"The IRS is soliciting comments concerning information collection requirements related to distributions from pensions, annuities, retirement or profit-sharing plans, IRAs, insurance contracts, etc. [Form 1099-R]  ... There is no change to the form, however the agency has updated the estimated number of responses based on the most recent filing data.  ... Estimated Number of Responses: 115,703,400. Estimated Time per Response: 26 minutes. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 50,909,496 hours."  MORE >>

"In Notice 2024-63, the IRS provides Q&A guidance on employer matching contributions for participants' QSLPs. The Q&As generally explain: What constitutes a QSLP. The types of plans that may implement a QSLP match. The maximum amount allowed for QSLPs."  MORE >>

"[S]ome payroll companies recommend that plan sponsors code the system to allocate a part of EACH participant contribution to the catch-up source, starting with the first payroll of the year.... [If] the participant terminates employment mid-year, the amounts classified as a catch-up will be misclassified. This makes a difference because the catch-up is not subject to any of the maximum limits or the discrimination test, and some plans do not match the catch-up contribution. The misclassification could lead to an erroneous ADP test or to the participant not having received the correct amount of match contribution from the employer."  MORE >>

"The court found that 'evidence in the record supports the conclusion that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty of disclosure by issuing a series of misleading statements that 'rendered obscure' the pension offset.' The offset was purportedly listed in Appendix J which was never completed for ESL employees. Various summary plan descriptions indicated that former ESL employees' pension offsets would be a relatively small amount. However, the offset resulted in significant pension reductions." [Baleja v. Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. Salaried Pension Plan, No. 22-56042 (9th Cir. Aug. 19, 2024; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"[A district court in Northern California] held that Intuit functioned as a fiduciary by exercising discretionary authority with respect to whether and when the forfeitures could be used for contributions and that this was fiduciary, not plan sponsor, activity.... [A] district court in Southern California denied reconsideration of its decision issued in May of this year denying a similar motion to dismiss by fiduciaries of the Qualcomm Inc. 401(k) plan ... [A] district court in Kansas granted a motion by plan participants to amend their ERISA plan mismanagement complaint to assert new causes of action related to their employer's forfeited contributions practices.' [Rodriguez v. Intuit Inc., No. 23-5053 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2024); Perez-Cruet v. Qualcomm Inc., No. 23-1890 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2024); Middleton v. Amentum Gov"t Servs. Parent Holdings, No. 23-2456 (D. Kan. Aug. 14, 2024)]  MORE >>

"The undeniable strength of the 401(k) system is seen in the report ... released today by ISS Market Intelligence (MI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI). Analyzing automatic enrollment, employer contributions, and participant loans, the report reveals the care with which employers set up their 401(k) plans, and how employer contributions and cost-effective investing bolster the success of the system in helping Americans save for retirement."  MORE >>

"At least 20 states have active state retirement programs. Colorado and Maine have deadlines businesses must meet in the first half of 2024. Currently, no federal law requires businesses to offer retirement plans, but it's being discussed on Capitol Hill."  MORE >>

"From 2023 to 2024, there was a slight uptick in the percentage of plans in the green zone, resulting in 75 percent of plans being 'green' as of January 1, 2024.... [T]he funded percentage for determining zone status under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 averaged 93 percent as of January 1, 2024, up a point since 2023."  MORE >>

"During July, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process increased over two percentage points, from 100.3% of a plan's accounting liabilities (accumulated benefit obligation, or ABO) to 102.5% of those liabilities. That means the estimated retiree PRT cost is now 102.5% of a plan's ABO. During the same time period, the average annuity purchase cost across all insurers in our index also increased, from 103.3% to 104.9%."  MORE >>

"[P]olicies that reduce pension benefits or promote transitions to defined contribution plans, which are usually implemented to save money, may end up costing more due to the dynamic interrelationship between pension reforms, income inequality, the economy, and market returns."  MORE >>

"Issuing a nationwide injunction halting the Rule's enforcement, the Texas court deemed the Non-Compete Rule unlawful, set it aside, and ordered that the 'Rule shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on its effective date of September 4, 2024, or thereafter.' ... Although it is possible that the FTC will appeal this decision and/or seek alternative methods to limit competition it deems unfair, the current Rule cannot be enforced on or after September 4, 2024." [Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 24-0986 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 20, 2024)]  MORE >>

"Case law abounds with disputes between former employees and companies over valuable stock options. While companies often prevail in such litigation, a recent lawsuit over startup company stock options in California ... resulted in a lucrative win for the plaintiff (a fired employee) and a notable ruling about how damages involving options can be calculated." [Shah v. Skilz, Inc., No. A165372 (Calif. App. Apr. 8, 2024)  MORE >>