"This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates ... and the 24-month average segment rates ... [as well as] the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities ... as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008 and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate[.]"  MORE >>

"The SECURE Act 1.0 gave us Pooled Employer Plans, PEPs, for qualified plans. SECURE Act 2.0 -- effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2022 -- extends PEPs and MEPs to 403(b) plans. While the legal effective date is already here, [the author hasn't] yet seen any 403(b) MEPs or PEPs in the marketplace. So, the 'practical effective date' may be the 2024 plan year."  MORE >>

"If a PEP uses a passive TDF as its QDIA, the plan's overall investment fees are likely to be lower compared to a plan that uses an active TDF or a managed account as its QDIA.... [It] is crucial to consider various factors such as the demographics of the plan participants, as well as a thorough evaluation of the investment process, returns, and associated fees."  MORE >>

"95% of plan sponsors agree employees need help turning their balances into reliable income, and 94% say they should offer income features.... [T]wo-thirds of plan sponsors say they would rather have a guaranteed income option in an existing investment, such as their TDF ... Three-quarters of participants feel it's at least very important to protect all their savings in the event of a market crash.... Three-quarters of participants want 100% control and flexibility with their accounts after retirement."  MORE >>

"Switching plan providers consists of four principal steps: [1] Transferring assets ... [2] Preparing new documents ... [3] Selecting investments ... [4] Enrollment ... [The employer's] main task will typically consist of gathering required information, both for [the] old provider and [the] new provider, in order to facilitate the changeover."  MORE >>

"Is the transaction structured as a sale of assets or a sale of the owner's stock or membership interests? ... Does the 401(k) plan include matching or profit-sharing accounts that are not fully vested? ... Does the 401(k) plan allow for participant loans? ... Are there any uncashed distribution checks or missing participants? ... Does the 401(k) plan include investments such as a stable value fund or guaranteed investment contract that impose a fee on the plan's complete withdrawal from the fund? ... What steps are involved in winding down the 401(k) plan?"  MORE >>

"As Americans with insufficient retirement savings leave the workforce over the next 20 years, they will severely strain state and federal budgets to the tune of $1.3 trillion, according to a study ... by the Pew Charitable Trusts.... The study projects that the share of financially vulnerable elderly households -- those with less than $75,000 in annual income -- will jump 43% to 32.6 million in 2040 from 22.8 million in 2020."  MORE >>

"[PBGC] has approved the supplemented application submitted to [SFA] Program by the Local 966 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Plan. The plan, based in Cresskill, New Jersey, covers 2,356 participants in the transportation industry.... The Local 966 Plan will receive approximately $8.6 million in supplemented SFA, which is in addition to $54.1 million in SFA approved for the plan in December 2022[.]"  MORE >>

"The organizations urged Treasury and IRS to recognize the state and local statutory and regulatory governance structures in place for public retirement plans when promulgating regulations surrounding the new law. Notably, governmental plans may need additional time to amend state and local statutes to come into operational compliance with some of the recently-enacted provisions."  MORE >>

"When plan participants and/or governmental agencies, such as the DOL or IRS, cannot easily locate the plan sponsor it can be a recipe for disaster.... Often, third party service providers will prepare the initial drafts of summary plan descriptions and Plan Filings. It is imperative that, in reviewing these drafts, plan sponsors focus on the addresses included -- not only to confirm that they are correct, but to ensure that they are as specific as they should be."  MORE >>