"In evaluating the retiree profiles developed by EBRI, ... the most salient drivers of retirement satisfaction and security appear to be guaranteed sources of income, low debt, a clear spend-down strategy, and employer-sponsored retirement help, including advisory services. "

"The CalSavers decision clearly does not provide for a blanket exemption to other state programs and thus, ERISA preemption will likely continue to be considered on a program by program basis.... This patchwork of programs that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction will present compliance challenges that are not insignificant for multistate employers, particularly those with nontraditional workforces who historically have not been eligible to participate in an employer sponsored retirement savings plan." [Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass'n v. California Secure Choice Ret. Savings Program, No. 20-15591 (9th Cir. May 6, 2021)]

"A bill to lower barriers to innovative retirement income products by requiring the [SEC] to revise its rules regarding the development and offering of certain annuity products was introduced in the House of Representatives ... The Registration for Index Linked Annuities Act [HR 4865] directs the SEC to devise a new form for annuity issuers to use when filing registered index-linked annuities (RILAs)."

"When an arbitration provision is found in an ERISA plan document itself, courts have applied state-law principles when evaluating whether the plan document contains a binding agreement to arbitrate between and among the plaintiff, the plan itself and the defendants named in the lawsuit. Yet these courts have either ignored, or not adequately addressed, the fact that ERISA itself contains rules for contract formation. The ERISA rules for contract formation -- and not state-law principles -- might govern whether an agreement to arbitrate exists in an ERISA plan document."

"The combination of a new administration and Congress in Washington, together with the COVID pandemic, shutdown, recession and recovery has focused industry minds and accelerated trends in policy, practice and technology. The defined contribution (DC) savings industry demonstrated notable resilience amid this market volatility and accelerated its consideration of many best practices that bode well for the future."

"The Mega Backdoor Roth comes into play in one of two ways. The individual either takes an in-service withdrawal and rolls it to a Roth IRA or utilizes an in-plan Roth rollover feature to convert to Roth within the plan. This may sound like a complicated cool investment strategy, but it RARELY works."

Video of July 28 hearing, with links to witness testimony: [1] Aliya Robinson, The ERISA Industry Committee; [2] Brian H. Graff, American Retirement Association; [3] David Certner, AARP; and [4] The Honorable Tobias Read, Oregon State Treasurer.

"This Issue Snapshot discusses requirements applicable to fully insured plans under IRC Section 412(e)(3). The IRS issued guidance in 2004 and 2005 to stop abuses involving the use of certain specially designed life insurance policies in retirement plans. See Rev. Rul. 2004-20, Rev. Rul. 2004-21 and Rev. Proc. 2005-25.... The issues from the guidance also form the basis of some of the issue indicators or audit tips."

66 pages. "The Senate Committee on Finance has scheduled a public hearing on July 28, 2021, titled 'Building on Bipartisan Retirement Legislation: How Can Congress Help?' The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation has prepared a description of present law and data related to retirement income and saving for retirement." [JCX-32-21]

"Most organizations use their employee benefits to help attract and retain top talent. For nonprofits, this is even more important -- while salaries at nonprofits will usually benchmark below average, their benefits will usually be in the top quartile.... This places more weight on the benefits offering and more importance on employee satisfaction with their benefits package."

"It is simply imprudent to plan to live only as long as your life expectancy -- 50% of individuals will live longer than their life expectancy.... COVID-19 has had a negative impact on life expectancies in the U.S. and elsewhere. It is not clear what the long-term mortality implications will be, however, particularly for those who have been vaccinated against the virus."

"72% of plan sponsors believe their plan is meeting its goals this year, up from 2/3 in 2020. Only 16% of plan sponsors reduced the employer matching contribution over the past two years, despite pandemic challenges. 34% of plan sponsors are looking to change advisors, up from 16% in 2020.... 88% [have made] changes to their investment menus and 82% [have made] changes to their plan designs in the past two years."

"Simply hiring one new employee costs more than $4,000.... [S]trong benefits packages can help companies avoid these issues. Eighty-nine percent of business owners with 50 or more employees say their benefits package boosts retention ... 58% of business owners in January 2021 said that employee benefits improve workforce productivity."

"An arm of the [CDC] is reporting, based on early data, that overall life expectancy at birth dropped by 1.5 years between 2019 and 2020, to 77.3 years. For U.S. residents who are currently 65 years old, life expectancy fell by 0.8 years, to 18.8 additional years. The drop at age 65 was about the same for men and women."

"[T]he Women's Retirement Protection Act of 2021 (WRPA) ... would strengthen consumer protections to safeguard retirement savings, increase eligibility for employer-sponsored retirement savings plans for part-time workers, increase access to information about retirement and savings tools, and help women with low incomes and survivors of domestic abuse get the retirement benefits they are entitled to following a divorce."

"This paper will explore employee awareness and engagement challenges, and illuminate how employees' trust in, and comfort levels with, those delivering the program can affect their participation and the program's success."

"[T]he behavioral changes people are willing to make require the least tangible effort. Despite these challenges, the employer-based retirement system provides both know-how and mechanisms to affect financial wellness."

"[If] you choose a fully discretionary match, which is one where you do not pre-select the rate or period of the matching contribution, then you must satisfy two requirements when approving a discretionary match: [1] You must provide the plan administrator (or trustee, if applicable), [specific] written instructions ... [2] Participants who receive the discretionary matching contribution must be notified of the same items ... within 60 days following the date the discretionary match is made to the plan."

"[Y]our savings may be better able to cope with inflation than you might expect. For example, stock returns hold up better against both inflation and taxes than bonds and cash investments.... Your personal rate of inflation may be higher or lower than someone else's ... depending on your spending needs and goals.... [Take] the time to stress test the assumptions behind your retirement plan and portfolio. You may find that your financial plan already has some robust inflation expectations built in."

"The results of the Section 1563 family attribution rules required to be used under Section 414 ... are outdated and illogical in the current economic environment. They were enacted long before most households had two working parents.... The application of these outdated rules is ... hindering the ability of small businesses to adopt new plans and expand participant coverage.... In late April, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House that seeks to correct the archaic and unfair family attribution rules."

"In the past year alone, Maine, Virginia, and Colorado have passed bills requiring private employers without a retirement plan to automatically enroll their workers in IRAs, with workers allowed to opt out. New York City ... approved its program in May. And other states are either starting to implement programs or looking at their options.... These mandatory programs are the only practical way to close the coverage gap ... Numerous voluntary plans created by the federal government ... have failed to measurably increase coverage."

"While small employers will certainly benefit from the added focus that will come from outsourcing their retirement plan, there are several other types of businesses who will find PEPs to be a superior alternative. [1] U.S. subsidiaries of a global company ... [2] Private equity-owned companies ... [3] Francishors and franchisees."

16 pages. "Millennials and Generation X are most concerned about the impacts of COVID-19 on their retirement. Across generations, most of those who are concerned about the impacts of the pandemic plan to delay their retirement. ... There is broad support across generations for Social Security, including support for increasing contributions and expanding benefits. All generations have favorable views of defined benefit pensions, with Millennials holding the most favorable views. There is wide agreement generationally that pensions are better than 401(k) plans for providing retirement security, and that everyone should have a pension."

"A majority (53%) of surveyed participants want help selecting their investment strategies and prefer to leave most ongoing investment decisions to experienced professionals. What's more, the number of participants who believe their employers have an obligation to help them pick the right plan investments has steadily climbed over the years -- rising from 29% in 2016 to 41% in 2021."

"Eighty-four percent of workers who have been automatically enrolled into their workplace retirement plan say they are glad that their savings has been jump-started.... [O]nly one-third of employers [surveyed] currently offer auto-enrollment. Among the employers ... using auto-enrollment in their plan designs, 21% are deferring their employees' salary at 6%[.]"