Pentegra
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United 401(k) Plans, Inc.
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Nicholas Pension Consultants
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Central Pension Fund of the IUOE
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Retirement, LLC
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Trucker Huss, A Professional Corporation
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Bates & Company
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Jr Retirement Plan Administrator/ Administrative Assistant Hochheiser Deutsch & Co, Inc.
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Retirement Plan Relationship Manager ERISA Services, Inc.
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Nova 401(k) Associates
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Carpenter Morse Group
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Retirement Plan Legal Specialist Pentegra
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Central Pension Fund of the IUOE
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Defined Benefit Calculation Specialist/Actuary The Angell Pension Group, Inc.
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Compass Retirement Consulting Group, Inc.
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Themes in 401(k) Prudence Litigation: Standing and 'Meaningful Benchmarks for Comparison'
October Three Consulting ![]() Jan. 26, 2023 "Two recent decisions ... granting defendants' motions to dismiss in ERISA prudence litigation illustrate emerging themes in these cases: challenges to the standing of plaintiffs who have not actually invested in the funds (or in one case, were not participants in the plan) being targeted; and challenges to the adequacy of the comparators whose allegedly superior performance (or lower cost) is used to 'infer' imprudence." [Singh v. Deloitte LLP, No. 21-8458 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2023); Locascio v. Fluor Corp., No. 22-0154 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 18, 2023)] Tags: Fiduciary Duties • Retirement Plan Investment Costs • Retirement Plan Investments |
Update in ERISA Litigation Involving Breaches of Fiduciary Duty Claims
Littler ![]() Jan. 25, 2023 "[C]ourts are recognizing the different purposes and glidepaths of actively managed and passively managed funds, and that the long-term nature of 401(k) investing means both types of funds can (or even should) be offered as a prudent response to customer demand.... Second, courts are viewing with more skepticism imprudent recordkeeping fee claims based upon nothing more than a comparison to the market average.... Finally, it appears that courts are willing to recognize claims of imprudence sufficient to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) challenge where the complaint includes an allegation that the plan continued to offer the retail share class of a fund when the institutional share class was available." |
Will the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals 'Fix' the Ongoing 401(k) SNAFU?
The Prudent Investment Adviser Rules ![]() [Opinion] Jan. 23, 2023 "A case is currently pending in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals involves many of the same issues that were in Brotherston, specifically the 'apples and oranges' argument and the issue of whose has the burden of proving causation in 401(k) actions.... This case is a perfect example of how some courts are improperly confusing the two distinct stages of pleading and proof of causation." [Matney v. Barrick Gold of N. Am., Inc., No. 20-275 (D. Utah Apr. 21, 2022; recon. denied Jun. 21, 2022; on appeal to 10th Cir. No. 22-4045)] |
Passive Mutual Funds Rising, But Won't Overtake Actives Due to DC Plan 'Stronghold'
planadviser ![]() Jan. 20, 2023 "Passive mutual funds' popularity is growing among investors, but defined contribution retirement plans will help actively managed funds maintain their dominance over the next five years[.]" |
Pension Funded Status at a 10-Year High
Treasury & Risk; free registration required ![]() Jan. 20, 2023 "The increases in interest rates throughout 2022 improved pensions' funded status and provided attractive yields for sponsors wanting to de-risk by increasing their allocation to fixed-income assets, ... MetLife Investment Management (MIM) ... estimates that, as of November 7, 2022, the average U.S. corporate pension's funded status was at 106.3 percent -- the highest in 10 years. The quarter-end average was 104.7 percent, which is 4 percentage points above the end of the second quarter." |
Text of EBSA PTE 2023-02: Exemption for Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions Involving Citigroup, Inc.
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL] ![]() [Official Guidance] Jan. 20, 2023 "This document contains a notice of an exemption issued by the [DOL] extending the exemptive relief provided by PTE 2017-05 for an additional four (4) years. This exemption provides that certain entities with specified relationships to Citigroup ... will not be precluded from relying on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 [the QPAM Exemption], notwithstanding the Conviction during the Exemption Period." |
IRS Guidance on Excise Tax on Buybacks Clarifies Some Benefits Issues
Groom Law Group ![]() [Guidance Overview] Jan. 18, 2023 "New Section 4501 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes a 1% excise tax on ... the fair market value of any stock repurchased by a 'covered corporation' during the tax year, effective for repurchases after December 31, 2022.... [C]ertain reductions to the FMV are permitted in connection with stock issued to employees or stock contributed to employee benefit plans.... [IRS Notice 2023-2 provides] initial guidance on a number of issues in anticipation of future proposed regulations." |
Annuity Purchase Update, January 2023
October Three Consulting ![]() Jan. 18, 2023 "Average annuity purchase rates are up more than 250 basis points since January of 2022. In 2022, the annuity purchase cost of retiree placements made by October Three was consistently between 94%-105% of the pension accounting value with the average at 100.55%. Pension Risk Transfer Market activity exceeded expectations and was at an all time high in 2022. This activity is expected to spill into 2023[.]" |
Booz Allen Hamilton and Capital One Financial Fight ERISA Target-Date Lawsuits Again
Pensions & Investments ![]() Jan. 17, 2023 "The companies are defendants in 11 virtually identical ERISA lawsuits against sponsors -- including Microsoft and Citigroup -- accusing them of keeping the BlackRock LifePath Index Fund, whose performance lagged four other target-date series over certain time periods." |
BlackRock, World's Largest Asset Manager, Buys Stake in Small-Business 401(k) Startup
The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required ![]() Jan. 17, 2023 "In its 401(k) operations, the money manager mainly provides investments to plans of large and medium-size companies. The investment in Human Interest will help BlackRock gain insight into the growing market for small-company 401(k) plans[.]" Tags: Retirement Plan Administration • Retirement Plan Design • Retirement Plan Investments |
The New Year May Bring New Restrictions on DOL Prohibited Transaction Exemptions
Morgan Lewis ![]() [Guidance Overview] Jan. 16, 2023 "Among the proposed changes is to impose higher standards for independence for plan service providers involved in the prohibited transaction exemption request. This may make it difficult to identify appropriate independent service providers, especially in light of increasing consolidation in the financial services industry." |
Why Pension Fund Portfolios May Deliver Unpleasant Surprises
National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems [NCPERS] ![]() Jan. 16, 2023 "[I]nstitutional investors across segments took nearly two times more uncompensated risks -- or risks that are not sufficiently rewarded by return -- than compensated risks.... While adding managers into the portfolio lineup can potentially reduce overall risk, ... risks that were ultimately reduced were often different from what was intended as managers frequently cancelled each other out." |
U.S. Pension Briefing, December 2022
Agilis ![]() Jan. 16, 2023 "Discount rates were up slightly for the month, but meaningfully up year-over-year. Equity markets were down again for the month and for the year (the S&P 500 had its worst year since 2008). While funded status most likely deteriorated in December, most plan sponsors will be in significantly better position at the end of 2022 than they were at the beginning of the year." |
Reasons for Sponsors to Consider Settling Liabilities in 2023
October Three Consulting ![]() Jan. 16, 2023 "Increases in interest rates, the increasing cost of PBGC premiums, and the idiosyncrasies of IRS minimum funding/benefit restriction rules may, for many sponsors, make 2023 a good year for defined benefit plan liability settlement -- through the payment of lump sums or the purchase of annuities (AKA pension risk transfer). [This article reviews] the issues with respect to 2023 settlements sponsors will want to consider." |
SECURE 2.0's Unresolved 403(b) CIT Securities Law Issue
Business of Benefits ![]() [Guidance Overview] Jan. 12, 2023 "In the end, Congress could not agree on just what the legislative securities law 'fix' should be before the law was passed. Any fix would be complicated, nuanced, and involve a number of important competing trade-offs, in part because of the difference in the very nature of 403(b) and 401(k) plans." Tags: 403(b) Plans and Annuities • Retirement Plan Investments • SECURE 2.0 |
2023 State of the Retirement Industry Survey
Ubiquity Retirement + Savings ![]() Jan. 12, 2023 "Inflation, recession, and poor investment returns are top concerns across all cohorts for 2023. All cohorts believe the Fed will raise rates twice in 2023. Widely differing opinions on where inflation will end in 2023. Crypto is the least-preferred retirement asset class." Tags: Retirement Plan Design • Retirement Plan Investments • Retirement Plan Policy |
Retirement Plan Design: Investment Menus
Morgan Stanley ![]() Jan. 12, 2023 "Understanding how plan participants approach investing is key to designing defined contribution menus that can help improve retirement outcomes. Here's a look at three participant profiles and potential solutions for each." |
The Advantages and Tax Effects of Dividends Paid to the ROBS Plan Account
KLB Benefits Law Group ![]() Jan. 11, 2023 "When paying a dividend, the corporation pro rates the payment, in cash, to all shareholders; so if a plan owns 99% of the corporation, the plan would receive 99% of the total dividend paid out. The ROBS participant would then be able to invest the dividend in traditional (non-ROBS) 401(k) investments offered within their retirement plan. In this way, dividends help the ROBS owner leverage their company investment to diversify their retirement savings." |
The SECURE Act 2.0: The Most Impactful Provisions, Part 1 -- Automatic Plans
FredReish.com ![]() [Guidance Overview] Jan. 10, 2023 " 'New' 401(k) and 403(b) plans must be automatically enrolled, with automatic deferral increases, no later than the plan year beginning after December 31, 2024 (e.g., 2025 for calendar year plans). Any plan 'established' on or after December 29, 2022 is considered a new plan. Defaulting participants must be invested in a QDIA. There are exceptions for government plans, church plans, SIMPLE 401(k) plans, employers with 10 or fewer employees, and employers during their first 3 years of existence." Tags: 401(k) Plans • Retirement Plan Design • Retirement Plan Investments • SECURE 2.0 |
2023 Hot Topics in Retirement and Financial Wellbeing
Alight Solutions; free registration required for full report ![]() Jan. 10, 2023 "This report summarizes the findings of our annual survey that captures changes employers intend to make to their retirement and financial wellbeing plans in the year ahead.... This year's report includes insights on several new topics, including: [1] Reactions to investing in a high-inflation environment; [2] Thoughts on digital assets and ESG in defined contribution plans; [3] Perspectives on employers' DE&I initiatives." Tags: Retirement Plan Design • Retirement Plan Investments • Retirement Plan Investments - ESG |
American Benefits Council Comment Letter to EBSA: Proposed Amendments to the QPAM Exemption
American Benefits Council ![]() [Opinion] Jan. 10, 2023 "Many investment strategies are quite complex and depend on an investment manager fully understanding the short-term and long-term needs and objectives of the plan. This understanding is often built up over years. It is very disruptive and harmful to be forced to give up this excellent relationship and engage in a lengthy and expensive search for a new investment manager with little or no history with the plan.... By disqualifying a QPAM in cases where such treatment is not warranted, the proposal would be harming the plan and its participants." |
FTC's Noncompete Ban Would Hit Retirement, RIA Consolidation
planadviser ![]() Jan. 9, 2023 "The widescale, national ban proposed this week surprised many employers, as it cut across all industries and roles ... That includes areas such as financial services and asset management, in which noncompetes have become a regular part of recruiting and hiring." |
Text of EBSA Notice of Exemption: Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions Involving JPMorgan Chase Co.
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL] ![]() [Official Guidance] Jan. 9, 2023 "This exemption allows entities with specified relationships to JPMorgan Chase Co.... to continue to rely on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 [the QPAM Exemption], notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against JPMC[.]" |
Text of EBSA Proposed Exemption for Certain Prohibited Transaction Restrictions: TT International Asset Management, Ltd.
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL] ![]() [Official Guidance] Jan. 9, 2023 "If this proposed exemption is granted, TT International Asset Management Ltd will not be precluded from relying on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 [the QPAM Exemption], notwithstanding the Conviction ... during the Exemption Period[.]" |
SECURE 2.0, as Passed, Does Not Permit 403(b) Plans to Invest in Collective Investment Trusts
PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required ![]() [Guidance Overview] Jan. 9, 2023 "[T]his provision passed the House Committee on Ways and Means ... [and] would have amended the Internal Revenue Code and the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 to permit CITs in 403(b) plans. However, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services asserted jurisdiction over the securities changes, which were necessary to allow 403(b) plans to use CITs. House Financial Services ... had 'consumer protections' concerns. The required amendments to securities laws did not make it into the final SECURE 2.0 Act." Tags: 403(b) Plans and Annuities • Retirement Plan Investments • SECURE 2.0 |