21 pages. "This document sets forth proposed regulations specifying the methodology for constructing the corporate bond yield curve that is used to derive the interest rates used in calculating present value and making other calculations under a defined benefit plan, as well as for discounting unpaid losses and estimated salvage recoverable of insurance companies. These regulations affect participants in, beneficiaries of, employers maintaining, and administrators of certain retirement plans, as well as insurance companies."  MORE >>

"[This post focuses] specifically on SECURE 2.0 changes to small employer plans, including SIMPLE IRA Plans and SEPs.... The chart [in this article] is intended to be used as a reference for describing many of the Small Plan changes relative to current law, the type of plans affected, whether the change is mandatory or optional, and the effective date of the change."  MORE >>

"[E]mployers have begun to explore alternatives that might simplify implementation (or avoid the need to do it altogether). This has produced several questions about what employers can and cannot do, including, can an employer choose to offer catch-up contributions only to lower-paid employees, i.e., those making $145,000 or less? The simple answer, at least for now, appears to be no"  MORE >>

"Can the employer just amend the plan to prohibit employees who earned more than $145,000 in the prior year from making any catch-up contributions? ... Can the employer amend the plan to require all participants, regardless of the amount of compensation earned in the prior year, to make catch-up contributions on a Roth (after-tax) basis? ... How is compensation for the prior year determined? ... How will mid-year hires be handled? ... What if the prior year's employment is less than a full year? Is there an annualization concept?"  MORE >>

"Notice 2023-43 does not address the separate sections of the SECURE Act 2.0 that specifically relate to the recovery of plan overpayments or the correction of automatic contribution errors in 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans -- it only addresses the expansion of the EPCRS self-correction by SECURE Act 2.0 Section 305."  MORE >>

"In a May 23, 2023 letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS, the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees announced they will introduce technical corrections to SECURE 2.0 to ensure its provisions are carried out as Congress intended.... [The letter] clarified legislative intent relating to the following four provisions in SECURE 2.0: [1] Catch-up contributions ... [2] Age for minimum required [distributions] ... [3] SEP and SIMPLE IRA Roth contributions ... [4] Small employer tax credits."  MORE >>

"To stand out from the crowd as an employer of choice, more private sector companies are considering reviving a blast from the past -- defined benefit (DB) plans.... According to [one] study ... workers with a defined benefit plan are more likely to stay with an employer for at least 10 years. Companies looking for affordable and equitable ways to offer guaranteed lifetime income are increasingly turning to cash balance plans."  MORE >>

41 pages. "The purpose of this practice note is to provide information to actuaries on current and emerging practices in the selection and documentation of certain actuarial assumptions for measuring obligations of defined benefit pension plans."  MORE >>

"During May, the Milliman 100 PPFI funded ratio declined slightly from 74.8% at the start of the month to 73.7% as of May 31, the result of a $16 billion drop in the plans' funded status. The PPFI plans experienced investment returns of an estimated -1% in aggregate for the month. Individual plans' estimated monthly returns ranged from -1.8% to -0.3%."  MORE >>

"CalPERS experienced a third-party cybersecurity breach affecting the personal information of 769,000 retirees ... The breach involved PBI Research Services/Berwyn Group, an organization that assists the $456.6 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, with confirming members' deaths to ensure proper payment and guard against overpayment[.]"  MORE >>