to Target Date. Fee Allocations and Disclosures. Rebalancing the Target-Date Strategies. Deluxe Corporation: Seamless Operational Setup and Rollout Communication. How Record Keepers and Trustees Support Operations. In Closing. CHAPTER 6 Communication Challenges and How to Meet Them. Common Myths Surrounding Custom Target-Strategy Communication. Communicating the Benefits of Target-Date Strategies. Communication: Strategies to Keep It Simple. Communication Tools. Helping Plan Participants to Visualize Their Postretirement Future. Communications and the Switch to DC Custom Strategies. Communication Challenges during an Economic Downturn. In Closing. CHAPTER 7 Evaluating Costs in Custom Strategies. Why Costs Matter. Have You Calculated and Reduced Total Plan Cost? Keeping Fees Reasonable. Unbundling Can Keep Down Costs. Custom Strategies and the Value of Unitizing. Experts Discuss Fee Transparency. ERISA Section 404(c) and Fee Disclosure. Costs of Implementing and Running Custom Target Strategies. In Closing. PART THREE Designing and Benchmarking Custom Target-Date Strategies. CHAPTER 8 Glide-Path Design. An Academic Look at Creating Optimal Asset-Allocation Strategies. A Practitioner’s Look at Creating Optimal Asset-Allocation Strategies. DC Plan Success Requires a New Approach. Evaluating the Probability of Meeting DC Retirement-Income Goals. Evaluating Risk-Factor Exposures in Target-Date Glide Paths. Plan Sponsor Approaches to Custom Target-Date Strategies. In Closing. CHAPTER 9 Asset Classes and Alternatives. Clearing the Decks: Offering a Brokerage Window to Participants. Typical DC Core Investment Offerings. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. Simplify yet Diversify. Suggested Core Investment Lineup. Adding Alternatives to Target-Date Strategies. In Closing. CHAPTER 10 Helping Protect DC Assets from Risk. How Do We Experience Risk?. 2008 Market Impact on DC Participant Accounts. No Place to Hide. What Are the Main Types of Risk?. Helping Protect DC Participant Assets from Risks. Importance of Tail-Risk Hedging. In Closing . CHAPTER 11 Approaches to Benchmarking. Introduction to Target Date Benchmarking and the Measure of Success. Common Approaches to Benchmarking Target-Date Strategies. Benchmarking Managed Accounts. In Closing. PART FOUR Looking to the Future. CHAPTER 12 Financial Education, Advice, and Retirement Planning. Why Plan Sponsors Provide Education and Advice. Is Advice Needed When a Plan Has Auto-Enrollment and Target-Date Strategies? Education and Advice Offered by Plan Sponsors. Evolution from Education to Managed Accounts. Comparison of Managed Accounts and Custom Target-Date Strategies. Advice beyond Asset Allocation. Advice beyond Advice Models. What Is Financial Planning? Financial Planning Process. Financial Planning Fees. In Closing. CHAPTER 13 Retirement Income and Guarantees. Encourage Participants to Stay in the Plan or Go? In-Plan Guaranteed Income Solutions. Plan Sponsors Exploring Guarantees. Allowing Consolidation of Outside Assets into the Plan. In Closing. Conclusion. Notes. Index.

Your nuts-and-bolts road map to understanding how to create custom target-date strategies One of the hottest investment products of the past few years, target-date retirement funds have taken hold in the world of 401(k) and other defined contribution plans, forcing you, as a plan administrator or sponsor, to rethink your program. Written by one of the nation's most qualified and experienced experts in the field, Designing Successful Target-Date Strategies for Defined Contribution Plans gives you the detailed answers you need to your questions about defined contribution plan design and building custom target-date strategies, with in-depth coverage of: Defined contribution plans in the American retirement system Evolving DC plan design Target-date strategies: packaged versus custom Legal and fiduciary considerations Recordkeeping and trust setup Communication issues Evaluating costs Glide path design Asset classes and alternatives Protecting DC assets Benchmarking Advice and retirement planning Retirement income and guarantees Since target-date strategies place participants on "autopilot," you need to take a good, long look at what you offer so you can confirm that participants will arrive at the right destination. Designing Successful Target-Date Strategies¿for Defined Contribution Plans demystifies the often daunting and confusing task of understanding these retirement investments, with sound advice from experts across the industry on the best way to design your own asset allocation, keep plan fees at the lowest possible level, and help protect both plan participants and sponsors from risk.