"At least for rollovers from qualified employer sponsored plans, the revised rule also affords both the recipient of the recommendation and the DOL enforcement authority that can subject institutions to judicial actions, including class actions, with the DOL being armed with access to the mandated compliance documentation and reports prepared to meet the conditions of the applicable prohibited transaction exemptions."  MORE >>

"This post describes 2024 changes affecting 403(b) plan participants including contribution limits (for 403(b)s, IRAs, and HSAs), catch-up provisions, the Saver's Credit, Social Security rules, and SECURE 2.0 provisions. It also summarizes two research studies about the impact of higher catch-up contribution limits as well as three 'need to know' facts and six take-away action steps."  MORE >>

"While plaintiffs also cited to the Sixth Circuit's decision in Hawkins v. Cintas Corp.as precluding arbitration of ERISA fiduciary breach claims, the court found the arbitration clauses at issue in Hawkins to be in the 'completely different' context of individual employment agreements.... The ruling in Merrow ... signals an emerging conflict among courts in different circuits[.]" [Merrow v. Horizon Bank, No. 22-123 (E.D. Ky. Oct. 24, 2023)]  MORE >>

"Although the IRS confirmed it will correct the erroneous penalties on its end, at least some plan sponsors who received an erroneous 8955-SSA notice are now having a portion of their corporate tax return withheld to 'satisfy' the 8955-SSA penalties."  MORE >>

"It's that time of year again when calendar year 401(k) plans must send annual retirement plan notices.... [H]ere is a chart of the common notices with timing and recipients."  MORE >>

"LDI can significantly reduce interest rate risk and help moderate market volatility ... LDI can also help provide stable cash flows, making it easier for plan sponsors to meet pension obligations.... But LDI also poses potential challenges, the most significant of which may be the ability to actively manage the LDI portfolio vs. the plan's liabilities to avoid underperformance, downgrades, and defaults."  MORE >>

"Pension finances were tricked by falling stock markets but treated by higher interest rates in October, a pattern repeated for three straight months now, producing modest declines for pension sponsors."  MORE >>

"The funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by $5 billion during October ... As of October 31, the funded ratio climbed to 104.2%, from 103.6% at the end of September, reaching a new high for the year. The funded status surplus increased to $50 billion."  MORE >>

"The administration's proposed fiduciary rule will hurt American savers and retirees. Here's a more accurate version of the White House's so-called fact sheet."  MORE >>

"[ARA finds] it unacceptable that at the same time the retirement plan and insurance industry is being encouraged to develop and refine guaranteed lifetime income products to enhance retirement security by addressing longevity risk, the administration chose to infer the suitability of a specific annuity product type in Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs) was questionable and by inference, impugn the reputation of a specific insurance company and its product."  MORE >>

"[T]he 220th open meeting of the [ERISA Advisory Council] will be held via a teleconference on December 11-12, 2023.... The purpose of the open meeting is for Advisory Council members to finalize their observations and recommendations on the issues they studied in 2023, present their observations and recommendations to the [DOL], and receive an update from leadership of [EBSA]. The issues studied by the ERISA Advisory Council in 2023 are: [1] Long-Term Disability Benefits and Mental Health Disparity, and [2] Recordkeeping in the Electronic Age. Descriptions of [these] topics are available on the ERISA Advisory Council's web page[.]"  MORE >>

"Whether it's a fully integrated HRIS platform or a robust standalone benefits administration technology platform, you want a solution that can help you fully execute upon your benefits strategy while increasing employee understanding and connection to their benefits."  MORE >>

"In carrying out due diligence as to executive compensation, the priority is to understand the executive compensation program and any individual compensation programs of the target company. This process allows the reviewing company to identify tax, security, or other legal compliance issues that could affect the purchase price or other transaction terms. It also permits the company to assess retention issues, determine incentives, and assist in integrating one company's compensation scheme with the other."  MORE >>