"The DOL is now emphasizing its concerns with adequate disclosure and valuation of private equity. It also stresses the importance of obtaining assistance from a qualified investment adviser where the responsible fiduciary does not have the skills, knowledge and experience to evaluate the prudence of the private equity component and the continual monitoring of such an investment."  MORE >>

"The supplemental statement clarifies that the information letter should not be interpreted as saying that private equity investments, when offered as part of a designated investment alternative, are generally appropriate for a typical 401(k) plan.... The supplemental statement also indicates that plan-level fiduciaries of small individual account plans are not likely suited to evaluate the use of private equity investments in designated investment alternatives in individual account plans."  MORE >>

"The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and the St. Clare's Corporation to dismiss the pensioners' lawsuit against them.... Because the fund was church-affiliated, it was exempt from federal insurance requirements, leaving no safety net for the pensioners when the money ran out. The diocese has rejected responsibility for causing the crisis or paying to resolve it." [Hartshorne  v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York, 2021 NY Slip Op. 07329 (3rd App. Div., Dec. 23, 2021)]  MORE >>

"The judge found that while the plaintiff might have released all his claims with a separation agreement, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the plan and the plan did not release its claims." [Zavala v. Kruse-Western, Inc., No. 19-0239 (E.D. Cal Dec. 13, 2021)]  MORE >>

"Plans with low default rates that match a high percentage of employee earnings induce higher-income participants to actively move away from the low default savings rate, resulting in a wider savings gap between higher- and lower-income employees. When default savings rates are set higher, fewer employees move away from the default resulting in higher and more equal savings rates.... [H]igher default savings rates increase usage of plan default investments."  MORE >>

"[PBGC] has approved the plan application for the Idaho Signatory Employers-Laborers Pension Plan in Portland, Ore. The plan covers 682 participants in the construction industry and will receive $13.9 million in special financial assistance, including interest to the expected date of payment to the plan."  MORE >>

"The pensioners have lost every legal challenge to the PBGC ... They accused the PBGC of bypassing a judicial review of the termination of Delphi's underfunded pension plan, relying instead on a 'termination by agreement' with Delphi to close an underfunded DB plan for 20,000 salaried employees. Delphi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2005."  MORE >>

"[T]his review of retirement policy developments in 2021 [begins] with a review of retirement finance -- interest rates, securities markets, and (an emerging risk) inflation -- all of which affect retirement finance and participant retirement income. [It then discusses] major retirement-related legislative and regulatory initiatives [and concludes] with a discussion of some significant developments in retirement plan litigation."  MORE >>

"Economists attribute much of the retirement gender gap to 'the motherhood penalty.' Women who raise children have fewer and lower-paid years in the work force than men or childless women ... But much of the discrepancy in financial stability at older ages stems from a major demographic shift: Women now spend much less of their adulthoods in marriages."  MORE >>

"Social Security rules that are changing in 2022 ... [1] FRA is changing ... [2] Work credit rules are changing ... [3] Retirees are getting a raise ... Social Security rules that are sticking with the status quo ... [1] The thresholds at which benefits become taxable will remain the same ... [2] So will the rules for early filing penalties and delayed retirement credits."  MORE >>