"The largest share will go to the Teachers' Retirement System of Kentucky ... For fiscal year 2023, TRS expects to need $1.25 billion from the state; for fiscal year 2024, it's $1.33 billion ... TRS provides retirement benefits to 56,629 retired Kentucky educators, with 73,151 more educators actively enrolled. The state's General Fund is about $12.5 billion a year[.]"

"Cash Balance plans are immensely popular in business and industry, but are rare in the public sector. A handful of states have statewide plans that local governments participate in, but few municipal governments have their own plans. That's why it's hard to find information about them. This report fills that gap."

"Inquire about the retirement accounts available to workers and whether you're able to contribute right away. If there's a waiting period, make sure you have a backup plan for your retirement savings....[M]ake a plan for the savings in your current workplace retirement account. Leaving it where it is is one option, but it's ... more difficult to manage your retirement savings when it's spread across many different accounts, and you may have more investment options if you move the money elsewhere."

45 presentation slides cover [1] The broad scope of authority under which the Federal government reviews ESOPs and the discretion given to each region to enforce ESOP compliance; [2] Common allegations raised against ESOPs; and [3] How to prepare an effective record in advance of an investigation.

"[A] surcharge that passes muster under the ACA wellness rules does not necessarily guarantee compliance with the ADA provisions governing voluntary wellness programs. But since the EEOC has yet to issue guidance addressing the matter ... employers are currently left to design their programs based on assumptions of what would be considered compliant."

"[Vanguard announced] that it hired Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) to make it radically easier for a 401(k) plan participant to pack up their pension assets with their lunchbox and pocket calculator in a job switch.... Vanguard's buy-in came after RCH establish a modest track record by consolidating more than 290,000 retirement accounts with more than $10 billion in assets into existing 401(k) or IRA accounts."

"[T]he three agencies ... announced they will align the compliance deadlines to be effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. The agencies further announced that they intend to propose a new rule that requires the comparison information to be available via website, paper, or via telephone, if requested."

"With more employees working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, covered employers should review their records to determine if the number of employees working in San Francisco has changed from prior years. This could happen because employees who worked in San Francisco are now working somewhere else or that employees who live, but did not work, in San Francisco are now working from home."

"[T]he Supreme Court recently ruled ... that the 'actual knowledge' condition is only met where there is actual knowledge.... Relying on that precedent, DOL recently persuaded a federal court that the filing of Form 5500 in October of 2013 did not provide DOL actual knowledge because the filing 'was only a disclosure that was not actually reviewed by anyone in the Government until December 2014.' " [Walsh v. Bowers, No. 18-0155 (D. Hawaii, Sep. 17, 2021)]

"The tax portion of the bill would: [1] Restrict Roth conversions and rollovers of after-tax contributions for all taxpayers, [2] Introduce additional retirement plan restrictions for high-income taxpayers, [3] Create plan reporting obligations for high account balances, and [3] Accelerate unrelated changes in paid leave and executive compensation. The portion of the bill promoting alternative vehicles would [r]einstate and expand the bicycle commuter benefit that had been suspended in 2018."

"Lawsuits involving the [ACA] Section 1557 nondiscrimination requirements are making their way through the courts. Some allege violations of the statute, while others challenge the agencies' interpretation of the statutory requirements."

"Since 2013, the percentage of employers with 1,000 or more employees offering health benefits to workers has been consistently near or above 99 percent.... In 2017, the overall percentage of private-sector employers offering health benefits increased for the first time in nearly a decade.... The percentage of workers eligible for health coverage through their job also continued its upward trend."

"The median reduction in 401(k) contributions the first year participants made HSA contributions was $34.... Contributions to 401(k) plans were unaffected among participants contributing $8,500 or less in Year 1.... Higher HSA contributions were associated with lower 401(k) contributions.... Contributions fell $315 among HSA participants contributing more than $4,350."

"MEWAs are subject to a patchwork of state regulations that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the MEWA to operate nationally.... In most cases, the promoters will not advertise their plan as a MEWA, but rather as a purchasing alliance ... A second (or sometimes third or fourth) look at these arrangements usually pays off."

"The biggest impediments to establishing an efficient pricing system ... stem from expecting consumers to navigate such a complex industry and shop for healthcare with a transactional mindset ... [T]he biggest beneficiaries of improved transparency will be employers that can 'leverage the information to demand better deals from their insurers and third-party administrators.' "

"The Portable Retirement and Investment Account (PRIA) Act of 2021 [HR5334] ... would generally establish the accounts for every American at birth by providing a PRIA at the same time they receive a Social Security number. The accounts would be administered by a nine-person independent board appointed by the Treasury and Labor secretaries, the PBGC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and managed by selected financial institutions."

"[T]hrough the first quarter of 2021, state and local retirement plans have accumulated assets of $5 trillion in defined benefit (DB) pension plans and $531 billion in defined contribution (DC) plans. Despite the early economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average funded ratio among state and local pension plans has held steady at 72% for plans included in the Public Plans Database (PPD)."

Sep. 22, 2021. "Form 1095-A is used to report certain information to the IRS about individuals who enroll in a qualified health plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Form 1095-A is also furnished to individuals to allow them to take the premium tax credit, to reconcile the credit on their returns with advance payments of the premium tax credit (advance credit payments), and to file an accurate tax return."

"The First Circuit found that Unum did not abuse its discretion in requiring objective evidence of functional limitations. In so doing, the First Circuit declined to follow the Seventh Circuit's [self-reported symptoms (SRS)] limitation test set forth in Weitzenkamp v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, which applies the SRS limitation to illnesses or injuries that are diagnosed primarily based on self-reported symptoms rather than to all illnesses or injuries for which the disabling symptoms are self-reported." [Ovist v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 20-1464 (1st Cir. Sep. 22, 2021)]

"[A]ccess to paid sick leave ranged from 59 percent of workers in service occupations to 93 percent in management, professional, and related occupations. Twenty-three percent of private industry workers had access to paid family leave. ... Forty-five percent of private industry workers had access to plans that provide a single amount of time off for workers to use for multiple purposes, such as vacation, illness, or personal leave, referred to as consolidated leave plans."

"Plans that must issue quarterly statements can incorporate their first lifetime income illustration on any quarterly statement up to the second calendar quarter of 2022 (ending June 30, 2022).... For plans under which a participant or beneficiary has their own account but does not have the right to direct the investment of assets in that account, the lifetime income illustrations must be on the statement for the first plan year ending on or after Sept. 19, 2021."

"[T]he DOL has been asking for quite an extensive list of documentation ... [T]he DOL has noted that plan administrators should be aware that they may need to consult not only with the sponsor of the plan, but with the service providers of the plan to obtain all the documents requested, and if they are unable to produce the requested documents the plan administrator must specify the reasons why the documents are unavailable."

"[1] Review and familiarize yourself with the DOL's Self Compliance Tool ... [2] Contact your [TPA] and [PBM] to determine the steps they have taken to develop and document the NQTL analysis.... [3] Request a copy of the comparative analysis and supporting documentation from the TPA and PBM and review it ... [4] Consider developing internal controls to monitor compliance with the MHPAEA."

"Plan sponsors should make it easy for participants to have a well-diversified portfolio.... Develop a standalone menu of funds, which allows you to give participants the opportunity to develop a properly diversified portfolio on their own.... [T]oo many options can be confusing for participants and actually cause them to make poor decisions or no decision at all."

"The Biden administration has pulled back from working on new rules that would allow employers' retirement plans to make contributions to retirement savings plans based on their workers' student loan payments.... 'There's been a lot of congressional interest in the topic, and there's some idea to sort of see what happens on the legislative front on student loans,' [William Evans, an attorney adviser in the Department of the Treasury's Office of Benefits Tax Counsel,] said."