"[IRS Fact Sheet 2024‑18 highlights] how three SECURE 2.0 provisions, if offered by a plan sponsor, are reported on Forms W-2 ... and Forms 1099‑⁠R beginning with the 2023 tax year. Those provisions are: [1] de minimis financial incentives, [2] ROTH SIMPLE IRAs and ROTH SEP IRAs, and [3] designated ROTH employer contributions ... Plan sponsors who have implemented these features must use updated tax reporting forms (or, as applicable, file amended tax reporting forms) to comply with their reporting obligations."  MORE >>

"[IRS Fact Sheet 2024-19 clarifies] that plan sponsors may opt for the relief to be permanently in effect so the disaster declaration triggers the availability, or they may choose to provide the relief on a case-by-case basis.... [T]hey may limit the relief to, for example, distributions and not loans.... [T]he plan may provide for smaller distributions or smaller loans than the maximum."  MORE >>

"It is essential for existing QPAMs and asset managers to ... [consider] the following: [1] Preparing their one-time notice to the [DOL] ... within 90 days of June 17, 2024.... [2] Reviewing and updating their policies and procedures to ensure they align with the new requirements set by the Amendment ... [3] Evaluating their current financial status by December 31, 2024 ... [4] Reviewing record-keeping practices to ensure they maintain the required records for six years and that they are accessible for examination."  MORE >>

"To obtain the protection of PTE 2020-02, four categories of 'conditions' must be satisfied.... This article [covers] the conditions that are effective on September 23 of this year.... [1] The Impartial Conduct standards: care obligation; loyalty obligation; reasonable compensation limitation (including best execution, if applicable); [and] no materially misleading statements (including by omission). [2] The Fiduciary Acknowledgement Disclosure."  MORE >>

"A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by four Republican attorneys general challenging [an SEC] rule that requires increased ESG proxy votes disclosure from investment managers and funds.... [The Fifth Circuit] said the plaintiffs -- the attorneys general for Texas, Utah, Louisiana and West Virginia -- lacked standing." [Texas v. SEC, No. 23-60079 (5th Cir. May 10, 2024)]  MORE >>

"[T]he interest rate environment has helped the funding status of many corporate DB plans, making it a positive environment for PRT transactions.... [T]hose in the DB space will likely see funded status either flatline or decrease when the Federal Reserve can finally start bringing rates down, ... which could start to curtail this market. When that comes, asset managers who can adjust to lower rates by way of funding may have opportunity."  MORE >>

"[T]he 708 plans in Preqin's database -- which collectively have a total of $5.86 trillion in assets -- had an average actual allocation of 33.4% to alternatives in plan year 2022, compared with an average target allocation of 30.6% ... In dollar terms, Preqin noted, this demand deficit ... represents about $133.5 billion in 'capital that fund managers are likely not to see, at least in the short term.' "  MORE >>

"Big recordkeepers greenlit Wall Street asset manager's novel 'Paychecks' product, with BlackRock expressing ambitions to also expand the product to non-retirement accounts.... BlackRock is off to a flying 401(k) start with its launch of a best-of-both-worlds pension product that combines a target-date ETF with an annuity -- but its opacity and complexity could give investors pause."  MORE >>

"A 2020 study ... found that a major reason that 74 percent of millennials pursued their role in the public sector was because the employer offered a pension and that 84 percent cited this benefit as a major reason for remaining in their current positions.... 71 percent of millennials would be more likely to leave their jobs in the public sector if their pensions were cut."  MORE >>

"After surveying U.S. adults about when they expect to retire, the TIAA Institute found that those who suffered a decline in their health were 8.9% less likely to keep working past age 62, and 14.1% less likely to work past age 65.... A new diagnosis of cancer ... reduced the chances of working past age 62 by 16.4%. Lung disease reduced those chances by 26.4%, and arthritis lowered them by 10.2%."  MORE >>

"[C]ourts that allow actuarial equivalence claims are rewriting ERISA and private contracts -- something that should be left to the legislature to change.... Actuarial equivalence cases are dangerous because they present a very sympathetic fact pattern.... ERISA's safeguards were to ensure that plan sponsors meet their benefit obligations. ERISA's safeguards were never designed to allow participants to use litigation to improve their plan benefits." [Reichert vs. Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Pension Committee, No. 23-12343 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 17, 2024); Urlaub v. Citgo Petroleum Corp., No. 21-4133 (N.D. Ill. May 6, 2024)]  MORE >>

"In an ideal world, every 403(b) plan participant would have access to at least one Green vendor. In the real world, many lack access to any of them ... This post describes a good choice available from a bad vendor ... It describes key plan features, the rationale for its Yellow rating, advantages and disadvantages, plan expenses ... [and] concludes with a summary of research about the growth of [a sample] account over time, three 'need to know' facts, and six take-away action steps."  MORE >>

"As staff members in the HR and benefits department often wear multiple hats, from overseeing an organization's retirement plan to managing a company's health care benefits, it is easy for these workers to feel overwhelmed, stressed and burnt out at times. For plan sponsors ... it is important to be aware of the challenges that HR and benefits staff members face daily and not blur the line of fiduciary responsibility with these employees."  MORE >>

"Relative to our 2023 estimates, [a] hypothetical couple retiring in 2024 will need to save approximately $7,000 more if they have Original Medicare plus Medigap and Part D coverage, and $8,000 less if they have Medicare Advantage plus Part D coverage, all else being equal."  MORE >>

"On May 6, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and request for public comment ... [to] regulate 'incentive-based compensation,' which is defined broadly as 'any variable compensation, fees or benefits that serve as an incentive or reward for performance.' Under the proposed regulation, incentive-based compensation should not encourage inappropriate risk-taking by covered individuals, either by being excessive or by being designed in a way that could lead to material financial loss."  MORE >>