"Proposals to eliminate back door Roth conversions with after-tax contributions ... and to eliminate Roth conversions in general ... for high-income taxpayers were not included as revenue raisers to offset the cost of the broader bill.... Earlier iterations of the BBB had also included proposals to impose contribution limits ... and mandatory RMDs for high-income taxpayers with large retirement balances, but those did not resurface either. "

"[If] you are trying to determine whether a particular plan is exempt from ERISA, you need to ask if the 'plan' is a 'governmental plan,' not if the sponsor is a 'public' employer.... [It] might be possible for certain entities to be both public charities and governmental organizations. We discussed this in an earlier post where we referred to such entities as 'bitaxual.' And, while there are some distinct retirement plan advantages to being bitaxual, there are also some potential retirement plan pitfalls."

"Elderly American adults did not adjust their retirement expectations significantly, including planned retirement age and Social Security benefit claiming age, despite many respondents indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted their work and financial situations in the 2020 HRS."

"The workers had previously voted to strike after rejecting an offer from Boeing that included an increase in the matching contribution of its 401(k) plan to 100% of the first 10% in eligible participant contributions from 75% of the first 8% contributed ... Boeing's new offer ... eliminated all changes to the 401(k) plan automatic and matching contribution formulas and instead offered workers a one-time lump sum of $8,000, 100% of which they could defer to the 401(k) plan."

"[By] virtue of favorable tax rules and early-withdrawal exceptions, a Roth IRA can serve as a backup vehicle for pursuing multiple savings goals, when necessary or with strategic planning.... The ideas presented in this article can help ease the inherent conflict among savings priorities for those who don't have enough financial bandwidth to save for multiple goals at once, but who want to set themselves up to have the most flexibility in their future choices."

"The [DOL] recently published its Spring 2022 Regulatory Agenda, and here is a summary of several big ticket items: [1] ESG & ERISA ... [2] Fiduciary rule ... [3] Form 5500."

"In June, the Senate committees with jurisdiction over retirement approved their versions of retirement reform legislation. The Senate bills are the Enhancing American Retirement Now Act (unnumbered, the 'EARN Act') ... and the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Health Improvements for the Nest Egg Act (S 4353, the 'RISE & SHINE Act') ... The Senate bills are companion legislation to the House-passed Securing a Strong Retirement Act (HR 2954, colloquially referred to as 'SECURE 2.0').... [A] chart compares the House and Senate bills and identifies differences among the bills."

"[E]each PEP will have investment option variations in their offering. These variations will center around a few key areas: [1] The Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA); [2] Use of proprietary funds vs. external fund managers; [3] Fund vehicles used -- namely mutual funds vs. collective investment trusts (CIT); [4] Availability of managed accounts and/or a brokerage window; [5] Fees."

"The first consideration is whether or not to choose an institutional or third-party trustee such as a bank or trust company.... Start-up and smaller plans often select an individual who is an executive or owner of the company sponsoring the plan to serve as plan trustee.... Whether an individual or board committee carries out plan trustee functions, the individual(s) serving in this role should commit to introductory and ongoing fiduciary training."

"In all three states with auto-IRAs, the rate of introduction of new plans, as a share of existing plans, is higher than before these states introduced the savings programs."

"Although we are still awaiting the final legislation, Definiti expects to see sweeping changes to qualified retirement plans in 2022. These changes include greater incentives for employers to start plans and provisions that improve employees' retirement savings opportunities. Here's an overview of the significant provisions in SECURE 2.0 [along with] what these changes will mean to plan sponsors and the retirement benefits they're responsible for."

"From a retirement planning perspective for couples, it is important to quantify the financial impacts of the first death.... [O]verstatement of future expenses after the first death and/or understatement of future income streams can reduce current spending budgets (and vice versa)."

13 pages. "Just under half of workers feel they are very likely to meet their retirement goals, fewer than last year. On average, workers think they need $1.7 million saved for retirement.... One third of plan participants do not know how long their savings are likely to last, but those who do expect their savings to last 23 years on average. One quarter say the pandemic will delay their retirement."

"An Indiana county pension plan that provides cost-of-living increases for nondisabled retirees, but not for retirees with disabilities, does not constitute unlawful discrimination, according to the [Seventh Circuit] ... The appeals court noted that the county had a legitimate interest in providing pension plans that meet the differing needs of distinct groups. The cost-of-living adjustment is only one of several differences in the plans." [Ostrowski v. Lake Cty., Nos. 21-1674, 21-2580 (7th Cir. May 11, 2022)]

"[S]econd-order questions [surround] what parameters should be in the loan program (e.g., only one loan outstanding, interest rate is prime plus 1% and minimum loan of $1,000). These are significant compliance and fiduciary related matters that employers should consider when deciding whether to include a participant loan program in the company 401(k) plan."

"[T]ransitions to either full or partial retirement increase during economic contractions.... Flows into retirement were especially high at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an excess flow into retirement of five percent of older workers.... [F]lows into retirement are generally more cyclically sensitive than returns to the labor market, suggesting many excess retirements are permanent."

"More Americans (37%) spanning generations and demographics feel unprepared or unsure if they are on track for retirement compared to the previous three years ... Those concerns even took hold among those participating in a workplace retirement plan, down from peak levels (68%) during 2021. Among savers who did not have access to a workplace retirement plan, only 51% feel they are on track for retirement."

"With interest rates rising, some employers might be considering terminating their defined benefit plans to take advantage of reduced plan termination liabilities. However, these sponsors may run the risk of creating trapped surplus, which could result in a reversion subject to a steep excise tax. One potential solution ... is to transfer any DB surplus assets to a qualified replacement plan (QRP)."

"[P]erhaps we need to think of financial wellness programs not just as a way to get individuals to save for retirement, but also in terms of providing the scaffolding needed for long-term financial security. This may look very different from traditional retirement plan education and may include additional benefits geared towards 'teaching them how' to do it themselves."

"Gov. David Ige (D) signed legislation creating the program into law on July 12. It went into effect immediately. The program has two unique features.... In order to participate in the program, employees will have to opt in. And unlike any other state so far, one of the members of the board that will administer the program will be a retiree living in Hawaii, to represent retirees."

"Even though the law and the plan terms may permit the exclusion of an acquired company's employees during the transition period, the plan must meet all the coverage and nondiscrimination rules after that period ends. Changing plans and their design isn't necessarily an easy thing, so preplanning is required."

"[It's] common for business owners to wait too long to notify their 401(k) provider that a common law employee has met their solo plan's age and service eligibility requirements.... This delay can lead to steep consequences[.]"

13 pages; rev. Jul. 2022. "Hybrid plans have been in place in public sector retirement systems for decades, and they have received increased attention in recent years ... While most states have chosen to retain their defined benefit (DB) plan by modifying required employer and employee contributions, restructuring benefits, or both, some states have looked to hybrid plans as retirement benefit policy solutions."

"Retirement confidence is down, with fewer workplace savers seeing themselves as on track for retirement. It's a reversal from the last few years where confidence remained steady and even increased, likely given strong market performance, despite the pandemic and the initial impact it had on workers.... [W]hile a majority of workplace savers are unsure about the economic impact it may have, they are adjusting their saving and spending in response."

"By 2030, all Baby Boomers -- an estimated 73 million people -- will be age 65 or older ... That means defined contribution plans could find themselves with more retirees and non-working participants than active employees.... This paper provides a high-level framework that plan sponsors can use when introducing retirement tier solutions to nearly retired and retired participants to help them manage their assets throughout retirement."