"Under the new regulations, the plan document may specify any or all the permissible uses of plan forfeitures. From a compliance perspective, however, the plan should include more than one permissible use to avoid an operational failure should the forfeitures in a given year exceed the amount that may be used for that one purpose."  MORE >>

"Courts have started more aggressively requiring plaintiffs to identify similar plans that paid less for the same services -- an apples-to-apples comparison -- to get past a motion to dismiss. Lucero illustrates how plaintiffs might meet or avoid that pleading requirement." [Lucero v. Credit Union Retirement Plan Assoc., No. 22-208 (W.D. Wis. Mar. 9, 2023)]  MORE >>

9 pages. Topics include: [1 Schedule SB and Schedule MB filings; [2] Audit program; [3] Relief from in-person notarization requirements; [3] Plan funding in advance of plan document signature; [4] Forms W4-P and W4-R; [5] Substitute mortality tables (SMT): Impact of COVID-19; [6] Plan termination filings; [7] Funding method change filings; [8] Benefit increases for plans receiving Special Financial Assistance; [9] Cybersecurity issues; [10] 30-year Treasury issues.  MORE >>

4 pages. Topics include: [1] Special Financial Assistance (SFA) for multiemployer pension plans:Priority Group 5, Lock-in application, Post-MPRA contribution rate increases and withdrawal liability, and Use of SFA assets following a plan merger; [2] Schedule SB benefit payments; [3] ERISA 4010.  MORE >>

"The department is drafting new regulations that are expected to broaden the definition of an investment advice fiduciary ... into banking and insurance products.... Backed by consumer activists, [EBSA] says it wants to protect hard-earned nest eggs against investment industry bad actors charging higher fees, while banks and insurers argue that stricter standards are crippling and threaten to strip retirees' access to lifetime income options. Now, though, members of the regulated community say they believe the tide is turning in their favor."  MORE >>

"[The] General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2024 Revenue Proposals included a description of 'modifications to rules relating to retirement plans' consistent with, for the most part, proposals that were, at one point, part of the Administration's 2021 'Build Back Better' proposal.... [The authors] very briefly review two of the Administration's proposals: a $10-$20 million cap on account-based accumulations, and the elimination of certain 'Roth conversions,' for certain high-income taxpayers"  MORE >>

"An [EBRI] research panel focused on employee tenure argued that non-immediate vesting schedules for employer matches are an overrated retention tool. An immediate vest is a smarter recruitment tool, and vesting thresholds can often be outweighed by accepting a higher paying job elsewhere, according to the panelists."  MORE >>

40 pages. "PBGC approved SFA applications that may have included deceased participants in the terminated vested populations, resulting in an overpayment of SFA funds. PBGC did not consider available information, such as results of a death audit performed by the Multiemployer Program Division, in its review of applications.... [OIG estimates] approximately $6 million in possible improper payments for four of the five plans reviewed." [Report No. EVAL-2023-05]  MORE >>

"Overall, the average account balance increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 19.4 percent from 2016 to 2020, rising from $78,008 to $158,361 at year-end 2020.... Younger 401(k) participants or those with smaller year-end 2016 balances experienced higher percent growth in account balances compared with older participants or those with larger year-end 2016 balances.... On average at year-end 2020, more than two-thirds of consistent 401(k) participants' assets were invested in equities[.]"  MORE >>

"In mid-2022, more than four in 10 US households owned IRAs ... [M]ore than seven in 10 US households had retirement plans through work or IRAs; being later in the life-cycle of saving, more than eight in 10 near-retiree households did ... In mid-2022, 60 percent of traditional IRA-owning households indicated that their IRAs contained rollovers from employer-sponsored retirement plans."  MORE >>

"There is nothing magical about $1 million, but the less one saves, the bigger the risk that unforeseen shocks or the setbacks of life can derail your plans.... [The authors] spoke in depth with five retirees with savings ranging from roughly $240,000 to $800,000. They describe what keeps them up at night -- health, hurricanes and heating bills -- and what has brought the greatest joys to these years."  MORE >>

"Providing comprehensive benefits for every life stage shows that companies value their employees and are committed to supporting their well-being throughout their careers ... In addition to benefits that support employees who are single or divorced, companies can offer eldercare support, retirement planning, and financial wellness programs."  MORE >>

"This article focuses on how companies may be surprised by all the elements of their executive compensation program that are potentially subject to clawback as incentive compensation.... [A] detailed inventory of precisely what plan documents and other written communications say about pay decisions ... will provide a road map of necessary changes and additional discipline that will need to be adopted by compensation committees, advisors and corporate secretaries to create a smoother process when clawbacks must be exercised."  MORE >>