"There are still unanswered questions surrounding this guidance, including ... [1] Will designated beneficiaries and successor beneficiaries who do not take their 2021, 2022, or 2023 life expectancy payments be required to take those payments in the future? ... [2] Are amounts that would have been distributed to satisfy a 2021, 2022, 2023, or 2024 life expectancy payment still considered an RMD for other purposes (e.g., rollovers)?"  MORE >>

"The plan administrator is required to include a description of the automatic portability program in their [SPD], including fees and expenses.... The plan fiduciaries are required to ensure that the portability provider's fees are not excessive and that its services are prudent to retain.... Transfer-in plan administrators must designate a 'plan official' who is responsible for monitoring incoming automatic portability transfers ... [T]he plan administrator retains its obligations under the DOL's 2020 cybersecurity guidance to assess the portability provider's data protection and privacy program and monitor it on an ongoing basis."  MORE >>

"A better alternative under SECURE 2.0 might be the provision that allows a plan participant a one-time penalty-free withdrawal of up to $1,000 from their retirement savings account. This provision is easy to implement and carries no added fiduciary responsibility. It also removes the added administrative burden of creating and maintaining a separate sidecar account."  MORE >>

"The American Retirement Association has confirmed that the [DOL] will release the fiduciary rule, officially called the Retirement Security Rule, on Tuesday [April 23].... EBSA is 'very focused' on releasing a rule that considers ... the change in landscape [since 1975] and the need to protect retirement investors from harmful conflicts of interest and imprudent investment recommendations."  MORE >>

"Using a number of factors, including actuarial tables and current participant age and compensation, each participant's contribution is converted to an 'equivalent benefit at retirement' (EBAR).... [C]ross-tested plans allow sponsors to provide different benefits to different groups or classes of employees, even going so far as allowing them to treat everyone individually when designing their allocation!"  MORE >>

"A second consecutive month of overall positive market performance in March increased the Milliman 100 [Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI)] funded ratio from 78.6% at the end of February to 79.7% as of March 31. This marks the highest level since March 31, 2022, when the funded status stood at 82.7%. The PPFI plans returned an estimated 1.7% in aggregate for March 2024, with individual plan returns ranging from an estimated 0.9% to 2.6% for the month."  MORE >>

"Perhaps the most significant enhancement is that -- unlike the Saver's Credit -- you don't have to owe taxes in order to be eligible.... [W]hile the Saver's Credit simply offset taxes owed (and thus put no new money in the worker's hands), the Saver's Match will actually be deposited to a qualified retirement account -- employment-based or IRA.... You don't have to think long about the mechanics involved to find yourself saying 'how in the world are 'they' going to do that?' "  MORE >>

"Recent legal changes have expanded the scope of employer-provided tax-advantaged educational assistance benefits to cover student loan repayment. This advisory outlines some of the newest options and provides a refresher on how existing benefits are used."  MORE >>