"The good news is that the Final Regs did not make major changes to the 2022 proposed regulations. But there are important refinements and clarifications, and, of course, discussion of many of the SECURE 2.0 RMD changes that Congress passed after the Treasury released the proposed regulations. However, certain SECURE 2.0 changes are in the proposed regulations ... and the two sets of documents are intended to be read together. This article will highlight some of the most important changes."  MORE >>

"[O}ne potential approach for an employer to minimize exposure to a similar lawsuit is to amend its 401(k) plan to require forfeitures to be applied to offset future employer contributions.... Alternatively, employers could choose to use forfeitures to pay plan expenses, such as recordkeeping fees, or pay those fees directly.... [E]mployers and 401(k) plan fiduciaries whose 401(k) plan documents contain typical language regarding the use of forfeitures could also decide to let more of these lawsuits play out before making any changes."  MORE >>

21 pages. "Senator Warren opened a new investigation into the prevalence of insurance industry kickbacks in April 2024, writing to the country's 15 largest annuity companies, seeking additional information on their use of these payments. This new report details the findings of this investigation. It reveals that, while the annuity and insurance industries -- who earn immense profits from these tactics -- are fighting to overturn the Retirement Security Rule, the rule is needed because of their aggressive use of secret rewards and kickbacks that incentivize financial agents to give bad advice."  MORE >>

"[An] estimated 80% of plan sponsors are overpaying for their plans due to not conducting benchmarking analyses in at least three years, signaling that widespread, avoidable overpayments on plans have become the norm for large employers across the U.S."  MORE >>

"From streamlining the savings process, to effectively managing competing priorities and ultimately improving the likelihood of achieving retirement preparedness, ... respondents reported significant positive impacts from having a personalized plan.... Having a personalized plan for retirement was the second most important factor (behind education level) tied to higher retirement savings among behavioral and demographic factors we analyzed."  MORE >>

"Over half of Gen Zers opt to use only savings accounts to store their funds.... 66% of Gen Zers saving for retirement use 401(k)s (the most popular option), but only one in five are setting aside money for retirement at all.... Parents are an overwhelmingly popular source of financial insight for 61% of Gen Z ... When asked what they're saving for most, 19% of Gen Zers said travel, followed closely by building up savings for living expenses like housing (17%) and transportation (18%)."  MORE >>

"A successful retirement program has three critical components: [1] Providing meaningful retirement income; [2] Stabilizing contribution requirements; [3] Ensuring benefit payments are secure. Program success is ensured when the participants and other key stakeholders understand it, appreciate it and actively engage with it."  MORE >>