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Retirement Plans Newsletter

May 6, 2022

7 New Job Opportunities 7 New Job Opportunities

 

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon The Dramatic Rise in 401(k) Plan Excessive Fee Litigation, and Who's Fighting It

"After an unsatisfying Supreme Court decision for retirement plan fiduciaries in Hughes v. Northwestern, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce continues to fight the explosion of cases in a 'cottage industry' with a unique strategy meant to get cases dismissed before they get to summary judgments or settlements."  MORE >>

401(k) Specialist

Why Most Employers Probably Won't Allow Bitcoin Into 401(k)s Anytime Soon

"[W]hile investors seem hungry for new ways to invest in digital assets, federal regulators are very skeptical of allowing investors to add cryptocurrency to 401(k) plans. Companies that take Fidelity up on the offer to add bitcoin to their retirement saving plan menus could be putting themselves in legal danger[.]"  MORE >>

Mallika Mitra, via Nasdaq

Roth IRA vs. Designated Roth 401(k) -- What's the Difference?

"While both Roth IRAs and designated Roth 401(k) plan contributions offer the potential for tax-free withdrawals, there are several key differences between the two arrangements. Whether one, the other or both may be right for a particular investor depends on the individual's circumstances and goals[.]"  MORE >>

The Retirement Advantage

INFORM Act Seeks Expanded Lump Sum Payment Disclosures

"[The Information Needed for Financial Options Risk Mitigation Act (S 4087)] would require pension plan sponsors to provide retirees and participants with what they describe as 'critical information' about the trade-offs involved when employers offer a lump-sum payment option from a traditional defined benefit pension plan that can be drawn in place of a lifetime annuity option."  MORE >>

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

Illinois Governor Signs Pension Buyout Bill

"The program's extended life comes with it authorization to borrow $1 billion of funds to pay for it using the same bonding method which originally funded the program in 2018 when it was introduced.... The buyout program gives members of state pension systems who no longer work the opportunity to receive a direct payment worth a portion of their pension benefits in exchange for giving up the remainder of those benefits."  MORE >>

The State Journal-Register

Hawaii May Say Aloha to Unique Auto-IRA Plan

"The Hawaii Retirement Savings Program would be a state-facilitated payroll-deduction retirement savings plan for private-sector employees in Hawaii who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans.... The Hawaii program would require employees to take the affirmative step of opting in in order to participate."  MORE >>

American Retirement Association [ARA]

Pension Finance Watch, April 2022 (PDF)

"The WTW Pension Index continued to increase in April to the highest level it has seen since April 2002, despite continued volatility during the month. Negative investment returns continue to be more than offset by the reduction in liabilities due to increases in discount rates. As a result, the end-of-April index level of 97.1 reflects an increase of 1.2% for the month."  MORE >>

Willis Towers Watson

[Opinion]

Lump Sum Option vs. Life Annuity from a Pension Plan

"If a household needs non-risky assets like a life annuity to fund its essential expenses, it can't also use those assets for other purposes and, based on financial economics principles ... Households that do not need some or any of the pension plan assets to fund their essential expenses, can be more aggressive in selecting and investing a lump sum payment."  MORE >>

Ken Steiner, FSA Retired

Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]

Employee Benefit Plan Amendments and Disclosures Required This Year

"[P]lan sponsors must amend their retirement plan documents before the end of the 2022 plan year.... [The SECURE Act and the CARES Act] require plan amendments to reflect [1] certain mandatory changes and/or [2] optional changes employers chose to implement.... [S]ponsors of health and welfare plans should make sure that their plan documents are fully up-to-date with all the various changes required by (and/or due to) the myriad laws enacted and guidance issued throughout the COVID pandemic. This includes several changes in the CARES Act and informal guidance from the IRS, including, among other things, the temporary rules requiring plans to disregard certain days in calculating various COBRA, special enrollment and ERISA claims/appeals deadlines, etc."  MORE >>

Smith & Downey, P.A.

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Lead Transition Consultant
          for BlueStar Retirement Services Inc. Lead Transition Consultant

BlueStar Retirement Services Inc.

Remote / Ponte Vedra Beach FL

View job as Lead Transition Consultant
          for BlueStar Retirement Services Inc.

View job as Senior Actuarial Analyst
          for BPAS Senior Actuarial Analyst

BPAS

Remote / New York NY

View job as Senior Actuarial Analyst
          for BPAS

View job as Relationship Manager
          for Compass Retirement Consulting Group, Inc. Relationship Manager

Compass Retirement Consulting Group, Inc.

Remote / Stratham NH

View job as Relationship Manager
          for Compass Retirement Consulting Group, Inc.

View job as Defined Benefit Actuarial Analyst
          for The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA) Defined Benefit Actuarial Analyst

The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA)

Remote

View job as Defined Benefit Actuarial Analyst
          for The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA)

View job as VP Sales Consultant (Retirement industry)
          for FuturePlan, by Ascensus VP Sales Consultant (Retirement industry)

FuturePlan, by Ascensus

Remote

View job as VP Sales Consultant (Retirement industry)
          for FuturePlan, by Ascensus

View job as Manager
          for FuturePlan, by Ascensus Manager

FuturePlan, by Ascensus

Remote

View job as Manager
          for FuturePlan, by Ascensus

View job as Senior Retirement Analyst
          for Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. Senior Retirement Analyst

Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc.

Remote / Pittsburgh PA

View job as Senior Retirement Analyst
          for Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc.

Selected New Discussions

Exclusion of All Per Diem Employees If Some Are Otherwise Eligible

"I have a large company whose 401k excludes per diem employees. They have a 1 year, age 21 and 1,000 hours requirement for eligibility. Some of the per diem employees have met that eligibility requirement but are still per diem. Are they still excluded from the plan? Also, there are a few employees who were eligible for the plan then later on became per diem employees. Do they lose their eligibility to contribute?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Designate Entire $6,500 Deferral as Catch Up, So as to Avoid Top-Heavy Status?

"401k plan is TH. Owner is over age 50. Owner does NOT want to make any employer contribution to the plan for plan year. I assume the owner cannot just make a $6,500 deferral for the year without triggering the top-heavy minimum to the non-key employees. I assume there is no way to classify a $6,500 deferral as catch-up only and thus avoid TH minimum because the plan would not fail ADP or violate 415 or 402(g)."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

Mintz Bolsters Executive Compensation and ERISA Practice with Addition of Benjamin Ferrucci

Mintz

Centene Signs Definitive Agreements to Divest Two Pharmacy Businesses in Separate Transactions

Centene

Transamerica Expands Employee Benefits Suite with Integrated Disability Insurance and Absence Management Solution

Transamerica

Webcasts and Conferences
(Retirement Plans / Executive Compensation)

Odd Duck Plans

May 19, 2022 in CA

Western Pension & Benefits Council

Employee Severance Agreements and Section 409A Deferred Compensation: Withstanding Heightened IRS Scrutiny

July 13, 2022 WEBCAST

Strafford

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Are Brokerage Windows an Effective Way to Limit Fiduciary Risk After Hughes v. Northwestern?

The Wagner Law Group

Why a Pension Lump Sum Option Is Better Than an Annuity Payment

Kiplinger

The Most Popular Mutual Funds for 401(k) Retirement Savings

Kiplinger

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

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