Changes from the Fall 2022 PBGC Regulatory Agenda:

Added to Proposed Rules:
[1212-AB56] Technical Amendments; SECURE 2.0 Act and Other Updates

Moved from Proposed to Final Rules:
[1212-AB54] Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an Employer's Withdrawal Liability  MORE >>

"The third quarter 2023 interest assumptions will be 5.24 percent for the first 20 years following the valuation date and 4.58 percent thereafter. In comparison with the interest assumptions in effect for the second quarter of 2023, these interest assumptions represent no change in the select period (the period during which the select rate (the initial rate) applies), a decrease of 0.14 percent in the select rate, and a decrease of 0.51 percent in the ultimate rate (the final rate)."  MORE >>

"The complaint's fiduciary arguments ... owe their strength to reliance on ERISA principles and the ERISA fiduciary standard of care's prudent expert rule which New York adopted in the NYRSSA to safeguard the rights of plan participants.... However, its fatal flaws are a probable lack of standing and no context-specific pleading.... An investment that's good for the environment can also be good for the plan and its participants provided it's selected and monitored based on a thoughtful, deliberate and documented process." [Wong v. NYCERS, TRS and BERS No. 652297/2023 (NY Cty. Sup. Ct. complaint filed May 11, 2023)]  MORE >>

"One important distinction between the two types of fiduciaries is that they do different things -- one advises a plan decisionmaker, and the other is the plan decisionmaker.... [A]ppointing a 3(38) investment manager won’t be effective to relieve the appointing fiduciary of liability, unless the manager is actually given the power to manage the plan’s assets. "  MORE >>

"[T]he Protecting Americans' Retirement Savings Act [PARSA] would prohibit retirement accounts governed by ERISA -- including 401(k) plans, employer-provided pensions plans and profit sharing plans -- from investing in companies linked with what the bill calls 'foreign adversaries.' [A] press release identifies these countries as Iran, North Korea, Russia and China.... [T]he bill says that fiduciaries of ERISA plans cannot collect interest in, lend money to, engage in transactions with or transfer plan data to entities associated with such countries."  MORE >>

"New consumer price data indicates that inflation is at its lowest level since March 2021. That was the start of our recent 40-year storm of two back-to-back years of historically high consumer prices. The Senior Citizens League now estimates that the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) 2024 could be 2.7 percent."  MORE >>

"This article will: [1] Highlight the retirement implications of having a much older spouse, including claiming strategies for Social Security and Medicare eligibility. [2] Explain how life insurance can potentially be an effective way to mitigate longevity risk. [3] Discuss the required minimum distribution rules for IRAs when your spouse is more than 10 years younger than you."  MORE >>

"At first glance, delaying retirement appears attractive, but many jobs available to older workers feature low wages, few benefits, and difficult working conditions. These challenges fall more heavily on women than men."  MORE >>

Changes to benefits-related items from EBSA and from the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) from the Fall 2022 DOL Regulatory Agenda:

Added to Prerule Stage:

• [1210-AC18] Emergency Savings Accounts Linked to Individual Account Plans
• [1210-AC19] Plan Reporting for Retirement Savings Lost and Found
• [1210-AC20] Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge
• [1210-AC21] Exemption for Certain Automatic Portability Transactions
• [1210-AC22] Review of Pension Risk Transfer Interpretive Bulletin 95-1

Moved from Prerule Stage to Proposed Rules:
[1210-AC14] Requirements Related to Advanced Explanation of Benefits and Other Provisions Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

Update to Proposed Rule: 
[1210-AC02] "Definition of Fiduciary" title changed to "Conflict of Interest in Investment Advice"

Moved from Proposed Rule to Final Rule: 
[1235-AA43] Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act  MORE >>

Changes from the Fall 2022 IRS Regulatory Agenda:

Added to Proposed Rules:

• [1545-BQ57] Plan-Specific Mortality Tables and Corporate Bond Yield Curve for Determining Present Value
• [1545-BQ66] SECURE 2.0 Updates to Required Minimum Distribution Rules
• [1545-BQ67] Modifications to Rules Regarding Plan-Specific Substitute Mortality Tables
• [1545-BQ70] Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Rules for Cash or Deferred Arrangements Under Section 401(k)

Moved from Proposed to Final Rule stage: 
[1545-BQ35] Requirements in Connection With Coverage of Certain Preventive Services  MORE >>

"While AI holds the potential to revolutionize how plan sponsors and service providers manage and deliver, the imperfect nature of AI and the dynamic legal landscape regulating its usage requires measured consideration.... ERISA fiduciaries must certainly be mindful that the use of AI does not excuse them from their fiduciary duties. When AI 'enters the chat,' it will be important to assess whether a reasonable person in similar circumstances would decide to implement AI for a given task."  MORE >>

"Benefits administration platforms are commonly discussed as a matter of 'paper' vs. 'digital,' but this terminology actually glosses over significant gulfs between different digital product types.... 1 in 5 American employers is currently making use of API in benefits administration, which is up from 1 in 20 employers in 2019.... [T]he simplest way to explain the value proposition of API-based services is that they offer 'real-time communication' between carriers, administration platforms, and enrollees -- but what exactly does that mean?"  MORE >>

"Thanks to regulation passed in 2021, experts believe the health care industry may be started down a path of fiduciary regulation and fee transparency similar to the retirement sector. But as aggregation across insurance, retirement and health benefits has brought workplace benefits practices closer together, retirement plan advisers may have a role to play[.]"  MORE >>