"Like the prior administration's rule that it replaced, the Prudence and Loyalty Rule makes barely any mention of environmental, social, or governance (ESG) factors ... [T]his rule -- which makes only modest changes from the prior administration's rule -- has been challenged in court by a group of 25 states. This article examines why that ESG moniker persists, why the rule is being opposed, and what impact the rule and subsequent challenges could have on retirement plan sponsors."  MORE >>

"The appeals court judges conceded March 23 that the Supreme Court had rejected a so-called 'categorical rule' in which 'providing some low-cost options eliminates concerns about other investment options being imprudent.' Plaintiffs complained about excessive record-keeping fees and the fiduciaries' failing to select lower-cost shares of mutual funds and annuities." [Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 18-2569 (7th Cir. Mar. 23, 2023)]   MORE >>

"The Seventh Circuit has laid out a 'newly formulated' standard for assessing claims that a retirement plan manager breached a duty to make prudent investment decisions, revising claims against Northwestern University and embracing a plan participant-friendly analysis that will likely help certain federal benefits lawsuits survive motions to dismiss."[Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 18-2569 (7th Cir. Mar. 23, 2023)]  MORE >>

"[1] Pooled Employer Plans ... [2] Changes to Form 5500 ... [3] Amended Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program ... [4] Prohibited transactions ... [5] Participant disclosures."  MORE >>

"The DOL seeks $5 million in FY 2024 to establish a program for ensuring that missing participants receive the benefits to which they are entitled.... The budget request says that [EBSA] also intends to increase its focus on industries with a high number of workers who are foreign-born. EBSA wants to determine if they, too, 'have disproportionate incidents of missing participants' and if they 'face any specific impediments to receiving benefits.' "  MORE >>

"Higher interest rates make public pension plans less expensive because they increase the investment returns plans can expect.... Plans are likely to take a cautious approach to any changes, as they did when interest rates dropped during the Great Recession."  MORE >>

"SECURE 2.0 allows certain assets in a 529 plan ... to be rolled over on a tax-free basis to a Roth IRA for the benefit of the beneficiary. This makes the risk an individual of being unable to access excess savings in a college savings plan without incurring the 10% withdrawal penalty (a deterrent to starting a 529 in the first place), less likely. This also makes 529 plan benefits potentially more attractive as a workplace benefit and tool for recruitment and retention."  MORE >>

"Now that auto enrollment has been codified and endorsed in SECURE 2.0, it's time to reflect on the Ideal Plan ushered into the 401(k) and 403(b) psyche by esteemed professors Richard Thaler and Shlomo Benartzi and the 2006 Pension Protection Act and how it has enabled defined contribution plans to match the accumulation phase of defined benefit plans. So why do most employers, especially smaller ones, still resist it?"  MORE >>

"Victims of the severe winter storm and snowstorm beginning Dec. 23, 2022, and ending Dec. 28, 2022, now have until May 15, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... [I]ndividuals and households affected by the severe winter storm and snowstorm that reside or have a business in Erie, Genesee, Niagara, St. Lawrence, and Suffolk counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>