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Retirement Plans Newsletter
December 6, 2021
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12 New Job Opportunities
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[Guidance Overview]
Meager 2021 Required Amendments List Doesn't Extend SECURE or CARES Act Deadlines
"The sole item on IRS's 2021 Required Amendments (RA) List (Notice 2021-64) relates to restoring suspended benefits for
multiemployer plans receiving special financial assistance (SFA) under [ARPA].... Notably absent ... is any extension of the statutory deadline for amendments relating to the [SECURE Act], the Bipartisan American Miners (Miners) Act, and the [CARES Act]. The deadline for those amendments remains the end of the 2022 plan year." MORE >>
Mercer
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Supreme Court to Consider Obligation of Retirement Plan Sponsors to Pare Investment Options
"The court's recent opinions in the area have spent a lot less time parsing a traditional common-law duty of prudence than they have worrying about the evils some justices see in the untrammeled spread of class actions. If the court pigeonholes this as an 'abusive
class-action' problem, then the use of elevated pleading standards to prevent defendants from being forced into inappropriate settlements will seem natural to the justices who worry about class actions." [Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 18-2569 (7th Cir.
Mar. 25, 2020; cert. pet. granted No. 19-1401, Jul. 2, 2020)] MORE >>
SCOTUSblog
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Bitcoin for Fiduciaries (PDF)
"The thesis of this column is that fiduciaries need to advise clients on crypto (whether pro or con) and begin incorporating this advice into prudent investment strategies now, long before case law, statute, and regulation will have a chance to provide meaningful guidance. That
means we need to use the guidance we already have. To lay the groundwork for cryptoadvising, this column begins with some facts and perspective and moves on to a discussion of the fiduciary framework." MORE >>
Pete Swisher, via Journal of Pension Benefits
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2021's Hardships Redefine Financial Wellness Goals
"On average ... participants are saving at recommended levels of 10% to 15%, including both employer and employee contributions. Excluding any employer matches, employees are putting away 8.2% of their salary into workplace retirement plans ... Generation Z accounts for
the highest proportion of contributing participants in their defined contribution plans -- even higher than working Baby Boomers who are fast-approaching retirement." MORE >>
PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required
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State Retirement Plan Mandates: What States Have Them and When Do They Take Effect?
"14 states have enacted retirement savings programs to help individuals put aside for retirement. Program mandates, structure, and roll-out vary so be sure to understand how (and if) this applies to you and your company." MORE >>
Vestwell
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John Deere Workers Successfully Resist Demand for Pension Freeze of New Hires
"About 10,000 striking John Deere Co. workers are returning to work under a new contract that, among other provisions, removes language from an initial tentative bargaining agreement that would have prevented new employees from joining the company's pension
plan." MORE >>
Pension Rights Center
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Illinois Effort to Fix Ailing Local Pensions Faces Legal Hurdle
"A 2019 law ... would merge about 650 local police and firefighter pensions with assets topping $16 billion into two funds to cut costs and improve returns.... The law set a June 30 deadline for the consolidation of the funds ... Three dozen current employees
and retirees, along with 18 local retirement plans, filed a lawsuit in February ... saying the consolidation violates the state constitution. A key ruling is expected as early as December[.]" [Arlington Hts. Police Pension Fund et al. v. Pritzker, No. 21-CH-000055 (Kane Cty. Ill. complaint filed Feb. 23, 2021)] MORE >>
Bloomberg Quint
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Contemplating Retirement Income? Start Here
"Strategies that reduce expenses or boost non-portfolio income, like delaying Social Security or employing annuities, can be even more impactful than adjusting a portfolio or withdrawal-rate system and therefore should precede withdrawal rates in the retirement-planning process.
Ultimately, the right combination of strategies will depend on the retiree's own income sources, lifestyle considerations, and so on." MORE >>
Morningstar
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[Opinion]
Final Thoughts Before the Hughes v. Northwestern Supreme Court Oral Argument
"As we head into oral argument, [the authors'] advice has not changed. The goal for plan sponsors is to win the war, not just this individual battle, on excessive fee lawsuits. We need a more rigorous pleadings standard to divide 'the plausible sheep from the meritless
goats,' regardless of the final outcome in the Northwestern case." [Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 18-2569 (7th Cir. Mar. 25, 2020; cert. pet. granted No. 19-1401, Jul. 2, 2020)] MORE >>
Euclid Specialty Managers
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[Opinion]
New Retirement Planning Rule Gets It Right: Sustainable Investing Is Here to Stay
"Plan sponsors now have clear guidance to support integrating sustainable investing strategies into defined contribution plan design -- namely, to rely on a well-documented, prudent process that emphasizes materiality, diversification, risk and return in evaluating the duty
of care, while relying on 'prudent experts' as needed." MORE >>
Georges Dyer, via The Hill
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[Opinion]
Here's What to Know About the DOL's Proposed Rule to Ease ESG Investing in Your 401(k) Plan
"[T]he new proposal is a model of rational policymaking.... On the selection of funds that offer so-called collateral benefits, it says these funds can be chosen as long as they serve the financial interests of the plan equally as well as alternatives. On QDIAs, ... it says
funds that incorporate climate change and ESG considerations should not be disadvantaged or disallowed. On proxy voting and other shareholder activities, it says these tools should be used in a prudent manner to enhance the long-term value of the plan." MORE >>
Jon Hale, via Morningstar
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Benefits in General |
EBSA Enforcement Statistics for FY 2021: Growing Focus on Service Providers, Health and Welfare Plans
"[T]he DOL emphasizes its growing service provider level investigation activity ... This is consistent with other DOL statements and actions that suggest an increasing focus and emphasis on investigations of service providers.... The 2021 Enforcement Statistics Fact Sheet
also -- for the first time -- includes specific information related to health and welfare plan enforcement actions." MORE >>
Morgan Lewis
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Executive Compensation and Nonqualified Plans |
More Than 25% of Employees Say Equity Compensation Will Help Them Meet Long-Term Goals
"The rising importance of equity compensation in the workplace serves as an essential benefit to not only help employees meet their long-term financial goals, but also to increase employee motivation and loyalty ... [E]mployees diverge over what makes equity compensation a
strong motivator, with the top three choices being 'gives me a stake in the success of the company' at 27%, 'helps meet long term goals' at 26%, and 'provides an additional source of income' at 23%." MORE >>
planadviser
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Employee Benefits Jobs |
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Selected New Discussions |
Plan Sponsor Acquired (Asset Sale) But 401(k) Plan Was, Um, Overlooked
"Buyer purchases the assets of another company. The seller maintains a 401k plan. The attorney's overlook/never discuss the implications of the 401k and the deal closes. (Ahem.) All employees of the seller incurred a distributable event on date they were terminated by the
seller and hired by the buyer. Now (one month later), the buyer wants to assume sponsorship of the seller's plan to avoid defaulted loans, distributions or any other disruption to the seller's plan. Can the distributable event be undone after closing?"
BenefitsLink Message Boards
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409A Question: Accelerating Vesting/Payment -- Short-Term Deferral Exception [Unanswered; Chime In!]
"Regarding the acceleration of vesting/payment that is appropriately treated as a short-term deferral -- the question I have is generally whether company discretion to accelerate the vesting payment could serve as a premise that the payment is no longer subject to a substantial
risk of forfeiture. What say?"
BenefitsLink Message Boards
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Last Issue's Most Popular Items |
DOL Guidance on Cybersecurity: A Cautionary Note for Plan Sponsors
Troutman Pepper
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IRS Expects 403(b) Plan Sponsors to Collect Information About Employees' Outside Employment
Verrill Dana LLP
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IRS Revamps 403(b) Preapproved Program, Sets Cycle 2 Review Dates
Mercer
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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.
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