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Retirement Plans Newsletter

August 30, 2021

2 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

The SECURE Act Revisited

"With all the provisions now effective, here's what Plan Sponsors need to know: [1] Increased tax credits for small employers; [2] Changes to auto-enrollment plans; [3] Changes to 401(k) safe harbor plans; [4] Changes to qualified plan adoption timing; [5] Participation by part-time employees; [6] Expanded opportunities for 401(k) plans with Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs); [7] Increased filing penalties."  MORE >>

Benefit Resources Inc.

DOL Ramps Up Retirement Plan Cybersecurity Investigations

"Reports continue to come in concerning an increasing number of DOL requests made to plan sponsors asking for all cybersecurity and information security program policies, procedures and guidelines that relate to retirement plans, whether applied by the plan sponsor or by a provider, as well as detailed documentation of specific actions taken by the plan's fiduciaries and providers, including many that the DOL addressed in its guidance."  MORE >>

Hall Benefits Law

Upcoming SECURE Act Lifetime Income Disclosures: An Actuary's View

"[1] Preview of expected December 31, 2021 single life amounts [SLAs] under the new law ... [2] Comparison with current annuity purchase rates at age 67... [3] Comparison of new law SLA amounts with current account balance and EBSA projected account balance SLAs from EBSA lifetime income benefit calculator ... [4] Comparison of new law SLA amounts with ALRIE-generated SLA amounts at various ages ... [5] Monthly projected SLA amounts at age 67 under SECURE Act, ALRIE and EBSA lifetime income calculator ... [6] Conclusion: good news and bad news."  MORE >>

Ken Steiner, FSA Retired

Chamber of Commerce Says Cookie-Cutter Excessive Fee Suits Harm Participants

"The chamber says the rapid increase in excessive fee litigation is not 'a warning that retirees' savings are in jeopardy,' but proof that converting 'subpar allegations' into settlements has proven to be a lucrative endeavor for attorneys bringing the lawsuits." [In re American National Red Cross ERISA Litigation, No. 21-541 (D.D.C. amicus brief of U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed Aug. 23, 2021]  MORE >>

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

Plummeting Fund Fees Saved Investors $6.2 Billion in 2020

"[T]he average expense ratio paid by [mutual fund and ETF] investors is half of what it was two decades ago. Between 2000 and 2020, the asset-weighted average fee fell from 0.93% to 0.41%.... The asset-weighted average expense ratio for active funds dropped from 0.65% in 2019 to 0.62% in 2020 ... The asset-weighted average expense ratio for passive funds fell from 0.13% in 2019 to 0.12% in 2020[.]"  MORE >>

American Retirement Association [ARA]

How a QLAC Can Balance Retirement Needs with RMD Rules

"Are you entering retirement, but want to delay taking the full required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your retirement portfolio? Perhaps use that money to help secure the possibility of a long retirement instead? Meet the QLAC."  MORE >>

MassMutual

Many Union Retirees Fearing Financial Disaster Wait for Pension Rescue

"[ARPA offered] taxpayer-funded financial assistance to certain troubled [multiemployer] pension plans ... allowing them to restore benefits to retirees who suffered cuts. But the implementation of the rescue plan has been met with a barrage of criticism from plan trustees, participants and members of Congress who say it's too tight-fisted with the financial assistance and could leave some plans in a worse financial position than they are in now."  MORE >>

MarketWatch

Questions Retirees Often Get Wrong About Taxes in Retirement

"Now that you've put together your retirement nest egg, you want to make sure that you're not overpaying Uncle Sam. To help you evaluate your current tax knowledge, here are 12 questions retirees often get wrong about taxes in retirement."  MORE >>

Kiplinger

The Best and Worst States for Governmental Pensions

"Private companies rarely offer pensions anymore, and states are struggling with pension commitments they made decades ago.... See which states are well-prepared to continue funding their pension systems, and which ones might find themselves in fiscal hot water in the near future."  MORE >>

Yahoo! Finance

Changing Longevity, Social Security Retirement Benefits, and Potential Adjustments

"This article examines two hypothetical adjustments to Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance benefits that would offset the differential changes in projected life expectancy. The authors use the Modeling Income in the Near Term microsimulation model to analyze how the adjustments would affect benefits for beneficiaries across the lifetime earnings distribution."  MORE >>

Gayle Leah Reznik, Kenneth A. Couch, Christopher R. Tamborini, and Howard Iams, via SSRN

Board Co-option and the Defined Benefit Pension Policy

"[This study implements] a novel board monitoring measure as the percentage of directors appointed after the CEO assumes office, Board Co-option, and find[s] that as Board Co-option increases, board monitoring decreases, and risk shifting through pension plan underfunding and pension assets allocation towards risky securities intensifies.... [The] findings suggest that not all directors are effective monitors in the context of corporate pension policies. It seems only non-co-opted independent directors are mindful of their obligations toward pension plan beneficiaries."  MORE >>

Yunhui Han, via SSRN

Benefits in General

[Official Guidance]

ERISA Advisory Council to Meet September 30

"[T]he 208th open meeting of [the ERISA Advisory Council] will be held via a teleconference on Thursday, September 30, 2021.... The purpose of the open meeting is for the members of the ERISA Advisory Council to discuss potential recommendations for the Secretary of Labor on the issues of: [1] Gaps in Retirement Savings Based on Race, Ethnicity and Gender, and [2] Understanding Brokerage Windows in Self-Directed Retirement Plans."  MORE >>

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Pension Administrator
for Retirement Plan Administrators, LLC Pension Administrator

Retirement Plan Administrators, LLC

Atlanta GA / Savannah GA / Augusta GA

View job as 3(16) Analyst
for Sunwest Pensions 3(16) Analyst

Sunwest Pensions

Remote / Mesa AZ

Selected New Discussions

Looking for Firm to Do a Cybersecurity Audit of Our Small TPA Firm

"Looking for a referral for companies that perform cybersecurity audits. We are a small TPA (5 employees)."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

iJoin Adds Fingage’s Unique Advisor-Centric 401(k) Solution to its Managed Account Marketplace

iJoin

Snow Benefits Group, Inc. Joins OneDigital

OneDigital

Webcasts and Conferences
(Retirement Plans / Executive Compensation)

Innovation in Retirement: The Future Is Now

September 23, 2021 WEBCAST

Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - New York Chapter

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Developing a Prudent Process for Cybersecurity

Groom Law Group, via PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

District Court Finds Repeated Calculation Errors Do Not Involve 'Fiduciary Duties'

Lane Powell PC

40% of 401(k) Participants Say Fees a Mystery, GAO Reports

Pensions & Investments

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.

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