"Unless an exception applies, 401(k) and 403(b) plans established after Dec. 28, 2022, must offer an 'eligible automatic contribution arrangement' with automatic escalation and permissible withdrawal features starting with the 2025 plan year.... This GRIST examines SECURE 2.0's auto-enrollment mandate and its numerous exceptions and provides a road map of implementation questions ripe for agency guidance."  MORE >>

"[1] Increased eligibility and automatic enrollment ... [2] Changes [that] impact employee and employer contributions ... [3] Changes to required minimum distributions, employer-forced distributions, and hardships ... [4] Updates to early distributions ... [5] Special changes for 403(b) plans ... [6] Broadened ability to self-correct errors ... [6] Lost and found program ... [7] Participant overpayment recoveries ... [8] Plan amendment dates."  MORE >>

"In the court's view, this clause prevented Mr. Harrison from obtaining in arbitration some of the forms of relief that he sought under Section 502(a)(2), including the recovery of plan losses, some of the declaratory and injunctive relief he sought, and disgorgement of profits.... Because the arbitration provision was written in a manner intended to foreclose the plan-wide relief that Mr. Harrison sought, the Tenth Circuit 'conclude[d] that the effective vindication exception applies in this case.' " [Harrison v. Envision Mgmt. Holding, Inc. Bd. of Directors, No. 22-1098 (10th Cir. Feb. 9, 2023)]  MORE >>

"Although the Schave case will proceed to discovery, this decision reinforces the Eighth Circuit's pleading standard in defined contribution fee class actions, which requires sound comparisons and meaningful benchmarks." [Schave v. CentraCare Health System, No. 22-1555 (D. Minn. Jan. 27, 2023).]  MORE >>

"Including deferred income annuities in DC plan accounts is welfare-enhancing for all. Providing access to variable deferred annuities with some equity exposure further enhances retiree wellbeing, compared to having access only to fixed annuities.... Even a 20% equity exposure in a deferred income annuity generates a roughly 12% welfare gain for the most educated, which is over 20% for high school graduates."  MORE >>

"Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) is a financial movement defined by frugality and extreme savings and investment.... A FIRE-inspired 401(k) plan has three key features ... [1] minimal administration fees, [2] investments that deliver (at least) market returns, and [3] professional investment advice. Here's how each feature can help 401(k) participants save more annually to retire sooner."  MORE >>

"This update provides figures for public pension contributions as a percentage of state and local government direct general spending for FY 2020, and projects a rate of spending on pensions on an aggregate basis for FY 2021."  MORE >>

"The report said an estimate of the impact of the bill by the staff of the $43.7 billion INPRS 'could result in reduced aggregated investment returns for the system's defined benefit and defined contribution funds managed by INPRS by a total of $6.7 billion over the next 10 years, with the DB plan down by $6.4 billion and $300 million for the defined contribution plan.' "  MORE >>

"The Commission itself seems to understand the unique challenges this proposal creates for retirement plan recordkeepers and asks whether they should receive a general exemption from the hard close requirements. The answer is yes; in ERIC's view, applying a hard close requirement to transactions involving retirement plans is inappropriate."  MORE >>

"SPARK cites four negative outcomes if this change is implemented: [1] It will turn 130 million American savers into second class investors and favors institutional Wall Street investors over Main Street investors. [2] It will make everyday retirement plan transactions -- such as purchases, loans, and required minimum distributions -- extremely difficult if not impossible to execute. [3] It will undermine the open investment architecture system developed over the last 30 years, potentially leaving retirement investors with fewer choices. [4] It will erode retirement savers' confidence in the system, since transparent, timely pricing will not be as widely available."  MORE >>

"The [DOL's] Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustment for 2023 final rule was published in the January 13, 2023 Federal Register. [This article includes] a table that reflects the 2023 and 2022 civil money penalty amounts."  MORE >>

"The increased amounts will apply to penalties assessed after January 15, 2023.... The increases for 2023 are significant, which is consistent with other inflation adjustments for 2023."  MORE >>

52 pages, Dec. 2022. "The Council concluded that the topic of cybersecurity insurance generally and as it relates to employee benefit plans is complex and nuanced. Accordingly, the Council recommends that the Department study this topic further. The Council also found that the issue of insurance coverage for losses relating to cyber incidents might not be well understood by benefit plan fiduciaries ... [and] recommends that the Department ... develop education for plan fiduciaries regarding cyber and other insurance to protect against losses resulting from cyber incidents."  MORE >>

"A 65-year-old man enrolled in a Medigap plan with average premiums will need to have saved $96,000 in order to have a 50 percent chance of having enough to cover premiums and median prescription drug expenditures, and a woman will need to have saved $116,000.... Couples enrolled in a Medigap plan with average premiums, meanwhile, will need to have saved $212,000 to have a 50 percent chance of covering their medical expenditures in retirement and $318,000 to have a 90 percent chance.... Although there is significant individual-level variation, enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans generally have lower savings targets."  MORE >>