Sometimes you cant fully understand the topline trends and shouldnt commit to a course of action without first knowing whats underneath.

While there is a tendency to focus on the current balance in a 401(k) plan and treat that as the ultimate outcome, people tend to talk about defined benefit plans in terms of the benefit they are capable of providing, rather than the actual benefits paid.

In 1991, just 11 percent of workers expected to retire after age 65. Twenty-three years later, in 2014, 33 percent of workers report that they expect to retire after age 65.

Whether its the looming retirement crisis, the crippling impact of college debt, or the health care crisis, we are all challenged and confronted with the urgency of the need to address the crisis.

Reference pricing is receiving more attention and consideration today because of growing plan sponsor interest in managing health care costs, but the approach is still relatively new.

There do appear to be benefitsboth emotional and tangibleto doing a retirement needs calculation.

One way to help provide a different perspective on retirement savings would be to provide participants with an estimate of what their current or projected savings would produce in terms of a retirement income stream.

The perspective from the 24th annual Retirement Confidence Survey is likely to garner a lot of attention.