"[Notice 2023-54] provides ... [1] Relief for the change in the required beginning date (RBD) for RMDs under SECURE 2.0; [2] Guidance for certain RMDs for 2023; and [3] Extension of the applicability date of the final RMD regulations."  MORE >>

"[This article analyzes ESG investing and proxy voting] issues in the specific context of a participant lawsuit against a sponsor/sponsor fiduciary ... [It begins] with a discussion of the two ERISA fiduciary duties typically implicated in ERISA fiduciary litigation, the duty of prudence and the duty of loyalty [and concludes] with a discussion of the fiduciary duty to diversify which is both a separate fiduciary duty and an element of the duty of prudence."  MORE >>

"During the notice-and-comment period, DOL likely will receive hundreds, maybe thousands, of comment letters about the fiduciary proposal. Collecting and reviewing them likely will take months.... [In] an election year like next year. Congress will be in session even less than normal ... If a final rule is promulgated within 60 legislative days of the end of a congressional session, the next Congress can reach back and act against it within a fresh 60-day time frame after the new Congress is seated."  MORE >>

"On August 9, the IRS issued a news release, IR-2023-144, warning taxpayers and advisors of 'numerous compliance issues' with ESOPs ... [T]he IRS issued the release to alert interested parties and the employee ownership community that they've identified what they've termed a 'questionable transaction' sold by a small number of promoters.... The release is only about those promoters who twist the law to a point where the transactions toe the line of abusiveness, which happens with nearly every other part of the tax code."  MORE >>

"Based on an extensive review of academic literature and a thorough empirical analysis [the author] recommend[s] that plan investment menus include passive index funds covering all key investment categories, a full suite of index-based target date funds as the auto-enroll default investment option, and a self-directed brokerage option. [The author] also recommend[s] that plan sponsors charge per-participant direct fees and avoid revenue-sharing arrangements with mutual funds, that they select funds that are not affiliated with the plan's recordkeeper, and when possible, that they use a third party to provide participant education."  MORE >>

"Results from difference-in-difference models ... indicate a 12 percent increase in Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ownership among Oregon workers after the program's roll-out. Notably, the study discerns significant gains for lower-income, single, and older workers, as well as workers of small-size firms who previously lacked retirement savings plan coverage. Findings also suggest additional savings resulting from the mandate."  MORE >>

"Many ROBS plan documents do not require specified annual contributions; such plans often permit only discretionary profit sharing contributions and the qualified employee rollovers. For a year or two, this may satisfy the retirement plan rules. However, as soon as possible after the plan is established, your ROBS plan must begin to receive regular, ongoing contributions."  MORE >>

"The Valuation Date Creep is a problem that Social Security actuaries and the Social Security Trustees have known about since 1983 (if not before).... [It] has generated consistent actuarial losses for the past forty years and is the primary cause of the System's deteriorated funded status ... The Valuation Date Creep should be fixed (fine-tuned) so that actuarial losses from this source are not expected each year[.]"  MORE >>