--- title: Exactly the Same but Completely Different description: Exactly The Same But Completely Different image: https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Center/Pillar%20Categories%202024/SVG%20-%20with%20category%20name/hero_ii_category.svg --- [![logo](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/_global/logo.svg "logo")](https://www.dwc401k.com/) [![logo](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Dwc-2019/SVG/logo.svg "logo")](https://www.dwc401k.com/) [![Contribution Limits](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3113501/af3ae025-72b1-41fa-8855-5e196d6c26e4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3113501/af3ae025-72b1-41fa-8855-5e196d6c26e4) [![Log in](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3113501/3466ce37-58ba-4a93-bddb-0d4c8bb8ccbc.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3113501/3466ce37-58ba-4a93-bddb-0d4c8bb8ccbc) [![services-icon1](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/services-icon1.png) ## Plan Document A properly drafted document is the foundation of achieving the company's objectives and keeping the plan in operational compliance. ](https://www.dwc401k.com/services/plan-document) [![services-icon2](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/services-icon2.png) ## Plan Compliance We have a fundamental understanding of how critical plan compliance is to both the IRS and Department of Labor. ](https://www.dwc401k.com/services/plan-compliance) [![services-icon3](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/services-icon3.svg) ## Defined Benefits Services We work with business owners and investment advisors to determine what makes the most sense by providing a detailed cost benefit analysis. ](https://www.dwc401k.com/services/defined-benefits-services) [![services-icon4](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/services-icon4.svg) ## Mergers, Aquisitions & Related Company Analysis The DWC team is well-versed enough in the nuances and is ready to help you navigate the situation. ](https://www.dwc401k.com/services/mergers-acquisitions-analysis) [![services-icon5](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/services-icon5.png) ## Plan Corrections DWC's extensive experience with both the IRS and Department of Labor voluntary correction programs allows us to help you address just about any accident that might happen. ](https://www.dwc401k.com/plan-corrections) [![services-icon6](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/services-icon6.png) ## Government Audits Being selected for an audit can feel overwhelming, but the process doesn't have to be. ](https://www.dwc401k.com/services/government-audits) ![service-right-icon](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/QOTW/March%202020/service-right-icon.svg) ## Investment Advisor Support DWC has a long history of successfully partnering with investment advisors. 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the Alphabet Soup: What’s With All the Acronyms | Part 5](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/decoding-the-alphabet-soup-whats-with-all-the-acronyms-part-5) [![https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Center/Pillar%20Categories%202024/SVG%20-%20with%20category%20name/hero_pp_category.svg](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Center/Pillar%20Categories%202024/SVG%20-%20with%20category%20name/hero_pp_category.svg) ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/decoding-the-alphabet-soup-whats-with-all-the-acronyms-part-4) ### [Decoding the Alphabet Soup: What’s With All the Acronyms | Part 4](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/decoding-the-alphabet-soup-whats-with-all-the-acronyms-part-4) [![https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Center/Pillar%20Categories%202024/PNG%20-%20with%20category%20name/hero_rr_png_category.png](https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Center/Pillar%20Categories%202024/PNG%20-%20with%20category%20name/hero_rr_png_category.png) 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Pozek ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/author/adam-c-pozek) | Published: 09/17/2014 | [ERISA](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/erisa), [Industry Insights](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/industry-insights) At the end of August, I made my first trip to Burning Man, an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada.  With 10 guiding principles, it involves art, music and free-spiritedness.  This experiment in temporary community sees 65,000+ attendees converge on a dried-up lake bed, build a temporary city and leave behind no trace that it ever existed only a couple of short weeks later.  [Katie Couric](http://news.yahoo.com/katie-couric-burning-man-festival-explained-183349441.html), [Chris Taylor](http://mashable.com/2014/08/22/burning-man-2014/) and [Grover Norquist](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/02/my-first-burning-man-grover-norquist) describe it better than I could. This year, Burning Man came to a close on September 2nd which just so happened to be ERISA’s 40th birthday.  This piece of bi-partisan legislation from 1974 created nondiscrimination tests that ensure higher paid employees don’t receive benefits that are disproportionate to those provided to rank-and-file employees, established rules requiring that retirement assets be used for the exclusive benefit of plan participants and gave the federal government and courts jurisdiction to facilitate uniform treatment everywhere in the country.  [Phyllis Borzi](http://www.dol.gov/erisa40/), [Sheldon Smith](http://benefitsbryancave.com/thanks-erisa-and-happy-40th/) and [Nick Thornton](http://www.benefitspro.com/2014/09/02/5-changes-ushered-in-by-erisa?ref=hp) describe it better than I could. As you can see, apart from that coincidental overlap in dates this year, the two are pretty much completely different…except that the media coverage over the last couple of weeks has been exactly the same.  OK, maybe not exactly, given the varied subject matter, but there have been some striking similarities.  Apparently, both have jumped the shark, and it’s the rich folks who are to blame. For Burning Man, the common refrain is that Silicon Valley billionaires are taking over and turning it into a playground for the rich and famous to the exclusion of the “regular” attendee.  Are there a few wealthy jerks out there flaunting their riches to the “have-nots”?  Sure, but that is hardly unique to Burning Man.  The vast majority of attendees tell a very different story – one of experiencing art and music in new ways, making long-term friendships and gaining a new perspective on positively interacting with their fellow human beings. Similarly, there have been a number of columns declaring the failure of ERISA, because those ne’er-do-well rich folks (the business owners and Wall Street types) are breaking their pension promises and trying to bleed the system dry no matter who gets left in their wake.  Are there a few wealthy jerks out there who don’t value their employees or who see a multi-trillion-dollar target on which to focus their nefarious objectives?  Sure, but that is hardly unique to ERISA plans. In 20+ years working in this industry, my experience is that most business owners try to do right by their employees while being fiscally responsible and attempting to comply with thousands of pages of less-than-intuitive rules.  Likewise, plenty of financial services professionals have devoted their careers to helping business owners and employees alike make sense of the complexities of retirement planning. As for pension promises, those were contemplated when retirement age was 65 and life expectancy was a little past age 68.  Now, life expectancies are into the 80s but retirement age is still 65.  The terms of the deal have to change - it just isn’t possible to provide 15+ years of retirement income on the same budget as providing it for 3 years, especially when healthcare spending has risen by more than 2,000%. In the years since ERISA’s enactment, the number of retirement plans has more than doubled, and private employer spending on retirement benefits has increased by more than 900%.  Accelerated vesting schedules have doubled the number of participants who vest in their benefits, and $23 trillion is set aside in retirement accounts to provide those benefits.  What’s more, tax return statistics show that significant benefits go to those with household adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 per year.  More actual facts about the positive impacts of ERISA plans are available [here](http://www.asppa-net.org/Portals/2/Distributional%20Analysis%20and%20Pension%20Tax%20Provisions.pdf) and [here](http://www.asppa-net.org/Portals/2/ASPPAWhitePaper-TaxExpenditures2012-d4.pdf). Is there room for the retirement plan system to improve?  Sure, but that hardly makes it a failure.  ERISA was enacted 40 years ago.  It has evolved remarkably well in a rapidly changing environment, and it must continue to do so to meet the retirement needs of American workers.  But, if the creation of 400,000 new plans and adding trillions of dollars to the country’s collective retirement savings is jumping the shark, then get me a pair of skis…but put them on wheels so I can use them at Burning Man next year.   - Share - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/2014/09/17/exactly-the-same-but-completely-different&title=Exactly%20the%20Same%20but%20Completely%20Different&picture=https://www.dwc401k.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Center/Pillar%20Categories%202024/SVG%20-%20with%20category%20name/hero_ii_category.svg&description=Exactly%20The%20Same%20But%20Completely%20Different) - [**](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/2014/09/17/exactly-the-same-but-completely-different&hashtags=) ## Browse categories [ DWC Developments ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/dwc-developments) [ Industry Insights ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/industry-insights) [ Regulatory Round-Up ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/regulatory-round-up) [ Cash Balance Corner ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/cash-balance-corner) [ 401(k) Q&A ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/401k-qa) [ Operational Overview ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/operational-overview) [ Lessons from Litigation ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/lessons-from-litigation) [ Pension Primer ](https://www.dwc401k.com/blog/topic/pension-primer) [ Browse by Topic ](https://www.dwc401k.com/knowledge-center-topics) ## Subscribe to our newsletter ### Only the Best Retirement Industry Content Get our 401(k) and defined benefits content delivered directly to your inbox. 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