DOL Puts Enforcement of Retirement Plan ESG Rules on Hold

"The DOL cited criticisms that the rules fail to consider evidence that ESG factors 'improv[e] investment value and long-term investment returns for retirement investors,' and have a 'chilling effect on appropriate integration of ESG factors' into ERISA investment decisions."  MORE >>

King & Spalding

[Sponsor]

ERISApedia.com EXCLUSIVE - Who's the Employer (WTE)

WTE, 8th Edition, Authored by S. Derrin Watson, JD. Over 30% NEW material. Dozens of new examples. Full explanations of how employer and employee status impact testing. Improved organization -- easy to find answers. sales@erisapedia.com or 612-605-2266

Sixth Circuit Revives Class Action Alleging Misleading Notice About Cash Balance Conversion

"[T]he court found that Nolan has a colorable claim that DTE did not explain in plain English ... that employees transferring to the cash balance plan would not receive any new benefits if the accrued benefits under the new plan did not catch up to their frozen traditional plan benefit." [Nolan v. Detroit Edison Co., No. 19-1867 (6th Cir. Mar. 23, 2021)]  MORE >>

Roberts Disability Law

Court Finds Investment Platform Provider Was Not Acting as a Fiduciary When Collecting Access Fees from Mutual Funds

"Because functional fiduciary status is determined by the facts and circumstances, however, providers must be careful about structuring and documenting their arrangements.... [A] platform provider's fund selection decisions might make it a fiduciary if other fiduciaries do not retain final authority regarding the investment options available to participants." [In re Fidelity ERISA Fee Litigation, Wong v. FMR LLC, No. 20-1286 (1st Cir. Mar. 5, 2021)]  MORE >>

Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Sharing Retirement Plan Information Online? Here's What Not to Do

"Whether you're sending employee information to an auditor ... another third party, or even internal stakeholders, follow these critical guidelines to stay compliant with regulations protecting personal information and avoid a data breach."  MORE >>

Cassell Plan Audits

Will Moving My Company Ownership Into a Trust Impact Our 401(k) Plan?

"Ownership percentages are used to determine things as routine as who your highly compensated and key employees are for nondiscrimination testing to more involved items such as whether your company must be aggregated with any others as part of a controlled group or affiliated service group.... What can make this determination such a challenge are the ownership attribution rules. "  MORE >>

DWC

82% Say Pandemic has Negatively Impacted Retirement Goals

"55% of Americans said their retirement goals have been delayed by at least two years and one-third estimating it will take 2-3 years to get back on track ... [However,] the vast majority are still confident they'll be able to retire when and how they want, and 36% are now even more confident in their retirement plan than before."  MORE >>

401(k) Specialist

What You Need to Know About the Rise of State-Run IRA Programs

"Employers who currently do not offer a qualified plan to their employees may be required to participate in the state-IRA program.... Employees must opt out if they don't want to participate.... Employees are responsible to monitor their own annual contributions across all IRAs.... Employers may face penalties for noncompliance and/or failure to remit payments.... Employers cannot make contributions."  MORE >>

InsuranceNewsNet.com

What Women Do Right in Retirement Planning

"[W]omen may plan ahead, earmark money for savings, and avoid costly knee-jerk reactions to stock market turbulence better than their male counterparts.... [W]omen in the workplace were 14 percent more likely to participate in their employer's 401(k) plan and, once enrolled, save ... between 7 percent and 16 percent more of their salaries than men."  MORE >>

MassMutual

Pension Plan Annuity Purchase Update, Q4 2020

"Pension buyout sales totaled $13.7 billion in Q4 2020, ... a 21% increase from Q4 2019. Annual 2020 buyout sales totaled $25B, which was a 10% decrease from 2019 ... 177 total buyout contracts were sold in Q4 2020, bringing the total number of contracts sold in 2020 to 432."  MORE >>

River and Mercantile

Kentucky Governor Vetoes Bill to Change Defined Benefit Program for New Teachers

"[Gov. Andy Beshear] said the reduction in benefits would make it harder to recruit teachers amid a teacher shortage already troubling the state.... For new hires, teachers would have a 'hybrid' pension plan with a smaller defined benefit plan, plus a defined contribution plan. Teachers would have to pay in slightly more and work longer to receive their benefits."  MORE >>

WFPL

Evaluation of Four Decades of Pension Privatization in Latin America, 1980-2020: Promises and Reality

"The [204-page PDF] thoroughly documents the effects of the privatization of pensions in nine countries in Latin America from 1980 until the present: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay."  MORE >>

Carmelo Mesa-Lago, via SSRN

[Opinion]

The Impact of Collective Bargaining on Connecticut's Pensions and Budget

"These systems were not reliably funded until public sector employees organized in the early 1980s and demanded funding ... as part of the collective bargaining process. Seventy-five percent of the current underfunding is due to obligations for workers who started employment with the state over 30 years ago."  MORE >>

National Public Pension Coalition

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DC + CB Combo -- Effect of Short Plan Year on Gateway Percentage

"The client wanted to move to a calendar year and thus created a short plan year 10/1/2020 - 12/31/2020. The CB document indicates 1,000 hours required for an accrual so it appears there is no CB accrual during the short plan year. In this case, I'm assuming we still use the combined plan gateway rules, but there is no CB accrual when generating the required gateway percentage. Correct?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

First RMD Would Have Been Paid in 2020 But Was Suspended. When Is 2021 RMD Due?

"Former employee left in 2019,turned 70.5 in 2020. Her first RMD was for 2020 but it was suspended. Initially, she would have been required to take that one by 4/1/21. But since she didn't have to take it, the 2021 RMD will be her 'first.' Does she have until 4/1/22? Or is is due by 12/31/21?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

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Accomplish Empowerment Platform Launches New Employee Self-Service App

Accomplish EP

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ERISA Fiduciary Institute 2021: 6-Part Webinar Series

April 7, 2021 WEBCAST

American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

Checking the Lost & Found for Missing Participants: What Plan Sponsors Need to Be Doing!

April 14, 2021 WEBCAST

Faegre Drinker

Navigating the New Rollover Reality

April 16, 2021 WEBCAST

The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

Practical and Tactical Actions for Plans Amid the Challenging Environment

May 11, 2021 WEBCAST

The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

Post-election Outlook: What's Happening on the Hill?

May 12, 2021 WEBCAST

Conference of Consulting Actuaries

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Single-Employer Pension Plan Funding Relief: An Explanation for Non-Actuaries (PDF)

Keightley & Ashner LLP

What's the 5-Year Rule for IRA and Qualified Plan Beneficiaries?

Appleby Retirement Dictionary

Stimulus DB Funding Relief: Plan Sponsor Decisions Needed Now

October Three Consulting