"[The DOL final rule regarding investment duties of fiduciaries under ERISA] includes a special requirement relating to proxy voting by investment managers of pooled investment vehicles that are deemed to hold 'plan assets' for purposes of ERISA, which is scheduled to become effective December 1, 2023. As this deadline approaches, investment managers of Plan Asset Investment Vehicles should consider what action may be required to comply with this aspect of the Final Rule."  MORE >>

"SECURE 2.0 directs the DOL to create a nationwide retirement plan database (called the Retirement Savings Lost and Found) with the hopes of helping former employees or their beneficiaries locate plan benefits.... Q&As [in this article] describe the key requirements for this new database.... SECURE 2.0 significantly expands EPCRS ... to, among other things, expand the availability of self-correction of retirement plan errors and provided for expanded options for correcting plan loan issues."  MORE >>

"The nature of non-traditional investments is such that many present a high risk of violating the prohibited transaction rules. The safest non-traditional investments will be those where the IRA owner is a purely passive investor in a third-party controlled entity, with no personal involvement (for example, as a director or officer), no separate, personal direct investment that is significant from the point of view of the fund, and no other business dealings. For entrepreneurial clients, this obviously narrows the range of 'safe' non-traditional investments."  MORE >>

"Plan sponsors and fiduciaries are required to oversee retirement plans in the best interests of plan participants. These responsibilities include efficient, cost-effective plan management and ultimately, ensuring participants have access to their retirement benefits. Maintaining contact with plan participants is at the heart of many of these requirements. The DOL continues to emphasize its expectations for plan sponsors to maintain contact with plan participants and take meaningful action to reconnect with those who become unresponsive."  MORE >>

"On October 1, a network of the country's largest recordkeepers will begin offering plan sponsors the ability to automatically move small, unclaimed participant accounts to active 401(k) plans, so long as they are within the group of providers."  MORE >>

"Like other plaintiffs' firms, Lieff Cabraser alleges in the notices that plans have unreasonably high record-keeping fees ... What's different is that the initial notice amounts to a request to settle potential claims -- something that none of the copycat firms that have piled into the lucrative business of ERISA litigation have apparently tried."  MORE >>

"Historically, retirement plan investment menus, design features, and education efforts were generic by necessity. Personalization was simply not scalable. But in the last decade, technological advancements have improved the industry's ability to customize the employee and participant experience. [This article describes] how plan sponsors are personalizing investment options, financial wellness services, and more."  MORE >>

"The authors of this study propose a target-date version of registered index-linked annuities and suggest that these 'TD-RILAs,' compared to target-date funds, provide a more cost-effective and transparent way to attain diversified equity exposure that decreases over time."  MORE >>

"The landscape of pension plans for labor unions and their members is evolving, with many multiemployer pension plans contemplating a shift from traditional defined benefit pension plans to variable annuity pension plans (VAPPs). This transition carries both potential benefits and challenges, and it is imperative for trustees representing labor unions and their members to be well-informed and proactive in their decision-making process."  MORE >>

"In addition to demanding full restoration of the DB pension plan for workers hired post-2007, the union is asking for a significant increase to current retiree pensions, as well as retiree health care coverage ... The automakers have said that agreeing to the pension restoration would likely bankrupt the companies[.]"  MORE >>

"CEO pay is linked strongly to the stock market -- and market declines in 2022 led to an uncharacteristic dip in CEO pay. Cumulatively, however, from 1978-2022, top CEO compensation shot up 1,209.2% compared with a 15.3% increase in a typical worker's compensation. In 2022, CEOs were paid 344 times as much as a typical worker in contrast to 1965 when they were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker."  MORE >>