"The primary purpose of this article is to summarize the definition of investment advice in the Advice Regulation and flag some key issues that financial services firms should consider in the event the Advice Regulation becomes effective. The article also highlights some key issues involving implementation of PTE 2020-02 and PTE 84-24 that will arise in the event amendments to these exemptions become effective."  MORE >>

"While [Notice 2024-63] applies to plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024, employers offering QSLPs for the 2024 plan year can rely on a good-faith, reasonable interpretation of the statutory QSLP match provisions. IRS considers following the notice before its applicability date to be a good- faith, reasonable interpretation of the statute. IRS is accepting comments until Oct. 18."  MORE >>

"Is the retirement mandate mandatory or optional? ... When will the retirement mandate go into effect? ... How much will it cost my business? ... What are the alternatives to the CalSavers program? ... Is auto-enrollment available? ... What will happen if I miss the program adoption deadline?"  MORE >>

"[T]he Third Circuit decided a dispute over pension benefits promised by the matriarch of the duPont family, Mary Chichester duPont, when she established a trust in the 1940s to pay pension benefits to certain domestic employees who worked for her, her children, or her grandchildren. Williams, an employee of Helena duPont Wright (one of Mary's grandchildren), filed a lawsuit under ERISA alleging that the Trust is an employee benefit plan governed by ERISA ... The court explained that Williams cites no facts suggesting that her employer, Wright, supported, continued, or cared for the Trust." [Dunne v. Elton Corp., No. 23-1499 (3d Cir. Sept. 18, 2024)]  MORE >>

"Cybercriminals today are targeting large and small businesses almost indiscriminately, and to great effect.... For larger businesses, the average cost of a data breach is now $4.88 million dollars ... [A] plan sponsor's fiduciary duty is to safeguard participant assets, in a similar way to how they guard their own organization."  MORE >>

"In 2021, consultants and advisors described nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of their DC plan sponsor clients as not having a stated opinion on retirement income, but in 2024, this same measure declined to 19%."  MORE >>

17 pages. "More respondents have felt the impact of inflation on finances than those who have not ... Most respondents are spending less than or equal to their income, with most also indicating they have made adjustments to their spending patterns.... A high majority of respondents correctly identified a sample of key effects of inflation on retirement savings[.]"  MORE >>

41 pages. "The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute's Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program Steering Committee issued a call for essays to explore the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to mortality and longevity.... The result of this effort is intended to provide a useful resource for readers to increase awareness and discussion around this topic and to set the stage for future research."  MORE >>

"Employee benefit plans are targets for cybercriminals because of the large amounts of sensitive data they require. As new threats become increasingly complex and continue to emerge, fiduciaries can work to better protect participant data and mitigate their own losses by establishing adequate compliance now."  MORE >>