"In the proposed procedure, the DOL places the burden of data collection and reporting on plan administrators. Administrators would be required to provide necessary data to the DOL via Form 5500s each year, perhaps starting with the 2023 5500s that are due in 2024.... The comment period for this proposal is open until June 17, 2024, and is expected to receive pushback from many organizations in the retirement plan industry."  MORE >>

"On April 16, 2024, the IRS issued Notice 2024-35 which, once again, removes the penalty for not taking the annual RMD for qualifying inherited IRA accounts. The IRS issued similar notices for years 2020 thru 2023. In the latest notice, the IRS stated they expect to finalize these rules proposed under the SECURE Act regulation later this year.... So who does this affect and what does this really mean?"  MORE >>

"Though IRS hasn't specifically identified which additional changes will be reflected, the regulation will likely include SECURE 2.0's further increase in the RMD beginning age to 73 for participants who turn 72 after 2022 (and to 75 for people who turn 74 after 2032)."  MORE >>

"[The authors] have compiled a comprehensive guide outlining the multitude regulatory plan document amendments and restatement deadlines. Spanning from 2025 through 2029, these deadlines necessitate meticulous preparation and organization to ensure timely compliance."  MORE >>

25 pages. "The Administration's rationale for updating the current definition of investment advice includes the following: inadequacy of the current five-part test, gaps in the current rule, a desire for a uniform standard of advice, and expectations held by retirement investors.... The 2023 proposed rule received over 20,000 comments. Stakeholders had varying opinions, ranging from requests to withdraw the proposal to suggesting changes to endorsing the proposal." [R48045 Apr. 23, 2024]  MORE >>

"Key changes in the final amendment: [1] Notification/reporting requirement ... [2] Increased asset and equity requirements ... [3] Recordkeeping requirements ... [4] Expanding ineligibility criteria ... [5] Authority of QPAM over investment decisions."  MORE >>

"The Fifth Circuit held that by not replacing a plan's retail shares with cheaper, allegedly identical institutional shares, the district court could reasonably infer that the plan's committee breached its duty of prudence under ERISA. Separately, the Fifth Circuit appears to have departed from other Circuits in concluding that plaintiffs adequately pleaded a claim for 'high recordkeeping costs.' " [Perkins v. United Surgical Partners International, Inc., No. 23-10375 (5th Cir. Apr. 11, 2024; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"What happens if your payroll system ... doesn't take participant loan payments from an employee's pay? ... [It] is up to the employer to fix the problem where the mistake is caused by the employer, not the participant.... The scope of the failure -- how long were loan payments missed and how many participants were affected -- will dictate the required correction."  MORE >>

"Missing participants can pose serious problems and risks for a plan and its sponsor, ... They also have consequences for individuals ... they result from participants who failed to take actions that would keep the plan sponsor well-informed ... There are a variety of steps a plan sponsor, and administrator can take to find missing participants and head off the problems they create and risks they pose."  MORE >>

"[T]he DOL takes the position that late deferrals cannot be self-corrected and that plan sponsors need to go through VFCP to correct the error.... [P]lan sponsors that have to report the deferrals as late on their Form 5500 and who do not go through the DOL program end up receiving a letter from the DOL strongly encouraging participation in the program. Failure to go through the program after notification may result in a DOL audit."  MORE >>

"[T]he next stage of TDFs will be to introduce further personalization, beyond age, to include dynamic asset allocation and spending capabilities.... For this personalization to take place, ... recordkeeping systems need to be able to have the ability to gather a lot more information about individual participants.... [O]nce the system is built to collect this data, ... the recordkeeping system must be able to deliver personalized advice and implement it on the participant's account."  MORE >>

"Even if you are the fiduciary of a plan that might not be the perceived subject of a mega class-action lawsuit, these back-to-the-basics best practices apply to plans of all sizes. For plan sponsors, consider the following: [1] Establish an investment committee ... [2] Consider regular fiduciary updates/training for plan committee members.  ... [3] Be thoughtful about the information that the committee makes publicly available ... [4] If forfeitures are used to offset employer contributions, make sure that specific language is in the plan document ... [5] If the plan has target date funds, revisit the DOL's tips from 2013 and ensure selection and monitoring is in-line with the same."  MORE >>