"While special rules applicable to the construction industry can limit the circumstances under which liability can be imposed, they do not eliminate it entirely. Recent case law on the interest rate assumption used to calculate such liability (once imposed) can dramatically affect the extent of an employer's liability."  MORE >>

"Unlike other industries where employees typically work for a single employer during a Plan Year, a B&C employee will most likely work for several employers during a Plan Year ... [T]ermination of work for projects will not put employees out of work for an extended period of time or cause contributions to cease. Accordingly, application of the B&C exemption will excuse employers from owing withdrawal liability, despite the withdrawal liability demanded by a pension fund. However, to successfully utilize the exception to a client's advantage, a MPPAA practitioner must know the nuances of the exception."  MORE >>

"The most recent Hughes ruling from the Seventh Circuit marks a significant change from the way in which that court has approached excessive fee claims but does not place a target on the backs of every employer in America. Instead, it offers them a roadmap on how they should choose investment options, monitor their plans, use their bargaining power to lower costs, and take steps to ensure that the plans are not incurring unnecessary fees." [Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 18-2569 (7th Cir. Mar. 23, 2023)]  MORE >>

"House Republicans recently introduced the Ensuring Sound Guidance Act (HR 4237), which would limit ERISA fiduciaries' ability to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in their investment decisions.... Earlier this year, Democratic Senators and Representatives introduced the Freedom to Invest in a Sustainable Future Act (S 523 and HR 1119) ... which would amend ERISA to permit ERISA fiduciaries to consider ESG or similar factors when carrying out an investment decision, strategy, or objective, or other fiduciary acts."  MORE >>

"The results show that AI is good at gathering information about the basics of retirement planning. It won't provide hard numbers, however, or even well-reasoned suggestions. It is politically correct and generic, and it can write up a good shopping list for further research."  MORE >>

"The leaders of CalPERS and CalSTRS, the nation's two largest public pension funds, provided more details about their actions after they were notified  ... [by] a vendor ... that a hacker had punched through a weakness in the software code of a data transfer platform it used to securely share information."  MORE >>

"[T]he Composition Roofers Local 42 Pension Plan ... based in Cincinnati, Ohio, covers 495 participants in the construction industry. On April 1, 2020, the [Plan] implemented a benefit suspension under the terms of [MPRA] ... [which] reduced benefits of about 400 plan participants.... The plan will receive $33.6 million in SFA, including interest to the expected date of payment to the plan."  MORE >>

"[T]he Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Local 7 Pension Plan ... based in Akron, Ohio, covers 397 participants in the construction industry.... [The] Plan will receive approximately $9.1 million in supplemented SFA, which is in addition to $34.1 million in SFA approved for the plan in October 2022 under the interim final rule."  MORE >>

An unofficial monthly report of the Moody's Daily Long-term Corporate Bond Yield Averages and Moody's Daily Treasury Yield Averages (used as benchmarks by some corporate pension plans).  MORE >>

"There is a consensus brewing that plan sponsors and their insurance carriers should be willing to take more cases to trial, in order to reduce the fever pitch of lawyer-driven, jackpot ERISA litigation against plan sponsors.... Issue #1: Plan changes are subsequent remedial measures that should not be allowed to serve as evidence of fiduciary imprudence.... Issue #2: Investment imprudence should be measured on a long-term basis, not a short, three-year time period.... Issue # 3: Causation is often harder for plaintiffs to prove than negligence."  MORE >>

"Obviously, any new rule requires new administrative work to implement. But we have been struck by the overwhelming input from the retirement community that this particular task simply cannot be done in time by a vast number of plans.... To ensure that this change in the law does not unintentionally result in the elimination of catch-up contributions, the undersigned are seeking a two-year delay of the Roth catch-up requirement described in Section 603 of SECURE 2.0, plus [1] any time necessary to give state and local governments the opportunity to consider and enact needed legislation and [2] any additional time to avoid requiring changes during the term of a collective bargaining agreement or other applicable binding agreements."  MORE >>

"[S]teps that issuers should consider: [1] Inform company leadership.... [2] Review existing policies.... [3] Review incentive plans, award agreements and employment arrangements.... [4] Review indemnification obligations and related insurance policies.... [5] Prepare for public disclosures."  MORE >>