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All News > Retirement Plan Policy

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Administration's Proposed FY 2025 Budget Targets 'Excess Retirement Accumulations', Back-Door Roths
American Retirement Association [ARA] Link to more items from this source
Mar. 12, 2024

"The proposal would impose special distribution rules on high-income taxpayers with large retirement account balances.... [P]lan administrators would be required to report to the Department of Treasury the vested account balance of any participant or beneficiary for whom the vested account balance exceeds $2.5 million (adjusted for inflation).... [The proposal would limit] rollovers and conversions to designated Roth accounts or to Roth IRAs.... The proposal would also extend the statute of limitations for the excise tax on prohibited transactions from three years to six years."

Tags: Retirement Plan Administration  •  Retirement Plan Policy

House Proposal Would Mandate Auto-Enrollment Retirement Plans for Employers
Mercer Link to more items from this source
Mar. 12, 2024

"[T]he Automatic IRA Act of 2024 [HR 7293] would effectively require most private-sector employers that don't already sponsor a retirement plan either to maintain an 'automatic contribution plan' or enroll employees in automatic individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) beginning in 2027. The bill would also direct the Treasury Department to provide guidance enabling automatic IRAs for independent contractors and gig workers."

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

CRS Report on Social Security: The Government Pension Offset (PDF)
Congressional Research Service [CRS] Link to more items from this source
Mar. 8, 2024

18 pages. "Opponents contend that the GPO is imprecise and can be unfair. Defenders argue it is the best method currently available for preserving the spousal benefit's original intent of supporting financially dependent spouses and for eliminating an unfair advantage for spouses working in non-Social Security-covered employment compared with spouses working in Social Security-covered jobs (who are subject to the dual entitlement rule)." [RL32453, updated Mar. 7, 2024]

Tags: Retirement Plan Policy  •  Social Security

Text of IRS Notice 2024-28: Public Recommendations Invited on Items to Be Included on the 2024-2025 Priority Guidance Plan (PDF)
Internal Revenue Service [IRS] Link to more items from this source
[Official Guidance]
Mar. 8, 2024

"The Department of the Treasury and the [IRS] invite the public to submit recommendations for items to be included on the 2024-2025 Priority Guidance Plan.... The 2024-2025 Priority Guidance Plan will identify guidance projects that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to actively work on as priorities during the period from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025."

Tags: Health Plan Administration  •  Health Plan Policy  •  Retirement Plan Administration  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Senate Debates Whether 401(k)s Should Replace Pensions
Treasury & Risk; free registration required Link to more items from this source
Mar. 6, 2024

"Advocates of defined-benefits plans and proponents of defined-contribution plans once again squared off at a Senate committee hearing [on Feb. 28]. And, as usual, no consensus developed about the best direction to go, as policymakers struggle to find ways to increase Americans' retirement savings."

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Aligning the PBGC's Single-Employer Premium Structure with Its Objectives (PDF)
American Academy of Actuaries Link to more items from this source
Mar. 6, 2024

12 pages. "While private-sector single-employer pension plan security has been sustained over the past half century, PBGC premiums have contributed to the significant decline in the number of covered plan participants, which can be regarded as a major systemic failure. PBGC's strong funding level provides an opportunity to rethink the premium structure to better align it with all aspects of its mission."

Tags: PBGC  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Retirement Savings System Under Fire at Senate Hearing
American Retirement Association [ARA] Link to more items from this source
Feb. 29, 2024

"A hearing that was billed as 'taking a serious look at the retirement crisis in America' with a focus on improving the defined benefit system ended with witnesses agreeing that some reforms are needed, but calling for drastically different measures."

Tags: Retirement Plan Policy

Steps Toward a New Paradigm for Retirement
The Brookings Institution Link to more items from this source
[Opinion]
Feb. 29, 2024

"[The authors] propose a series of policy reforms that maintain the best aspects of our current system while improving its most egregious shortcomings. Collectively, [the] proposals form a 'new paradigm' for retirement: a system that will ensure a comfortable retirement for all Americans, built by enhancing the most popular and successful aspects of today's retirement framework rather than pushing for politically infeasible alternatives. These seven guideposts define this new paradigm."

Tags: Retirement Plan Policy

Senate HELP Committee Hearing on the Retirement Crisis in America
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, U.S. Senate Link to more items from this source
Feb. 28, 2024

Video of Feb. 27 hearing. Majority staff report, statement from Ranking Member Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), and testimony from: [1] Sara Schambers, UAW Member; [2] Teresa Ghilarducci, The New School for Social Research; [3] Dan Doonan, National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS); [4] Rachel Greszler, The Heritage Foundation; and [5] Eric Stevenson, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Senate HELP Committee Releases Majority Staff Report Exposing Depth of Retirement Crisis Facing Working Class Americans
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, U.S. Senate Link to more items from this source
Feb. 28, 2024

"Key findings from the report include: [1] Nearly half of Americans 55 and older have no retirement savings. [2] 52 percent of Americans 65 and older are living on less than $30,000 annually and one in four survive on less than $15,000 per year. [3] Nearly 5.3 million Americans 65 and older live in poverty, roughly 1 in 10 seniors. [4] Nearly half of all Americans are at risk of a financially insecure retirement, up from one in three workers in 1983. [5] The average monthly Social Security benefit in 2023 was only about $1,782, or $21,384 annually. [6] The top 20 percent of earners receive 63 percent of the $202 billion in annual income tax breaks for retirement accounts, while the bottom 60 percent receive just 13.4 percent of these breaks."

Tags: Retirement Plan Policy

Teresa Ghilarducci Confirms Proposal to Create Federal 401(k) Would Remove Employers from Retirement Saving System
American Retirement Association [ARA] Link to more items from this source
[Opinion]
Feb. 28, 2024

"Familiar 401(k) critic Teresa Ghilarducci testified before Congress on Wednesday, claiming America's retirement system is 'severely broken' and seniors must either 'work or rely on the kindness of strangers to dodge the increasing risk of elder poverty.' ... Yet data contradicts Ghilarducci's point. Far from destitute, the Federal Reserve's Q3 2023 Survey of Consumer Finances found that Baby Boomers are the wealthiest generation in the nation's history. State Auto-IRAs and provisions in SECURE 2.0 legislation aim to close the retirement plan coverage gap, and 2019's SECURE Act included language specifically designed to promote guaranteed lifetime income products within retirement plans."

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Pension Rights Center Informs Senate Committee on Solutions to Retirement Crisis
Pension Rights Center [PRC] Link to more items from this source
[Opinion]
Feb. 28, 2024

"[The Pension Rights Center statement] suggested that Congress consider: [1] Redeploying some of the billions of dollars in tax subsidies for retirement plans from high-income taxpayers to low- and middle-income retirement savers. [2] Promoting defined benefit plans and secure hybrid plans ... [3] Creating new protections for pension plan participants and retirees when a plan sponsor transfers liabilities to an insurance company. [4] Safeguarding plan participants and beneficiaries by providing increased protections for spouses in 401(k)s and ensuring that people get conflict-free retirement investment advice ... [5] Exploring new structures to expand coverage for the future."

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Senate Panel Advances Su Nomination as Labor Secretary
ThinkAdvisor Link to more items from this source
Feb. 28, 2024

"The Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 11-10 on [February 27] to advance Julie Su's nomination as Labor Secretary ... Su's nomination will now await a floor vote ... Su's previous nomination failed to secure a Senate vote before her nomination was returned to the White House at the conclusion of the first session of the 118th Congress,"

Tags: Health Plan Policy  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Pension-Backers Speaking in Washington D.C. This Week
401(k) Specialist Link to more items from this source
Feb. 27, 2024

"Expect to hear some 401(k)-bashing and pining for a return to defined benefit plans from some big-name politicians, economists and lobbyists during a couple of back-to-back events in Washington D.C. this week -- with considerable crossover between the two. The separate events are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in the form of a one-day conference and a Senate committee hearing -- but a few people will be in front of the microphone at both events."

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

403bwise Remarks to Illinois Legislators on Proposed Single Vendor Legislation
403bwise Link to more items from this source
[Opinion]
Feb. 26, 2024

"Illinois legislator Karina Villa ... is determined to fix a problem unique to K-12 employees: unvetted, exorbitantly priced multi-vendor 403(b) products sold by an army of sales agents with zero fiduciary duty. She has introduced legislation (co-sponsored by Robert F. Martwick) to require K-12 403(b) plan in the state be put out to bid. The bill would forbid the sale of products with loads and surrender charges.... [403bwise spoke] to Illinois legislators last week about the merits of this bill."

Tags: 403(b) Plans and Annuities  •  Local Regulation  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Editor's Pick ERISA Litigation and Regulation: 2023 in Review and Future Outlook
DeBofsky Law Link to more items from this source
Feb. 23, 2024

"ERISA will reach a major milestone in 2024 -- its fiftieth anniversary since its enactment on Labor Day of 1974. However, there is much about how the law works that remains unsettled.... 2023 produced new ERISA regulatory initiatives and groundbreaking judicial rulings.... [S]ome of the major highlights are discussed [in this article], along with a prediction about what 2024 may bring."

Tags: Health Plan Administration  •  Health Plan Policy  •  Retirement Plan Administration  •  Retirement Plan Policy

How Two Fishing Boat Cases Pending at the Supreme Court Could Rock the Benefits Plan Boat
McDermott Will & Emery Link to more items from this source
Feb. 22, 2024

"If Chevron is overturned or significantly weakened, new DOL and US Department of the Treasury regulations featuring aggressive statutory interpretations (like the fiduciary rule) are likely to become rarer and more vulnerable to challenge.... [B]ecause employee benefits cases challenging agency actions have only rarely reached the Supreme Court, employee benefit cases may be especially affected by how lower courts apply the result of Loper Bright and Relentless, which in turn may vary by federal circuit and district court." [Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo, Sec. of Comm., No. 22-451 (S.Ct. transcript of oral argument Jan. 17, 2024); Relentless, Inc. v. Dept. of Commerce, No. 22-1219 (S. Ct. transcript of oral argument Jan. 17, 2024)]

Tags: Health Plan Policy  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Senate HELP Committee to Hold Hearing on Retirement Crisis Facing Working Class Americans
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions [HELP], U.S. Senate Link to more items from this source
Feb. 22, 2024

"The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee ... will hold a hearing on Wednesday, February 28 at 10:00 a.m. ET titled, 'Taking a Serious Look at the Retirement Crisis in America: What can we do to expand defined benefit pension plans for workers?' " [The hearing will be livestreamed on the Committee's website.]

Tags: Retirement Plan Policy

Child Savings Account Proposal Introduced
Ascensus Link to more items from this source
Feb. 21, 2024

"Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and several co-sponsors have introduced S 3716, the 401Kids Savings Account Act. A companion bill, HR 7162, has been introduced ... in the House.... The accounts would be established for all newborns and kids under age 18, and could accept individual contributions of up to $2,500 per year (subject to COLAs) on top of any State contributions."

Tags: Retirement Plan Policy

Meeting the Challenge of America's Peak 65 Moment
Alliance for Lifetime Income Link to more items from this source
Feb. 21, 2024

"America is entering a historic surge, with more than 4.1 million Americans retiring each year through 2027.... [A] significant portion of the Peak 65® generation lacks sufficient protected income, putting them at risk of outliving their savings."

Tags: Retirement Plan Design  •  Retirement Plan Policy

GAO Report on 401(k) Plans: Additional Federal Actions Would Help Participants Track and Consolidate Their Retirement Savings
U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO] Link to more items from this source
Feb. 20, 2024

"401(k) participants face challenges tracking and consolidating their accounts.... 401(k) participants who recently completed a plan-to-plan rollover faced challenges understanding and complying with their plans' requirements.... GAO recommends that Congress consider granting authority to a federal agency to [1] establish a pension dashboard and [2] establish a system for automatic plan-to-plan rollovers. GAO is also making four recommendations to federal agencies to help 401(k) participants, including improving the information participants receive about options for their plan savings and the process they must undergo to consolidate their savings after changing jobs." [GAO-24-103577; pub. Jan. 18, 2024, rel. Feb. 20, 2024]

Tags: 401(k) Plans  •  Retirement Plan Administration  •  Retirement Plan Policy

House Lawmakers Debate Merits of DOL’s Proposed Fiduciary Rule
American Retirement Association [ARA] Link to more items from this source
Feb. 16, 2024

"The Feb. 15 hearing ... featured the by-now, well-known arguments of opponents who contend that the DOL overstepped its regulatory authority, while supporters argued that the proposal is needed to fill a regulatory gap. Like the Jan. 10 hearing by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, the Feb. 15 hearing focused quite a bit on whether the [SEC's] Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and the [NAIC] best interest standard for annuity sales adequately safeguard consumers and retirement investors seeking financial advice."

Tags: Fiduciary Duties  •  Retirement Plan Policy

Speakers at House Committee Hearing Trade Barbs on Whether DOL Fiduciary Rule Hurts or Helps
InsuranceNewsNet.com Link to more items from this source
Feb. 16, 2024

"A House committee revived debate over the [DOL] fiduciary rule [on Feb. 15], leading to extended discussion over what the proposal does and doesn't do, and whether the DOL has the appropriate rulemaking authority."

Tags: Fiduciary Duties  •  Retirement Plan Policy

DOL Fiduciary Proposal Slammed During Second House Hearing
Financial Advisor Link to more items from this source
Feb. 16, 2024

"The [DOL's] proposed fiduciary rule came under harsh criticism [February 15] during the House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee's second hearing on the retirement security rule which seeks to extend fiduciary duty to insurance agents and broker-dealer register representatives. Currently they are able to use exemptions from the fiduciary legal standard."

Tags: Fiduciary Duties  •  Retirement Plan Policy

House HELP Subcommittee Hearing: Protecting American Savers and Retirees from DOL's Regulatory Overreach
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives Link to more items from this source
Feb. 15, 2024

Video of Feb. 15 hearing, with opening statement by Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) and testimony by [1] Doug Ommen, Iowa Insurance Division; [2] Thomas Roberts, Groom Law Group; [3] Joseph C. Peiffer, Public Investors Advocate Bar Association; and [4] Jason Berkowitz, Insured Retirement Institute.

Tags: Fiduciary Duties  •  Retirement Plan Policy

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