"The plaintiffs say ... that the burden should be flipped, which means ERISA fiduciaries are required to show that their plans' losses were caused by something other than their own failure to investigate and evaluate. In other words, show that the losses were not caused by their breach.... We cannot agree. Our prior precedent forecloses adopting this burden-shifting framework, as do ordinary principles of civil liability. Nor does ERISA's text help the plaintiffs -- it offers no indication that Congress intended to require defendant fiduciaries to disprove loss causation. The plaintiffs thus bore the burden, but they did not sustain it. ERISA requires a prudent process, but it does not guarantee good results." [Pizarro v. Home Depot, No. 22-13643 (11th Cir. Aug. 2, 2024)]  MORE >>

"What employer/plan sponsors are saying privately.... The multiple plans problem.... Let competition produce solutions.... A menu of income-generation options.... Sponsors need more protection from litigation risk.... 'Portability is big.' ... Annuities aren't the only way to generate retirement income.... Plan recordkeepers can't absorb the cost of more withdrawal functionality ... The why-go-there perspective.... Keep the status quo? ... Can't afford to ignore longevity risk."  MORE >>

"Newly designed 401(k) options now allow a more personalized approach to employee financial wellbeing. By overlaying access to financial planners with considerations about retirement plan design, employers can also adapt new provisions to employee expectations."  MORE >>

"The 'Small Nonprofit Retirement Security Act of 2024' [S 4965] would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 for the three years of a retirement plan's operation and an additional $500 for auto-enrollment features. Since nonprofits generally do not have an income tax liability, the credit will be delivered against their payroll tax liability"  MORE >>

"The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. corporate pension plans increased by an estimated 0.1 percentage points in July, ending the month at 101.5% ... This month's change in funded ratio resulted from a 2.3% increase in asset value mostly offset by a 2.2% increase in liability value. The aggregate funded ratio is estimated to have increased by 5.7 percentage points year-to-date, but decreased by 3.6 percentage points over the trailing twelve months."  MORE >>

"Just looking at fees doesn't tell you a lot with regard to [lifetime income] programs, where annuity products are a key element of the design. This is not to understate the importance of knowing where the 'stated' (or 'explicit') fees lie, and who is getting compensated. However, their role in the benchmarking process is much different than it is for scoring equity investment products."  MORE >>

"Cost-benefit analysis is routinely used in business to evaluate the viability of projects. Yet, the investment industry typically avoids a cost-benefit analysis, as it knows what the results would show. Academic studies have consistently concluded that actively managed funds are typically cost-inefficient, most even failing to cover their costs[.]"  MORE >>

"The Court's decision presented a number of interesting and novel arguments, not the least of which was the court's rejection of a common argument in these cases, the argument that the burden of proof on causation by necessity must belong to a plan sponsor given the fact that they alone know what policies and procedures were used in evaluating and selecting the plan's investment options." [Pizarro v. Home Depot, No. 22-13643 (11th Cir. Aug. 2, 2024)]   MORE >>

"For decades 403bwise and others have been trumpeting the deplorable state of the K-12 403(b). We now have interactive, visual evidence of the mess that is the K-12 403(b)."  MORE >>

"[T]he court is going to issue an updated ruling on the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction by no later than Aug. 30, 2024.... [which] will not leave much time for compliance by Sept. 4 (particularly given the weekend in between is a holiday weekend).... Compliance would include sending out the required notice on or before Sept. 4, and ensuring no new noncompetes are required of employees beginning on Sept. 4."  MORE >>