"[P]lan administrators may rely on certification by a participant that they have met the requirements for a 401(k) or 403(b) plan hardship distribution without this extra documentation.... However, the withdrawal should be denied if the plan administrator has actual knowledge the information on the employee's certification is not accurate. These changes are optional and are effective for calendar year plans now."  MORE >>

"Effective for plan years beginning after 2023, certain types of plans containing elective deferral features may choose to treat student loan payments as elective deferrals and make matching contributions on those amounts. These optional provisions are available to 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, SIMPLE IRAs, and governmental 457(b) plans."  MORE >>

"[Plaintiffs alleged] that the plan sponsor wrongly calculated, and underpaid, accrued retirement benefits in the form of residual annuities for participants who took their benefits as a lump sum rather than as an annuity.... The Second Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Plaintiffs-Appellees interpretation of the Plan is the unambiguously correct reading of the Plan's text." [McCutcheon v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., No. 20-3225 (2d Cir. Mar. 13, 2023)]  MORE >>

"Thanks to the return of regulation that allows for plan payouts to align with employee tenure, companies may be interested in starting DB cash balance plans again[.]"  MORE >>

"Nearly 89% of advisors in a new survey said that plan sponsor clients are spending up to 50% of their time on retirement plan administrative work that could be outsourced.... Advisors agree that clients are becoming more interested in fiduciary outsourcing services, with up to 50% of clients planning to add these services in 2023."  MORE >>

"Average annuity purchase rates increased as of March 1st -- with the average duration 7 annuity purchase rate at 4.84% and average duration 15 annuity purchase rate at 4.77%. The Pension Risk Transfer Market started the year strong as plan sponsors continue to take steps toward plan termination. Annuity Purchase Interest Rates are over 200 basis points higher than 12 months ago."  MORE >>

"An Ohio public pension fund for teachers revealed it lost millions by holding more than $27 million in Silicon Valley Bank shares before the bank's collapse. The State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) of Ohio stated that the shares represented a minuscule portion of its overall holdings -- .03% of the total fund -- which held over $88.8 billion in assets as of June 2022."  MORE >>

"one way plan sponsors can improve employees' awareness of their benefits package is by providing information on a regular basis throughout the year -- not just when open enrollment comes around.... [U]sing a 'multi-channel approach' is an effective way for plan sponsors to communicate with participants.... [P]lan sponsors should look at web traffic and email click-through rates to see how much their participants are engaging with communications they send out."  MORE >>

"This article summarizes the valuation requirements under the 409A Treasury regulations as they relate to pricing private company employee stock options. The general valuation parameters provided in the 409A Regulations are summarized ... as well as three specific valuation methods that, if utilized, create a presumption of reasonableness. General guidance is also provided for companies at various stages concerning the appropriate course of action when establishing the fair market value of their common stock for purposes of pricing stock options."  MORE >>

"This post focuses on how companies should conduct a detailed inventory of what their plans and policies state will happen with compensation promised or paid after something bad happens.... Although some companies may determine that all they need to do is plug in their Dodd-Frank clawback policy and call it a day, there are several reasons to consider more comprehensive actions."  MORE >>