10 pages. "What's New: A new IRS compliance question regarding whether a plan sponsor is an adopter of a pre-approved plan is added to Line 12." [Also available: 2023 IRS Form 5500-EZ (fillable PDF)]  MORE >>

Jan. 19, 2024; 16 pages. "What's New ... [1] Mandatory electronic filing.... [2] Effective in 2024, Form 8868, Application for Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return or Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans, is used to request an extension of time to file Form 5330."  MORE >>

"[In] an abrupt turnaround at the end of December 2023, the IRS announced that this change would not be available until January 1, 2025, due to a delay in preparing the EFAST2 system for this process. So, for 2023 filings, paper copies of Form 5558 must still be filed. Remember that Form 5558 must be filed before the deadline for filing Form 5500."  MORE >>

"The DOL requested a court order removing RiversEdge and Palguta from serving as fiduciaries and service providers of the plans they administer and appointing an independent fiduciary to secure plan records, assist with recordkeeping transition activities and perform an accounting of suspicious asset transfers." [Su v. RiversEdge Advanced Retirement Solutions, LLC., No. 24-0104 (W.D. Penn. complaint filed Jan. 26, 2024)]  MORE >>

"2024 is going to be a real inflection point regarding adoption of many of the [SECURE 2.0] provisions.... [U]tilizing dynamic data analytics tools can help employers understand and model the potential impact of these plan design decisions on their employees and their program costs.... [O]ngoing challenges and the specter of potential litigation [have] made fiduciaries less innovative in nature.... The ability to share confidential information across systems safely is critical as is how the employee experience is delivered."  MORE >>

"A survey conducted by Cerulli Associates showed that only 7% of defined contribution plan advisers would recommend an actively managed target-date fund to a retirement plan client ... The survey also found that that student loan matching and Roth matching contributions were the two provisions from the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 that advisers say they are most likely to recommend to a plan."  MORE >>

"There's no denying Bitcoin-based ETFs represent [uncharted] territory. That in itself means risk. Worse, it's a risk that's hard to quantify right now.... Beyond ERISA, the SEC has gone out of its way to provide a warning about Bitcoin investments. While the SEC can only talk to individual investors, that doesn't mean plan sponsors can ignore that agency. The very fabric of ERISA demands plan sponsors have a comprehensive due diligence process in place with selecting and monitoring plan investments."  MORE >>

"Over 90% of the respondents have no earned income, meaning they are reliant on Social Security, pensions and savings to cover their expenses during retirement. Survey responses show that retired Americans who maintain a relationship with a financial professional are more financially secure.... [T]he findings are consistent across many measures of financial health"  MORE >>

"ARA recommends that the [IRS]: [1] Revise the rules regarding vesting service to conform with Congressional intent or provide relief to mitigate the significant financial consequences imposed on plan sponsors by the timing of the Proposed Rule ... [2] Clarify that LTPTEs may be permissively disaggregated regardless of actual eligibility to participate in the plan ... [3] Provide section 411(d)(6) relief for the revocation of good faith amendments already adopted to comply with the SECURE Act."  MORE >>

20 pages. "[T]he Council is concerned with certain aspects of the proposed regulations that are likely to limit participation opportunities for LTPT employees and, in the absence of additional guidance and changes, increase costs and administrative burdens for employer plan sponsors."  MORE >>

"The 401(k) is subject to protections under [ERISA]. The K-12 403(b), known as a governmental 403(b), is not.... Meta, better known as Facebook, is headquartered in Menlo Park. If they offered the same vendor list as the school district they would be sued. Why? Because of the dozens of red-rated vendors in the plan."  MORE >>