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The unspoken fear of every 401(k) plan sponsor

'Too big to fail' might not apply to financial intermediaries, but a fiduciary 'too small to survive' failure is a tangible concern for plan sponsors.

By Chris Carosa | Updated on August 09, 2012

I was first introduced to the term “psychic numbing” as a college junior. While participating in a semester long seminar on the cultural history of atomic physics (this was the kind of course science majors took to meet their “arts and literature” diversification requirements), we read the book Hiroshima by John Hersey. This journalistic/clinical piece of literature detailed in agonizing detail the post-nuclear lives of the immediate survivors of the bomb that didn’t end World War II.

It’s not necessary to get into the entire history of the term and its use in psychology, but suffice it to say it arises when a person is subject to such a horrific experience they become apathetic. Now, I’m not trying to equate the impact of nuclear Armageddon with that of serving as a 401(k) plan sponsor, but there are similarities.

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