"[T]he DOL has long held that investment education, if properly done, is not a recommendation and therefore does not cause the provider to be a fiduciary.... However, it is not enough to just label a communication as education.... [O]ne test is whether the information is materially complete and unbiased.... The more individualized the communication, the more likely it is a recommendation."  MORE >>

"[S]ome insurance companies will use a third-party affiliated reinsurance company to cover some of their exposure. 'Then the reinsurer gives an IOU to its affiliates in jurisdictions where they're allowed to hold all sorts of assets on their balance sheets that would never be allowed at a regulated insurance company level,' [Edward Stone] said. 'When you take credit for reinsurance with an affiliate, you're just moving liabilities from one part of the corporate structure to another. It's not a real, genuine risk transfer' for the insurance company."  MORE >>

"A federal judge in New York has rejected a request by TIAA to dismiss a lawsuit by current and former employees of six defined contribution plans who accused the service provider of using high-pressure tactics to convince plan participants to enroll in a high-cost managed account program called Portfolio Advisor instead of lower-cost plan investments.... None of the [plan] sponsors is a defendant even though the judge faulted the sponsors for violating ERISA by failing to monitor TIAA's activities[.]" [Carfora v. TIAA, No. 21-8384 (S.D.N.Y. May 31, 2024)]  MORE >>

39 pages. "Key Themes ... [1] Employers and employees are concerned about retirement readiness ... [2] Investment lineups are being re-evaluated, including retirement income solutions.... [3] 2024 trifecta of employer concerns: litigation, legislation, and a litany of administration."  MORE >>

"About 25% of retirees fall into the camp of people who decrease spending during retirement.... [T]he issue was most pronounced with individuals who use their own savings for retirement income -- whereas people with guaranteed sources of income, such as annuities, Social Security, and pensions, were more likely to spend their income."  MORE >>

27 pages. "The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a primary source of information on retirement wealth, income, and replacement rates, but calculating these measures requires a host of methodological choices that affect the results.... The CRR aims to make the HRS more accessible by providing: [1] a methodological guide that identifies the key conceptual and technical choices that must be made when analyzing a household's financial resources in the HRS and [2] clean, well-documented code that builds on RAND's efforts to calculate retirement wealth, income, and replacement rates."  MORE >>

53 pages. "Overall, Statements 67 and 68 resolved the primary issues underlying the stated need for the standards ... Consistent with the comprehensive nature of the Statements, implementation costs were significant ... Overall, the expected benefits of Statements 67 and 68 -- improved user understanding about pension plans and pensions, including governments' net pension liabilities and contributions to pension plans, better decision making and assessment of accountability and interperiod equity, greater comparability and consistency, and increased transparency -- have been achieved."  MORE >>

"Given the positive changes in SECURE and SECURE 2.0 and the current marketplace that on its own is expanding coverage in the small market, new legislation creating a federal system is unnecessary. Instead, the focus should be on improving the current system to encourage employers to offer coverage."  MORE >>

"[M]ost of the claimed negative impacts of public pension reform are not supported by the facts.... It has become axiomatic among DB pension advocates to claim that DB plans improve the attraction of employees compared to DC plans. Very little actual evidence has been presented in support of this claim.... DB plans have a particularly negative impact on employees with short and even moderate periods of service.... The lack of benefit portability and backloading of benefit accruals does substantial damage to public employees who do not stay for a career."  MORE >>

"Created and championed by educator-turned legislator Senator Karina Villa -- who was sold a wholly unsuitable annuity product while working in education -- the bill fell just short of success this legislative session.... How the legislation would have saved educators tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars.... Lies. Damn lies and the K-12 403(b) industry that profits off of educators."  MORE >>

"Ex-Morgan Stanley advisors have again managed to wring deferred compensation out of their former employer before FINRA arbitrators.... [Attorney Alan Rosca said] he's representing roughly 200 ex-Morgan Stanley employees in similar disputes.... All of these cases entail essentially the same arguments ... that Morgan Stanley's deferred comp -- which is often only paid years after it is earned -- falls under [ERISA]."  MORE >>