"The public comment period for the proposed amendment to the class exemption published on July 27, 2022 ... will reopen on the date of publication of this notice [scheduled for Mar. 23, 2023] and close on April 6, 2023."  MORE >>

"New self-correction for eligible inadvertent failures ...Permanent safe harbor for automatic deferral failures...Clear guidance regarding decisions not to recoup overpayments."  MORE >>

"A narrow exception to the Form 5500 filing requirement is for a plan that only covers a company owner (or an owner and the owner's spouse) and that has less than a certain amount of plan assets.... While it may seem possible for a ROBS plan to meet both of these conditions, in fact, the ownership condition for the exception cannot be met by any ROBS plan ... Because the ROBS owner owns the company indirectly, through their plan account, they can never be the only owner of the company sponsoring the plan."  MORE >>

"The African Methodist Episcopal Church retirement plan and third-party administrators had federal ERISA charges from a class action retirement complaint dismissed by a Tennessee federal judge's ruling, but they still face state charges.... The lawsuit alleged claims under Tennessee law and 'in the alternative,' claims under [ERISA], against the denomination, church officials, the third-party service providers to the plan and others[.]" [In re: AME Church Employee Retirement Fund Litigation, No. 22-3035 (W.D. Tenn. Mar. 17, 2023)]  MORE >>

"[T]he court rejected Colgate’s alternative reading of the plan language as unreasonable.... The Second Circuit agreed with the district court that Colgate was required to use the PBGC rate as the discount rate to calculate the actuarial equivalent of the lump sum payment expressed as an annuity, not because that interest rate was required under the Internal Revenue Code, but because it was required under the plan itself." [McCutcheon v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., No. 20-3225 (2d Cir. Mar. 13, 2023)]   MORE >>

"Participants with 100% invested in a target date product were 15 times less likely to exchange than those with 0% invested in a target date product during Q4 2022. Participants who take multiple loans per year have a deferral rate that is lower by an average of 2.3 percentage points than those who do not take multiple loans. Participants who are near retirement and have not taken a hardship withdrawal have an average of three times more in savings than their counterparts who have taken a hardship withdrawal."  MORE >>

"The combination of strong returns from equities in 2021 and rising discount rates in 2022 pushed the aggregate funded ratio to 99% as of December 31, 2022, up from 97.4% as of December 2021, and 89.2% as of December 2020. The increase in funded ratio in 2022 was driven largely by higher discount rates as plan assets declined 25% while liabilities were down 27%."  MORE >>

17 pages."This chapter will provide an overview of the most common purposes for which the funding level of a single-employer PBGC-covered pension plan is determined, how assets and liabilities are determined for each of these purposes, what the key consequences are if a plan is underfunded for one or more of these purposes, what the key consequences are if the employer has failed to satisfy the minimum funding requirements for the plan, and what the key options are for dealing with unaffordable contributions." [Chapter 9 of Bloomberg Law Guide to Retirement Plan Designs]  MORE >>

"If approved as written, the cybersecurity rule would require broker/dealers, clearing agencies, national securities associations, national securities exchanges and transfer agents to maintain policies which identify and address their cybersecurity risks.... They must also inform the SEC of a significant cyber incident within 48 hours of becoming aware of it and make updates to that disclosure if the disclosed facts become materially inaccurate."  MORE >>

"Women live almost three years longer than men, so they need to plan for additional years of retirement savings.... 30 percent of working women are in part-time employment, compared to 19 percent of men -- so they may not be eligible to participate in a retirement plan offered through their employment.... Here are some steps to help you start saving for retirement."  MORE >>

"In late 2022, the [DOL] issued guidance that for the first time explicitly states that fiduciaries do not violate their duty of loyalty by considering participant preferences when making investment-related decisions. This Article ... evaluates the research on participant preferences for sustainable investments ... [and] provides a framework that fiduciaries can use to assess and consider those preferences while at the same time fulfilling their duties of loyalty and prudence."  MORE >>

"[This poll] predicts by the end of 2026: ... [1] Retirement plan coverage among employers with fewer than 100 employees will have equaled coverage among employers of 100 or more employees. [2] Flexible benefits and total rewards programs will have grown in popularity ... [3] Financial well-being benefits, such as mortgage or rent assistance, credit improvement, and student loan repayment programs, will be offered by more than 50% of employers.... [4] More than two-thirds of employers will offer high-deductible health plans (HDHP) and health savings accounts (HSA)."  MORE >>