"Generally effective in 2024, Roth accounts in qualified plans will no longer be subject to RMDs. This aligns the tax treatment of Roth accounts in qualified plans with the tax treatment of Roth IRAs.... Effective with tax year 2023, excise taxes levied on participants for failure to take timely RMDs have been reduced from 50% to 25%, and further reduced to 10% if the failure is corrected quickly after discovery of the problem."  MORE >>

"As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy organization, is scouring [DOL] Form 5500 filings to identify and rate employer-based retirement plans it says perform poorly with its proprietary 'sustainability scorecard.' In a letter to one company that received a low environmental and social retirement plan score, As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar seemed to suggest there may be a breach of fiduciary duty in failing to address the issue."  MORE >>

"Fiduciary liability insurers want to capitalize on what they're hoping will be a wave of new small employers venturing into the private-sector retirement market and needing new coverage under the SECURE 2.0 Act ... Product modifications underwriters are making now spell out the risks and pitfalls small employers may fall victim to as they implement plan design options under the new law."  MORE >>

"[This article] will identify operational problems with incentive compensation clawbacks, review the impact on salary deferrals that have been deducted from that compensation and deposited to the plan (including associated employer matching contributions), and provide solutions to prevent operational headaches before they happen."  MORE >>

"[The annual Data Book] reports that in FY 2022 [IRS] issued a total of 1,235 determination letters concerning retirement plans.... 221 concerned traditional DB plans ... 491 concerned 401(k)s, 285 concerned employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and 95 concerned profit-sharing plans.  MORE >>

"While there was a significant amount of market activity during March, including another interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve and troubles in the banking sector, the overall impact was muted for the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans. Their estimated funded status increased modestly, from 73.6% as of February 28, 2023, to 74.5% as of March 31, 2023[.]"  MORE >>

"Average annuity purchase rates dipped this month with the average duration 7 annuity purchase rate at 4.53% and average duration 15 annuity purchase rate at 4.50%. Contrary to the historical lull in market activity ... the Pension Risk Transfer Market was very active in the first quarter of 2023."  MORE >>

"While full funding is tidy in the sense that, if the pension were to shut down, assets would be available to pay full benefits, it involves a significant opportunity cost in terms of forgoing public investment in infrastructure and education."  MORE >>

"The significance of ERISA's fiduciary standard of care is the addition of the phrase 'familiar with such matters' to the English common law definition. This has resulted in the development of a judicial ERISA 'prudent expert rule' that has helped safeguard the rights of plan participants (and their beneficiaries)."  MORE >>

"Matney provides a perfect opportunity for SCOTUS to further create a uniform, consistent set of standards for 401(k)/403(b) litigation. The recognition of the 'apples and oranges' argument is a consistent and inexplicable refusal of some federal courts to ignore SCOTUS and ignore the Restatement's common sense fiduciary standards." [Matney v. Barrick Gold of N. Am., Inc., No. 20-275 (D. Utah Apr. 21, 2022; recon. denied Jun. 21, 2022; on appeal to 10th Cir. No. 22-4045)]  MORE >>

"Victims of severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in Indiana from March 31 to April 1, 2023, now have until July 31, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... [I]ndividuals and households ... that reside or have a business in Allen, Benton, Clinton, Grant, Howard, Johnson, Lake, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Sullivan, and White counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>