Hello and welcome to this week's edition of 401k Real Talk. This is WealthManagement.com's Fred Barstein Omnichannel RPA Contributing Editor & CEO at TRAU, TPSU & 401kTV – I Review everything from the past week's stories and pick out the most relevant and interesting ones offering an open honest and candid discussion that you wouldn't get anyway. So let's get real!

The raid on 401k forfeiture accounts is full of goldmajor lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo's $46 billion plan6^th the largest, while a similar suit against Qualcomm survived a motion to dismiss. Other plans that have been sued include Intuit, Clorox, Honeywell, HP and Mattel.

Although IRS guidelines allow plans to use forfeiture accounts to reduce contributions or plan spending, they can also add money to participant accounts. The lawsuit alleges that Wells failed to make a reasoned and unbiased decision.

As long as there are vesting plans, there will be forfeiture accounts, and it may be the courts, not the IRS or DOL, that decide how and when the plans can use them.

or The Vanguard study advocated the benefits of hybrid TDFs which include annuities as people approach retirement claiming they can offer higher investment value.

The report mentioned 3 types of annuities including SPIAs with immediate payments, DIAs with deferred payments, and QLACs that start later in life. Plan sponsors and participants need a better understanding of different annuities while the industry needs to keep things simple to drive demand.

Although Vanguard doesn't offer hybrid TDFS, which makes the research more reliable, they cautioned about the high costs of annuities and questioned whether participant commitment is required, something that the father of the auto plan, the UCLA professor, has argued for. Shlomo Benartzi.

Do we still have 401k haters? WSJ's recent column “Is Your Company's 401(k) Match Unfair?” it may seem like an attack, but it can also be a fair observation.

Based on Vanguard research, the top 20% of earners get 44% of the match, which makes sense because they contribute the most and maximize the match, but the disparities are still troubling and may require plans to consider redesigning the match formula . Because the 401k industry will be judged on results, not effort or intent, that means if we don't increase coverage and improve outcomes by helping less the wealthy and minorities, the government may step in or reduce tax deferrals.

There have been two recent hires worth noting highlighting convergence and retirement income:

1^str, Others, one of the largest independent BDs, hired Jerry Patterson, former president of Fidelity's Life Insurance Company and head of sales at Principal Retirement before that. He will lead Cetera's retirement, insurance and pensions segment, a new position as wealth managers and their BDs begin to leverage the convergence of workplace wealth and retirement. Jon Anderson, director of retirement plan solutions will report to Patterson.

Meanwhile, Allianz Life hired well-known industry veteran Ben Thomason as head of DC distribution. Thomason had worked at iJoin, Vestwell, Goldman and Fidelity. With momentum building for pension plan revenue, Allianz is poised to take a leadership position, especially with Thomason at the helm now.

At the recent RPA Record Keeper panel, the focus was on how to address the explosion of new 401(k) plans, especially smaller ones, enticing and welcoming wealth managers, as well as cost and opportunities with technology. With rates flat or falling and the cost of technology and labor rising while demand for service increases, what can providers do to compete and maintain healthy margins?

Current high-touch systems built on outdated technology and processes won't work with smaller plans and start-ups, and may not be viable for larger ones either. As data custodians and advisors seek additional revenue from participants, the need for data and collaboration increases.

Read my latest WealthManagement.com column if the DC industry comes together to collaborate by leveraging emerging technology like artificial intelligence while securely accessing data and empowering people, both internally and externally, including simpler processes.

So those were the top stories from last week. I listed a few others that I thought were worth reading:

1. State Street adds the lifetime income curve to their TDFs
2. Student loan programs are continuing
3. Schlichter Prepares Counsel for DOL's Fiduciary Rule
4. Cerulli defines the current state of financial wellness programs

Please let me know if I missed anything or if you would like to comment. Otherwise, I look forward to talking with you next week on 401k Real Talk.