"The SECURE 2.0 Act provides for permanent distribution and loan relief for any federally declared major disasters occurring on or after January 26, 2021.... The IRS has published a list of frequently asked questions that explain the scope of this relief that plan sponsors (and IRA custodians) can provide. Importantly, it incorporated the same rules for these disaster relief provisions as was used for distributions/loans after Hurricane Katrina, as set forth in Notice 2005-92."  MORE >>

"This alert provides a high-level overview as to the scope of ERISA's legal requirements and the church plan exemption and discusses certain considerations faith-based organizations may take into account when determining whether to 'opt-in' to ERISA's regime and maintain an Electing Church Plan."  MORE >>

"The [DOL's] new Retirement Security Rule was designed with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rebuttal of a prior fiduciary proposal in mind [noted Timothy Hauser, deputy assistant secretary for program operations of EBSA] ... Speaking of the case in Texas directly, Hauser said 'we exercise great care, to fall within the Fifth Circuit decision and to honor its reasoning, and I'm comfortable with where we are.' "  MORE >>

"[T]he three most significant [trends] include personalization, in-plan retirement income or guaranteed retirement income, and multiple employer plans or 'group plans.' It is becoming increasingly important to be able to deliver more personalized advice to an individual based on their situation and include outside factors not incorporated by a target date fund."  MORE >>

"The first quarter of this year ... was the largest first quarter on record, as [an] estimated $15 billion in pension risk transfers closed in the period.... [J]umbo transactions continue to be the driving force behind the market's strong performance, as two transactions that closed in Q1 totaled $11 billion."  MORE >>

22 pages. "This report covers how the Social Security program is financed and how the Social Security trust funds work. The report also covers the projected financial operations of the trust funds using data from the 2024 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees." [RL33028, updated May 23, 2024]  MORE >>

"The years-long effort to repeal a pair of controversial tax rules that negatively impact some federal workers' retirement income got a boost Thursday in the form of the formal endorsement of the House Problem Solvers Caucus. The Social Security Fairness Act (HR 82) ... would repeal Social Security's windfall elimination provision and government pension offset."  MORE >>

"While the two federal actions in Texas challenging the FTC's non-compete ban have garnered much of the attention to date, a challenge of the FTC's rule brought by a small tree trimming business in Pennsylvania is now in the spot light as the federal court there has indicated that it will issue a ruling by July 23rd." [ATS Tree Services, LLC v. FTC, No. 24-1743 (E.D. Penn. complaint filed Apr. 25, 2024)]  MORE >>