"SECURE 2.0 requires the [DOL], in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, to create an online searchable lost and found database of retirement plans.... The deadline for the DOL to establish the database is December 29, 2024.... [P]lan administrators must furnish the DOL with information about the plan and terminated plan participants for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023.... Section 304 of SECURE 2.0 increases to $7,000, the threshold at which plans may automatically cash out a participant, effective for distributions made after December 31, 2023. This change is optional and may require a plan amendment."  MORE >>

"Plan sponsors can offer penalty-free distributions to participants who are affected by major disasters, have experienced domestic abuse, have personal emergency expenses or have a terminal illness. This GRIST separately examines each distribution’s eligibility provisions and any limitations on the distribution’s amount or timing. The article then discusses common provisions of the distributions, including a plan’s ability to offer them as separate options, participants’ ability to repay distributions, and their tax treatment for plans and participants."  MORE >>

"SECURE Act 2.0: [1] amends Section 1042 of the Internal Revenue Code ... to permit a 10% tax deferral for certain sales to S Corporation ESOPs; [2] amends Section 401(a)(35) of the Code to change the definition of 'publicly traded' for certain diversification purposes; [3] directs the [DOL] to create an Employee Ownership Initiative and release formal guidance in connection with the Employee Ownership Initiative; and [4] directs the DOL to release formal guidance on good faith fair market valuation standards."  MORE >>

"The Puerto Rico legislature is considering amending the PR Code to incorporate for the first time cost of living adjustments to the maximum deductions amounts that can be claimed by individuals in computing their income tax liability including, among others, contributions to individual retirement accounts."  MORE >>

"The emergence of a district court in the Seventh Circuit as the potential leader of a new trend of motion to dismiss outcomes is particularly poignant, as it was the Seventh Circuit ruling dismissing such claims in Hughes v. Northwestern that was vacated and remanded by the Supreme Court."  MORE >>

"A recent district court decision highlights the continued uncertainties about what it means to include an arbitration clause in an ERISA plan. While courts generally agree that such clauses are, in theory, enforceable, the extent to which courts will enforce a specific clause remains uncertain given divergent outcomes of decisions regarding motions to compel arbitration." [Burnett v. Prudent Fiduciary Services LLC, No. 22-270 (D. Del. Jan 25, 2023)]  MORE >>

"After the passage of SECURE 2.0, which froze the VRP rate at 5.2% of unfunded vested benefits (UVBs), determining when it is economically more efficient to borrow-and-fund vs. funding the plan over time (at ERISA minimums) and paying the 5.2% VRP 'tax' is, in some respects, relatively straightforward. [This article reviews this calculation and concludes] with some observations about future interest rate risk and how it might affect borrow-and-fund decision-making."  MORE >>

"[C]onditions in 2023 may be ideal for plan sponsors to open temporary lump sum 'window' offerings to former employees in hopes they agree to go through, taking their future pension risk with them. The question is whether those participants will agree to do so."  MORE >>

"[S]pecific recommendation for improving the proposal ... [1] Eliminate or increase the $1,000 lost earnings limitation ... [2] Eliminate the SCC notice requirement ... [3] Remove the additional contribution to participants' accounts requirement ... [4] Expand the de minimis exception ... [5] Allow lost earnings to be paid out of a plan's forfeiture account ... [6] Allow service providers, instead of employers, to make corrective contributions."  MORE >>

"[D]espite good intentions, defined contribution (DC) plans have failed to properly replace the retirement income security that had existed under traditional defined benefit pension plans.... [A] large gap remains between where pre-retirees typically are financially and where they should be. Even among those who have accumulated a sufficiently large nest egg, many have no idea how to safely and responsibly convert those assets into lifelong retirement income."  MORE >>

31 pages. "This report highlights where pockets of financial insecurity among public sector workers persist, summarizes the range of existing benefits for these employees, and demonstrates that benefits and support provided to public employees in building their own savings is a proven pathway for people to achieve financial security. That is, while public sector employers help create financial security for most of their employees, they can amplify these efforts to increase the number of workers who are financially secure."  MORE >>