At present, companies generally aren't subject to required contributions and have little incentive to make discretionary ones, Russell Investments reports.
Large companies saw three quarters of strong gains for their chronically underfunded plans almost wiped out by the late-year stock market nosedive.
J.C. Penney, Gibson Brands, Russell Investments, Cobham Advanced Electronic, Wag!, Westwood, Sentry Data, Revolution Foods, Powell Industries, AbbVie
With many pension plans too low-funded to justify aggressive fixed-income investment, lump-sum buyouts and annuities are popular derisking strategies.
With PBGC premiums soaring, sponsors face more pressure to fund up their plans. General Motors' response: do it with debt-issuance proceeds.
Over-allocation to company stock by plan participants poses risks for them, and also for the plan sponsor.
It's a buyer's market for 401(k) fees, but plan sponsors won't benefit unless they're proactive.
Institutional investment services providers are ditching their jargon and talking about the influence of investment risk on financial measures like free cash flow and earnings per share.
