"[In July, the IRS updated] an 'Issue Snapshot' that summarizes the rules employers must follow to deduct post-tax year contributions to a new 401(k) plan. This updated Issue Snapshot chiefly discusses and provides examples of changes made by the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act. "  MORE >>

"The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to examine whether class certification is automatically barred when the proposed class definition is 'fail safe' -- or when membership hinges on a case's outcome on the merits.... [T]he U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ... said there is no implied, free-standing rule against such classes inherent in Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.... Hilton Hotels Retirement Plan has asked the high court to review the decision, which ... deepened a circuit split over the issue." [In re White, No. 22-8001 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 4, 2023; cert. pet. filed Aug. 17, 2023)]  MORE >>

"As to the excessive-recordkeeping-fees claim, plaintiffs did 'not allege facts plausibly showing that the Plan's recordkeeping fees are unreasonably high.' As to the excessive-management-fees claim, that claim 'fail[ed] largely because as this theory is pleaded, a collective investment trust is not a plausible benchmark for a mutual fund.' As to the under-performance claim, that claim failed 'because the benchmarks alleged to support this theory are implausible.' " [Fritton v. Taylor Corp., No. 22-cv-00415 (ECT/TNL), 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145940 (D. Minn. Aug. 21, 2023).]  MORE >>

"[A] Pennsylvania district court found that the committee's conduct was objectively prudent in its monitoring and selection of investment funds and record-keeping fees.... This bench trial victory for Braun clearly demonstrates that prudent plan governance is the best line of defense when confronted with plaintiff litigation." [Nunez v. B. Braun Medical Inc., No. 20-4195 (E.D. Penn. Aug. 18, 2023)]  MORE >>

"It appears that several plan sponsors that filed completed Form 8955-SSAs through the EFAST2 filing system before the July 31, 2023 filing date (i.e., filed before the due date without extension) are receiving an IRS notice saying the 2022 8955-SSAs were not filed in a timely manner or were incomplete.... If the IRS concludes [a] systemic issue occurred here, ... ARA expect[s] that the agency will issue additional guidance on how to proceed."  MORE >>

"A new study ... analyzed the health and economic well-being of five cohorts of Americans in their mid-fifties between 1994 and 2018.... The combined value of current stock ... and the present value of the expected flow of resources ... after age sixty grew 13 percent for upper-middle Americans between cohorts, whereas in 2018 lower-middle individuals were left hardly better off, at 3 percent growth, than their peers two decades earlier. These findings are significant because many in this so-called 'forgotten middle' group have too many resources to qualify for government supports such as Medicaid, but may struggle to afford health care and housing."  MORE >>

"The potential benefits of the new Legacy IRA rules are threefold. First, they allow donors to enhance their charitable giving legacy and ensure their future charitable intentions are fulfilled. Second, they reduce the donor's tax bill in the year the CGA is created by excluding the amount contributed to the CGA from taxable income. And third, they create a stable lifetime income stream that can be paid to the donor and/or their spouse."  MORE >>

37 pages. Employee Benefits items begin on page 4.  MORE >>

"[SEC] Rule 10D-1 allows for only three narrow exceptions to the mandatory recovery requirement where recovery is considered impractical: [1] the direct cost of recovery would exceed the amount of recovery, [2] the recovery would violate home country law and additional conditions are met, and [3] potential disqualification of tax-qualified retirement plans. This Legal Update discusses the application of the first two exceptions for countries that are incorporated or have executives working in foreign jurisdictions where the enforcement of the policy will require application of local law in such foreign country."  MORE >>

Infographic. "55% of sponsors have changed or plan to make changes to their NQDB plan.... 75% of sponsors have changed or plan to make changes to their NQDC plan.... 60% of NQDC and 47% of NQDB plan sponsors informally fund their plans."  MORE >>