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Sixth Circuit's Fiduciary Duty Decision Is Good News for ERISA Section 3(38) Investment Managers (PDF)

"One of the many responsibilities of an ERISA Section 3(38) Investment Manager is the selection, monitoring and replacement of investment alternatives including a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA).... The benefit of establishing and adhering to a formal QDIA process is a reduction in fiduciary liability the benefits of which can be illustrated in a recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court. According to the Court, a plan fiduciary does not breach their fiduciary duty when a participant's account balance is transferred to a QDIA without explicit consent."

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Continuing Saga of So-Called 'Safe Withdrawal Plan' -- Good News, Bad News

"[T]he good news in this research is that: it is a mistake to view portfolio withdrawals in isolation from other sources of income (as is the common practice), and risks retirees face in retirement can be mitigated by investing in guaranteed lifetime income sources and using dynamic rather than static spending strategies. The bad news ... is that Dr. Blanchett is even talking about utilizing safe withdrawal strategies with the implication that there are still financial planners out there who continue to use such strategies for their clients."

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The Good News About Retirement Savings in Light of the Stock Market Downtown

"Even with the downturn in the stock market, historically when the market has experienced difficulties it's later rallied back. The S&P fell by 31 percent from the end of 1999 to the low point in October 2002. In comparison, 401(k) plan balances dipped by 8 percent before recovering completely and even making some gains. In contrast, the S&P 500 gained 31.5 percent in 2019. That means that anyone who significantly invested in stocks since the beginning of 2019 is probably ahead on their investments."

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Fiduciary News Trending Topics for ERISA Plan Sponsors: Week Ending 6/10/11

For those who believe an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) for an ERISA retirement plan helps reduce fiduciary liability, here's a nine step process for creating a strong IPS.

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IRS Retirement News for Employers, Fall 2009 (PDF)

13 pages. This edition includes the following titles: Roth & Roll: 2010 Roth IRAs & Rollovers; 5500 for 2009 and Later Required to be Filed Electronically; Establishing a SEP or SIMPLE IRA Plan; IRA Investments; New Web Tool for SARSEP Plans; We're Glad You Asked!; New on the Web; Employee Plans Published Guidance; Desk Side Chat?With Monika Templeman: The Importance of Internal Controls and Plan Self-Correction; DOL News; Mark Your Calendar; Timing is Everything.

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Good News on Safe Withdrawal Rates

"[The authors estimate that] retirees drawing down income from an investment portfolio can now afford to withdraw as much as 4.0% as an initial spending rate ... That figure is the highest safe withdrawal percentage since Morningstar began creating this research in 2021. (The highest starting safe withdrawal rate based on similar assumptions was 3.3% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022.)"

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The Good News About Retirement Income

"A lower starting withdrawal percentage is advisable largely because core investment assets -- stocks and bonds -- have performed so well so long. That means that at the very same time that investors are being urged to lower their withdrawal rates, most investors' portfolio balances are enlarged. Because the lower starting withdrawal rate is calculated on a larger amount, the net effect for most retirees' actual spending is apt to be minimal."  MORE >>

PBGC's Good News Could Sour Quickly

"The recent introduction of a Senate Republican proposal to help critically underfunded multiemployer pension funds and prevent more of them did little to calm fears that the proposed changes — including higher premiums and lower discount rates — could wind up hurting even healthy plans and the PBGC multiemployer program further."  MORE >>

IRS Employee Plans News 2015-1, February 2, 2015 (PDF)

Topics include: [1] Reference lists of changes in plan qualification requirements -- tools to help you keep your plan document up-to-date; [2] EPCU projects: [a] Fraud and internal controls -- fraud linked to weak internal controls and risky investments, [b] Reporting taxable distributions -- include early distributions as income and on Form 5329, [c] Form 5500 and other forms' line item error; and [3] New forms and publications: [a] Form 1098-Q -- Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract Information, [b] Publication 590-A (2014) -- Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), and [c] Publication 590-B (2014) -- Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

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IRS Employee Plans News 2014-18, November 13, 2014 (PDF)

Topics include: [1] Form 5500-SUP: draft of the paper supplement for 2015 and later plan years; [2] New option for plan sponsors to include income annuities in default target date fund investment options (Notice 2014-66); [3] EPCU QJSA project: most sponsors complied with the qualified joint and survivor annuity notice and consent requirements; [4] One-per-year limit on IRA rollovers allows owners of multiple IRAs fresh start in 2015 (Announcement 2014-32); [5] The Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) 2014 annual report; and [6] Renew your PTIN before Dec. 3.  MORE >>

IRS Employee Plans News, Issue 2014-13, September 2, 2014 (PDF)

Topics: [1] Changes to 81-100 group trust rules -- include allowing assets in an insurance company's separate account to be invested in a group trust under certain conditions. [2] Retirement plan hot topics Webinar: September 11 at 2 p.m. EDT.  MORE >>

IRS Employee Plans News, Issue 2013-7, November 12, 2013 (PDF)

"To give financial institutions reasonable time to fully implement the new requirements, the additional reporting for hard-to-value IRA investments will be optional for 2014. The new reporting requirements will be described in the 2014 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498, which are expected to be issued around the end of the year.... To encourage 403(b) plan sponsors to correct [the failure to have adopted a written plan reflecting a good faith attempt to comply with Code section 403(b) and the 403(b) final regulations by December 31, 2009] voluntarily, we're reducing the Voluntary Correction Program compliance fee by 50% if you mail your VCP submission to IRS by December 31, 2013."

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News About 401(k) Fees Decreases Benefit All Investors But More Is Needed

"Based on new data ... small plan costs fell from 1.47% to 1.46% in 2012, while large plan costs fell from 1.08% to 1.03%. Expenses for small plans were between 0.38% and 1.97%, while large plan expenses ranged from 0.28% to 1.41%.... In most cases, the difference in changing from a more expensive to a lower-cost fund fee will more than compensate for a decrease in any fund investment returns over time ... because the difference between market return and a fund's individual return is directly attributable to a fund's costs."

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IRS Employee Plans News, Summer 2010 (PDF)

13 pages. The newsletter includes items on Form 5500 Schedules; the Advisory Committee on TE/GE; the ESOP Phone Forum; 401(k) Questionnaire Follow-Up; Who Can Represent a Plan Sponsor During an Employee Plans Examination?; New Favorable Determination Letter 4577; Final Regulations on Investment Diversification Requirements; EP's Fiscal Year 2010 Work Plan.  MORE >>

News That Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Will Diversify Portfolio to Include More Equities Ought to Concern Taxpayers

Excerpt: The PBGC is a quasi-government agency -- a 'federal corporation' -- created in 1974 to guarantee pension benefits for U.S. workers and retirees. Operating as both an insurance business and pension fund, it is financed by corporate premiums and the assets it inherits when taking over failed pension plans. By the end of last year, the agency had amassed a $14 billion deficit, and the new policy is designed to erase that red ink with higher investment returns.

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IRS Retirement News for Employers, Spring 2005 (PDF)

10 pages. Contents: IRA Resource Guide: On CD and Online; IRA Investments; The Fix Is In: Common Plan Mistakes; Since You Asked: SIMPLE IRA Plan Exam Program Selections; It's Not Too Late! The 2005 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums; Your 401(k) and Your TPA; New Tax Shelter Reporting Rules.

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Paid Sick Leave Laws Protect Employees Who Follow the Rules; This Fox News Producer Didn't

"A Fox News producer sued under the D.C. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act after being fired for an absence he failed to report on time. He knew the night before he'd be out, told a coworker but not his supervisor, and didn't call his boss until midday. The court held his conduct wasn't protected. Paid sick leave laws ... condition protection on reasonable notice, and he didn't give any. Fox News won summary judgment." [Donner v. Fox News Network, LLC, No. 23-3401 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2026)]  MORE >>

About Kaiser Health News

Excerpt: In his latest column from his 'Pulling It Together' series, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO Drew Altman explains the Foundation's new nonprofit health policy news service, Kaiser Health News, set to launch in early June, and why the Foundation developed it and what he hopes it will accomplish.  MORE >>

Investments - How to Buy and Hold

Excerpt: When the Dow rockets 300 points or the stocks of retailers, say, get decimated, I devour the news. After all, I work at a financial-news company. But here's my admission: I'm a buy-and-hold investor, and a lazy one at that. My employer prohibits us news folks to trade equities on a short-term basis anyway, but even if it didn't, I'd still buy and hold.  MORE >>

Health Care's Good News

"[If] the growth of [health care] spending is decelerating, why are premiums increasing? First, the big increases were in relatively small parts of the market, among individual and small-business policies. Second, like everyone else in the health care industry, insurance companies are uncertain about the future, particularly about what will happen to their margins when the new exchanges open in October."  MORE >>