"Plan sponsors should consider adopting an amendment to remove a 1,000-hour requirement and/or a part-time employee exclusion so that it is clear how the plan is in compliance. An amendment signed in 2023 to be effective for 2024 would be best and may be required for safe-harbor plans."  MORE >>

"Although sparse on details, [IR-2023-144] indicates that the IRS is concerned that certain ESOP transactions are 'aggressive tax schemes' that benefit high-income taxpayers."  MORE >>

"The problem being complained of is that that the proxy votes (e.g., on a shareholder-raised ESG issue) depress the returns of the portfolio company. The comparator for that is not another fund, it's a counter-factual -- how the company would have performed if the ESG initiative had not passed. That performance-in-an-alternative-universe is not a 'fact.' In the end, it is just speculation." [Spence v. American Airlines, No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. defendant's motion to dismiss filed Aug. 4, 2023)]  MORE >>

"Although there is a split in the courts as to whether jury trials are permitted in ERISA excessive fee actions, the verdict in Yale ... demonstrates plan sponsors do not always have to settle (which is often the goal of plaintiff-side firms bringing such cases) and that jury members can be sympathetic to large employers who run well-managed retirement plans. If employers are encouraged to proceed to trial rather than settle, this could have a dampening effect on the flood of excessive fee litigation." [[Vellali v. Yale Univ., No. 16-1345 (D. Conn. Jun. 28, 2023)] ]  MORE >>

"The Maine Retirement Investment Trust will join the already existing Colorado Secure Savings Program's automatic workplace retirement savings program for the first such partnership in the country ... Small plan provider Vestwell is the administrator, in partnership with BNY Mellon, for the savings program that will now serve both states."  MORE >>

"Amid periods of high volatility, in 2022 stock markets lost most of the gains registered in the previous year. Developments in the bond markets translated into discount rate increases in most countries, which had a positive impact on plan sponsors that overall experienced a decrease in their liabilities. Altogether, the increase in discount rates prevailed over fixed income and equity losses, resulting in improvements of funding levels across most countries."  MORE >>

"[PBGC] has approved the application submitted ... by the Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan. The plan, based in Monroe, Ohio, covers 5,399 participants in the construction industry.... PBGC's approval of the SFA application enables the plan to restore benefits suspended under the terms of MPRA ... The plan will receive $182.6 million in SFA[.]"  MORE >>

"The IRS targeted abusive ESOPs once before. In 1997, when legislation first allowed ESOPs to own S corporations, some advisors started promoting plans that provided no benefits to employees but allowed large tax savings to wealthy individuals, business owners, and executives. That was an appropriate effort backed by the ESOP community. The current effort is part of the IRS's focus on tax avoidance by wealthy individuals, and may be intended to target a limited scope of abusive proposals. Unfortunately, the IRS may inadvertently be damaging one of the most successful programs of the last 50 years to build middle- and working-class wealth."  MORE >>

"Victims of severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes in parts of Mississippi that occurred from June 14, 2023 to June 19, 2023, now have until Oct. 16, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... individuals and households affected ... that reside or have a business in Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith and Wayne Counties and the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Reservation qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"Rather than persisting with outdated processes, there's new opportunity for HR teams to reduce administrative burden, empower employees to make informed benefits decisions, and generate valuable insights into cost improvements to support larger organizational goals. This guide will dive into common challenges of managing employee benefits administration and how to overcome these obstacles with employee engagement strategies and tools for looking ahead."  MORE >>

"[1] Don't risk money you can't afford to lose.... [2] Remember you may owe taxes.... [3] Methods to help you avoid a liquidity crunch.... [4] Consider exercising right before the company's ipo.... [5] Planning depends on your own personal circumstances."  MORE >>

"[O]ver half of respondents (55%) either made changes to their nonqualified defined benefit (DB) retirement plans in the past two years or plan to make changes in the next two years. Even more (75%) changed their nonqualified defined contribution (DC) retirement plans in the past two years or plan to do so in the next two years. The majority of employers are focused on improving participant experience with their DC plans (72%) and DB plans (56%). DC plan sponsors cited communication (52%), education (47%) and financial counseling (28%) as their key focus over the next two years."  MORE >>

"[1] Board must approve compliant policy (whether new or amended), and may need to approve revisions to other executive agreements before December 1, 2023. [2] Analyze existing compensation arrangements and policies and amend as needed. [3] Develop an enforcement process and disclosure controls procedures."  MORE >>

"Listed companies should begin the process of adopting their clawback policies, determining the executive officers to be subject to those clawback policies, reviewing their existing and proposed incentive-based compensation awards to determine the awards that will be subject to recovery under the clawback policy, and implementing compliance procedures to be in compliance by the effective date of October 2, 2023."  MORE >>