"Starting with the 2024 plan year, retirement plan administrators must begin reporting certain information about terminated participants to the [DOL] for a new Retirement Savings Lost and Found database required by the SECURE 2.0 Act ... Reporting requirements include information already provided on the IRS Form 8955-SSA ... as well as new details on mandatory rollovers and deferred annuity contracts."  MORE >>

"The decision late last week by a Trump-appointed judge to allow a contentious ESG-themed 401(k) Biden administration rule to stand is a major blow to 'woke' investing critics, but it appears unlikely to quell fervent political opposition to do-good investing strategies." [Utah v. Walsh, No. 23-0016 (N.D. Tex. Sep. 21, 23)]  MORE >>

"[It] is important to clearly delineate and separate fiduciary committees (and their related actions and responsibilities) and non-fiduciary/ settlor committees (and their related actions and responsibilities) and to properly authorize and document these committees.... [C]ommittees, once established, should follow scheduled procedures and regularly be subject to review and revision to ensure continued compliance with both established procedures and newly implemented procedures."  MORE >>

42 pages. "65% of working respondents are confident in their ability to meet their overall retirement savings goal ... 52% have increased their retirement savings.... Two-thirds of working respondents expect competing priorities to delay their retirement. Nearly half believe their retirement will be delayed by a year or more, with 21% expecting to delay retirement four or more years.... [Among] retired respondents, 50% retired earlier than expected, and close to half (47%) retired for reasons outside of their control. Additionally, of those who retired early, more than half (54%) retired more than four years earlier than expected."  MORE >>

"72% worry that higher taxes in the future will impact their retirement income from tax-deferred accounts such as a 401(k) or IRA. 53% worry that another big market crash is on the horizon. 54% say they are keeping more money than they should in cash because they’re worried about a recession."  MORE >>

15 pages, Sep. 2023. "Reforms made in the wake of the 2008-09 market decline included higher employee contribution rates for many public pension plans. This issue brief examines employee contribution plan designs, policies and recent trends."  MORE >>

"[T]he March 2023 failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, followed by the distressed sale of First Republic Bank ... give us an opportunity to revisit how banks work and their role within our economy.... [It] also serves as a cautionary reminder of two important truths, and allows us to consider an important existential question: Truth 1: Incentives drive decisions. Truth 2: Decisions have consequences. Existential question: What is the role of government?"  MORE >>

"This annual notice provides the 2023-2024 special per diem rates for taxpayers to use in substantiating the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home, specifically [1] the special transportation industry meal and incidental expenses (M&IE) rates, [2] the rate for the incidental expenses only deduction, and [3] the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method."  MORE >>

"Taxpayers affected by Hurricane Lee in parts of Massachusetts that began Sept. 15, 2023, now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments,  ... [I]ndividuals and households affected by Hurricane Lee that reside or have a business in Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"Taxpayers affected by Hurricane Lee in parts of Maine that began Sept. 15, 2023, now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... [I]ndividuals and households affected by Hurricane Lee that reside or have a business in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, Washington, and York counties in Maine qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"[1] Advanced strategic planning.... [2] Collaborate to align HR and Finance metrics with company objectives.... [3] Evaluate outsourced partnerships.... [4] Utilize technology to drive efficiencies.... [5] Measure everything.... [6] Educate and value."  MORE >>

"CMS projects that [national health expenditures] as a share of GDP will grow faster than in the previous decade, leading to a significant increase in [employer-sponsored health insurance] as a share of compensation. But, if ESHI participation and demand for family plans decline as they have in recent years, these two factors should offset the growth in healthcare expenditures.... The potential increase in ESHI as a percentage of compensation would slow wage growth and erode Social Security finances. A key question is whether the decline in participation among low earners and the demand for family plans will continue."  MORE >>