362 pages. "The [SEC] is proposing ... to require registered investment advisers, certain advisers that are exempt from registration, registered investment companies, and business development companies, to provide additional information regarding their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment practices.... The proposed rules and form amendments are designed to create a consistent, comparable, and decision-useful regulatory framework for ESG advisory services and investment companies to inform and protect investors while facilitating further innovation in this evolving area of the asset management industry."  MORE >>

"[This proposed rule] would require meaningful specific disclosure regarding ESG strategies in registration statements, the management discussion of fund performance in annual reports, and in adviser brochures ... The level of detail required of any given fund or adviser will depend on the extent to which such manager considers ESG factors in its decision-making."  MORE >>

"While many changes finalized in this action affect only defined benefit plans, a few -- primarily relating to multiple employer plans (MEPs) -- affect defined contribution plans (including 401(k) plans).... The next round of Form 5500 changes will likely have much broader impacts."  MORE >>

"A defined contribution plan sponsor can't require participants to resolve their ERISA excessive fee claims through binding arbitration, despite arbitration provisions in the participants' employment agreements ... The court found that the participants brought these fiduciary breach claims not as individuals but as representatives of the plan, which didn't include an arbitration provision and hadn't otherwise agreed to arbitrate." [Hawkins v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156 (6th Cir. Apr. 27, 2022)]  MORE >>

"A B2B commercial P&C insurance policy is purchased, covering the losses the plan would incur should a participant's loan default, under clearly specified circumstances described in the policy (such as involuntary unemployment).... Any insurance recovery received by the plan from the insurer will then ... be allocated to the participant's account as a payment on the loan.... [A] dramatic change to 'leakage' can be provided by the market, without the need for legislative or regulatory change."  MORE >>

28 pages. "[T]he level of income replacement from Social Security falls off far more quickly than private savings function to provide adequate retirement income for middle class workers.... The value of tax incentives for saving is much greater for those at higher income levels, who face higher marginal tax rates. These incentives are quite weak for much of the middle class.... Solutions to these inequities should focus on increasing participation in the retirement savings system and ensuring working families also receive adequate incentives to save for retirement."  MORE >>

"[The proposal] includes provisions that are contrary to a plain reading of the legislative changes included in the [SECURE Act], fails to provide enough time for plans and participants to implement its surprising interpretations, and adds unnecessary complexity to RMD issues that are unrelated to the SECURE Act's changes. Thus, in addition to requesting clarification on many of the issues covered by the proposal, the Council is requesting that Treasury and IRS significantly rewrite critical portions of the proposed regulations."  MORE >>

17 pages. "The final regulations should not be effective until, at the earliest, calendar years beginning at least 9 months after the final regulations are released.... The Service should not modify the rules for 403(b) plans, or if it does, only through a separate regulatory proposal. The final regulations should modify the Service's interpretation of the 10-year rule, or if not, provide relief for prior years. The Service should reconsider whether the Proposal's rules for withholding on distributions to non-spouse beneficiaries correctly reflect the Code.... The Proposal's rule regarding a 'hypothetical' RMD should be removed. The final regulations should retain age 21 as the age of majority."  MORE >>