"The IRS updated its website on July 12 to indicate that the exclusion from the electronic filing requirement for Form 5330 is now available. This marks a more formal confirmation by the IRS that it will accept paper Form 5330 filings, at least for the 2024 taxable year."  MORE >>

"[A] district court held unenforceable a provision in the plan's trust agreement that would have required an employer to pay the attorneys' fees the plan incurred in connection with the arbitration the employer filed to challenge the plan's withdrawal liability assessment.... The court held that [PBGC] regulations only allow an arbitrator to award attorneys' fees if a party is found to have engaged in bad faith or other improper conduct during the arbitration, and thus implicitly forbid an award for any other reason[.]" [Nevada Resorts Ass'n -- Int'l All. of Theatrical Stage Emps. and Moving Picture Mach. Operators of the U.S. and Canada Local 720 Pension Trust v. JB Viva Vegas, L.P., No. 19-0499 (D. Nev. Mar. 29, 2024)]  MORE >>

"Having this valuable new and unfamiliar element available as part of a DC plan means developing support mechanisms of all sorts to actually deliver their value. Really grasping this requires understanding a new 'language' (and concepts) with which we all must now become accustomed if these programs are to work. The ideas are not really complicated, but very unfamiliar to most of us."  MORE >>

"64% of respondents to ... said they didn't plan to use such tools, compared to 30% of firms who said they're not currently doing so but are 'exploring or actively building' such tools. Only 2% of firms reported using such tools to 'support client investment decisions.' "  MORE >>

24 pages. "At year-end 2023, 401(k) plan assets totaled $7.4 trillion, with 38 percent invested in equity mutual funds. In 2023, 401(k) plan participants who invested in equity mutual funds paid an average expense ratio of 0.31 percent.... In 2000, 401(k) plan participants incurred an average expense ratio of 0.77 percent for investing in equity mutual funds.... Employers and employees generally share the costs of operating 401(k) plans." [Also available: Supplemental Tables: The Economics of Providing 401(k) Plans: Services, Fees, and Expenses, 2023 (XLSX)  MORE >>

20 pages. "The growth and evolution of mutual funds over the past century is a testament to their enduring appeal and the trust investors place in them.... IRAs, along with 401(k) plans, have become a cornerstone of retirement savings in the United States.... The Fact Book remains an essential resource for understanding these and other developments in the industry."  MORE >>

"Annuity purchase interest rates have slightly declined since last month, dropping by 9 basis points for the average duration 7 annuity purchase interest rate and 3 basis points for the average duration 15 rate.... [T]hey remain higher compared to the average annuity purchase rates recorded in all of 2023.... [I]nsurers are beginning to be more selective in opportunities due to capacity constraints, so plan sponsors should act immediately to secure a spot in 2024."  MORE >>

"[1] Non-Leveraged ESOP ... does not involve borrowed funds to acquire the sponsoring employer's stock. It is funded by contributions of cash or stock directly from the employer sponsor.... [2] Leveraged Buyout ESOP ... is a lot like the Issuance ESOP, except the financing is used to buy stock from a selling (and usually retiring) shareholder.... [3] Issuance ESOP ... uses financing to acquire newly issued shares from the employer sponsor."  MORE >>

"Periodically comparing the present values of household assets with the present value of household spending liabilities produces funded status measures which may be used, with guardrails, to determine when household assets and/or spending may need to be adjusted in the future to maintain the desired asset/liability balance.... [If] the client's objective is to fund future essential expenses with non-risky assets, it is important to consider the client's non-financial assets rather than simply use a rule of thumb ... and apply it to the client's portfolio of financial assets."  MORE >>

"The survey confirms a widely held perception that 'a national retirement crisis exists,' with 58% of respondents somewhat or strongly agreeing with this statement. However, when asked the top reason why they believe this, survey respondents cited 'the situations of people they know' (52%) more than their own personal situation (43%), with retirement media coverage close behind (42%). Unsurprisingly, older workers are more likely to believe there is a retirement crisis than those who are already retired, as seen in the chart below."  MORE >>

"The most recent estimate shows that 39 percent of today's working-age households will not be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Unique factors led to the lowest level since the NRRI first started -- namely, rapidly rising home prices, new savings during the pandemic, and strong stock market gains. As some of these extraordinary factors fade, the Index will most likely return to fluctuating between 40 percent and 50 percent."  MORE >>

"Tax-exempt employers that sponsor Code Section 457(f) plans ... may have to make changes to such plans.... If the FTC ban takes effect and causes loss of a substantial risk of forfeiture based on a noncompete, it could affect income recognition timing in the absence of an 83(b) election ... Severance plans, including those set forth in executive severance/employment agreements and those structured as ERISA plans, may have included noncompetes as a condition to receive benefits.... Employers that do not carefully monitor when a separation from service occurs may risk inadvertent violations of Code Section 409A."  MORE >>