"The final rule explains that when a single-employer plan terminates, either under a distress situation or in an involuntary termination, the PBGC normally becomes the trustee for that plan and is responsible for administering its benefits. Once under the PBGC's trusteeship, lump sum payments are not permitted unless the amount payable to a beneficiary is ... $5,000 or less.... The PBGC clarifies that this general prohibition on lump sum payments applies even when the participant requested a lump sum prior to plan termination, but it has not yet been paid out."  MORE >>

"[C]urrently, payroll providers and recordkeepers need only track one age and one limit for catch-up contributions. But employers that add super-catch-up contributions will need to track three separate age categories—age 50 through age 59 (regular catch-up), age 60 through 63 (super-catch-up), and age 64 and older (back to regular catch-up)—and two separate limits."  MORE >>

"Much of the reason why the plaintiffs survived a motion for summary judgment was because of testimony from two expert witnesses who claimed that Verizon should have removed the hedge fund, which was used within the plan's target-date series, after three years of underperformance." [Jacobs v. Verizon Communications Inc., No. 16-1082 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 20, 2023; proposed settlement order Jul. 7, 2023)]  MORE >>

"[1] Check your deferrals.... [2] Check your tax withholdings.... [3] Check on your investments.... [4] Check on tax strategies.... [5] Check your risk management plan.... [6] Check your non-retirement accounts."  MORE >>

"More than half of all respondents (58%), aged 25 - 80 who are of working age or retired, say they have delayed retirement significantly or moderately due to these dual financial goals. Additionally, two-fifths (41%) of retirement/college savers have used retirement funds to pay for the college education of a relative, with the risk of a tax penalty for early withdrawals."  MORE >>

"[Agilis believes] the standard in its current form has many strengths that have helped to secure defined benefit plan participants' benefits at levels beyond those guaranteed by the [PBGC]. That said, as the PRT market has evolved since the inception of DOL 95-1.... there are areas the DOL should consider to strengthen the guidance to plan sponsors in their evaluation of potential insurers."  MORE >>

"[A] lot of plans get around having to return excess deferrals to HCEs after a failed ADP test by recharacterizing deferrals for some HCEs as catch-up. Would this no longer be possible if the deferrals were all regular 401(k) as catch-ups would need to have been Roth?"  MORE >>

"According to the IRS, one of the most frequent errors on Forms 5500 is leaving fields blank that should be completed.... [O]ther common mistakes include using an incorrect employer identification number (EIN) for the plan sponsor or an incorrect plan number.... Further, it is not uncommon for a Form 5500 to indicate that the plan sponsor is also the plan administrator. While in many cases this is accurate, some plans name a committee or even an individual as the plan's administrator, and the Form 5500 should be completed accordingly."  MORE >>