"This rule adjusts as required by law the maximum civil penalties that PBGC may assess
under sections 4071 and 4302 of ERISA. The new maximum amounts are $2,739 for section
4071 penalties and $365 for section 4302 penalties."  MORE >>

Jan. 6, 2025. "What's New: [1] New retirement plan distributions and their repayments.... [2] 2024 Line 15c Worksheet.... [3] New Line 25c section.... [4] References to 2024 Form 8915-F.... [5] Coronavirus-related distributions.... [6] Modified adjusted gross income (AGI) limit for Roth IRA contributions increased.... [7] Due date for contributions."  MORE >>

"[G]uidance published by the IRS  ... noted that in certain circumstances, the merger of a plan exempt from the requirements with a plan that is subject to the requirements will result in the merged plan being subject to the requirements, but in other circumstances the surviving plan will be exempt from the requirements.... Employers who fail to properly implement the new requirements may be able to correct these errors under the IRS's [EPCRS]."  MORE >>

"[A]ccess to relatively low dollar emergency savings is an increasingly important necessity for American workers ... PLESAs may not be the answer to this problem. The administrative burden for the plan sponsor, recordkeeper and TPA make it cumbersome, along with the fact that withdrawals have no fees or charges -- so who will ultimately end up paying for that aspect if the participant cannot? Most recordkeepers ... have not even talked about having availability of this provision."  MORE >>

The authors provide a very brief summary of "technical" SECURE 2.0 retirement policy issues requiring clarification.  MORE >>

"When is the first RMD due (the Required Beginning Date -- RBD)? ... What is the deadline for withdrawing subsequent RMDs after the first RMD? ... Does withdrawing more than the required minimum distribution reduce the minimum for the next year? ... Are there plan distributions that do not count as RMDs? ... RMDs must be taken prior to a rollover or roth conversion ... Penalties for failure to take sufficient RMDs ... Who is responsible?"  MORE >>

"The fact Social Security was already collecting this information, albeit not in a database, raises the question of whether this new lost and found database will add any real value.... Still, those who feel they might have some retirement savings somewhere might be interested in using this new database.... [S]ome companies with retirement plans will also participate in the database.... The DOL has launched a database with less than complete data ... Given this, what should the government do to make this database more accessible and user-friendly?"  MORE >>

"Whether the 'Retirement Plan' box should be checked is not based on account balances, but whether the participant received a contribution or made an elective deferral to the plan in question in the tax year covered by the Form W-2. Thus, the Form W-2 reporting requirements remain the same for defined contribution plans: If deferrals or contributions were made, then the box should be checked; if not, the box should not be checked."  MORE >>

"Even as PE firms have long had an eye on defined-contribution plans, given the vast size of that potential market, it’s an area that is incredibly slow to change. It’s heavily regulated, and plan sponsors are widely averse to any changes with a hint of legal risk or potentially damaging outcomes for their participants. Still, some academics have made the case for PE within DC plans."  MORE >>

"The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. corporate pension plans increased by an estimated 0.9 percentage points in December, ending the month at 104.1%, an 8.3 percentage point increase from December 2023 ... The aggregate funded ratio is estimated to have increased by 2.5% and 8.3% during the fourth quarter and over the calendar year 2024, respectively."  MORE >>

"The windfall elimination provision reduced the Social Security benefits of retired federal workers and other public servants who spent a portion of their career in the private sector in addition to a federal, state or local government job ... And the government pension offset [reduced] spousal and survivor Social Security benefits in families with retired government workers.... [M]ore than 2 million retired public servants impacted by the WEP and 750,000 spouses and survivors affected by the GPO will see an increase on average of $360 per month to their Social Security benefits."  MORE >>

"A recent article in The Wall Street Journal may have a catchy headline -- 'Do I Get Rich, or Go Bust? These Tools Predicted My Financial Future' -- but the consensus among wealth management experts is that it falls into a classic retirement planning trap that has the potential to mislead the public. That is, the article fails to spotlight the nuance baked into retirement income projections based on Monte Carlo simulations. Commonly, such analyses fail to contextualize their failing scenarios, projecting financial destitution in retirement as more likely than is the reality."  MORE >>

"Who needs a WISP? ... [1] Any business that collects, stores, or processes personal information.... [2] Sectors such as health care, insurance, finance, and education have additional federal and state regulations mandating robust information security measures.... [3] Entities reporting data breaches.... Checklist for developing a WISP: Oversight.... Risk assessment.... Documentation.... Legal requirements."  MORE >>