Andrew Bihl

When designing contact centers, some level of overhead should always be built in. It might be supporting a 120% estimated peak for incoming contacts, or the ability to rapidly add on 10–15% more representatives. But, very few organizations have built their contact centers to address the volume they see now from consumers. In this unprecedented […]

Previously, I analyzed fraud detection and content management methods, with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). In my final post of this blog series, I explain the opportunities artificial intelligence provides to retirement services transformations. For many 401(k) plans, passing ADP/ACP testing can be a very difficult and challenging endeavor, and there can be severe […]

My last blog looked at call center optimization and how artificial intelligence (AI) provides an in-depth look into financial advice. In this blog, I analyze fraud detection and content management methods, with the assistance of AI. Fraud Detection In the online and digital world of financial services, fraud has increased and become harder to detect. […]

Previously, I discussed artificial intelligence (AI) and the benefits it can have when transforming retirement services. In this next post, I look at call center optimization and how AI provides an in-depth look into financial advice. Call Center Optimization Call centers are a necessary evil for financial services organizations, and none feel the pain more […]

Financial services back-office processing, particularly in retirement services, has historically been a very labor-intensive and opaque environment. Most organizations have made it a strategic goal to find ways to be more efficient and also to capitalize on the extraordinarily complex data to find trends and insights to better serve their customers. Today, the advanced pattern […]

At the end of 2017, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) estimated that multiemployer plans were underfunded by $65.1 billion, an increase of $6.3 billion from the end of 2016. The Budget Act of 2018 established the “Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans.” This committee held its first meeting on March 14, […]

When it left the House of Representatives in December 2017, the Tax Reform and Jobs Act carried several changes to the limits that should be placed on hardship withdrawals. While those changes never made it to the final version, many of them are included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. These include: Plans may […]

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 addresses relief for the California wildfires of 2017, including, but not limited to: “Qualified individuals” whose primary residences were in specific wildlife disaster zones between October 8 and December 31, 2017 have several new opportunities to access plan benefits that are not otherwise available, including not being hit with […]

There has been a lot of talk about the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which was passed by Congress and signed by the President on February 9th, 2018. The law will last for two years and increase funding for both military and social programs. It represents the first significant bipartisan legislation in a long time. […]

What happens when the unstoppable force of retirement services recordkeeping faces the immovable object of low-fee funds? We’ll probably have to wait for the courts to decide. Recently, Fidelity Investments, TD Ameritrade, and Morgan Stanley all announced that they will be charging additional fees to customers who invest in The Vanguard Group’s funds. While this […]

In the interest of reducing cost and liability, financial services companies have started withdrawing from the advice market and are requiring non-high net worth individuals to bear responsibility for their own financial decisions. This trend is similar to a trend in healthcare called “patient empowerment,” where doctors no longer make a recommendation for a course […]

Clients are more empowered than ever to make their own informed decisions, which has led to a dramatic shift in their expectations of financial services companies. Clients expect to be provided with the kind of personalized advice, support, and tools they used to only get from their financial advisors. While offering choices is an important […]