36 pages. "Rollover advice would be explicitly included ... as a form of fiduciary advice. Disclaimers would be ineffective if the professional is positioned in the market as trustworthy.... The proposal would add new disclosure and other conditions for relief ... Relief would continue to be available for conflicted advice under the exemption for insurance transactions ... but would be limited to sales by independent producers and subject to additional conditions.... [E]lements of the proposal could potentially create the predicate for a private right of action by IRA owners."  MORE >>

"Entities formed or registered to do business in the United States will need to either [1] confirm that they qualify for an exemption from the CTA's reporting requirements, or [2] timely submit a BOI report to FinCEN. A list of exemptions outlined in a FinCEN compliance guide do not appear to include IRA-owned businesses."  MORE >>

"[A 1998 IRS memo (the 'Padilla memo')] states that, even if the employer has discretion as to the amount of contributions ... the employer must notify the trustee, in writing, of the amount of those contributions. The result is that any plan sponsor that determines the amount of matching contributions annually must provide written confirmation to the plan trustee each year as to how the match will be calculated.... [T]he IRS has remained consistent with this position for all employer contributions[.]"  MORE >>

"The activities involved a self-directed brokerage account (SDBA) the plan included as an investment option ... [T]he suit alleges that, in total, KSI has obtained payment in excess of $1.5 million from the Plan, charged as investment management fees related to Plan participants' [brokerage accounts]." [(United Airlines Inc. v. Keep Safe Investments LLC, No. 23-03426 (D. Minn. complaint filed Nov. 7, 2023)]  MORE >>

"IRSAC [identified] areas in which it says further IRS guidance would be helpful. [1] Failures that occur when contributions are made to the wrong plan.... [2] Calculating actual lost earnings for failures that have occurred.... [3] Self-correction by retroactive amendment.... [4] Mandatory employee contributions.... [5] Required minimum distribution (RMD) failures.... [6] Overpayments.... [7] How EPCRS is organized."  MORE >>

"[F]iduciaries must prudently and loyally select and monitor any brokerage window providers that they choose to make available through the plan. This includes evaluating things such as services, fees and conflicts of interest."  MORE >>

"Do you have fiduciary liability insurance? ... Do you have an investment policy? ... Are your plan's target-date funds (still) on target? ... Is your plan committee capable? ... Do you need help?"  MORE >>

10 pages. "[T]he dollar value of deficits does not necessary decline after a risk transfer, and funded ratios commonly decline unless the plan contributes at the same time.... [L]iability duration may increase as a result of a risk transfer, reducing interest rate hedge ratios (unless adjustments to the asset allocation are made). Still, reducing future benefit payments typically means less overall risk in absolute terms."  MORE >>

"The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. corporate pension plans increased by an estimated 0.6 percentage points in October, ending the month at 105.5% ... This month's change in funded ratio can be attributed to a 4.0% decrease in liability value, partially offset by a 3.4% decrease in asset value. The aggregate funded ratio is estimated to have increased by 6.8% and 6.4% year-to-date and over the trailing twelve-month periods, respectively."  MORE >>

"In 2009, The Post closed its pension plan to new employees -- and those who remained in the plan had their benefits frozen after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos acquired the newspaper. The pension fund itself, however, didn't freeze. As federal filings show, it has fattened to the point that it can finance 240 exit packages without breaking an actuarial sweat."  MORE >>

"[P]lan sponsors [should] consider: [1] The motivation behind the rule: participants' retirement security now depends much more fully on their decisions and the advice they receive; [2] The rule is intended to provide your employees greater protections and an opportunity to have confidence they can trust the person giving them advice; and [3] If you encounter anyone objecting to the rule, it's likely because they feel they cannot hit their profit margins if their advice is required to put the investor's interests first."  MORE >>

"[This] guide offers a handy single-sheet reference giving key 2021-2023 annual limits for retirement plans on one side, with health, fringe benefit and [ACA] figures on the other."  MORE >>

"Although there is no amendment required to single employer retirement plan documents by December 31, 2023, there are operational requirements that you will need to implement and keep records of the choices you make  ... Many employers rely on their TPA or broker to manage ... compliance requirements. Employers should verify that the TPA or broker is complying with all of the changes, as the penalties generally fall on the employer sponsoring the group health plan subject to these requirements."  MORE >>