Author: Susan Conrad

I often tell people that I lived a Norman Rockwell childhood. My parents provided a home full of love and encouragement. Our grandparents lived nearby and most of our extended family lived within a 30-minute drive. We celebrated holidays, birthdays, and often gathered for no reason at all. As a Read more…

Someone just turned the big 4-0. As the director of our Retirement Plan Advisor team, I can’t help but take the time to recognize the 401(k)’s birthday as cause for celebration. After all, this type of account brings tax-advantaged retirement savings to more than 50 million Americans1. A 401(k) Read more…

The New Year is always a time for self-reflection. “New Year, New You” headlines abound, as people collectively seek ways to make resolutions that actually stick. Read more…

Earlier this week, the Department of Labor indicated it will propose new exemptions— focused on certain classes of “clean” mutual fund shares—to its highly contested fiduciary rule. Read more…

I bought an airline ticket last night for an upcoming trip, thinking I’d found a deal. But after taxes, facility charges and carrier-imposed fees (what are those?), I was not feeling as confident in my purchase. Unfortunately, some employers feel the same way about their 401(k) plan—unsure if Read more…

I recently contributed to a FiduciaryNews.com story examining how today’s 401k plans may be unrecognizable to the first ones created in the early 1980s. Five dramatic differences between modern 401k plans and their distant Reagan-era cousins: Read more…