"Form 8955-SSA is a stand-alone reporting form filed with the IRS.... DO NOT file Form 8955-SSA with Form 5500 ... or Form 5500-SF ... Use Form 8955-SSA to report information relating to each participant who separated from service covered by the plan and is entitled to a deferred vested benefit under the plan but is not paid this retirement benefit." [Also available: 2024 IRS Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits]  MORE >>

67 pages. "There are two kinds of annual premiums: Flat-rate Premium, which applies to all plans, and Variable-rate Premium (VRP), which applies only to Single-employer Plans. Every covered plan under ERISA section 4021 must make a premium filing each year.... Electronic filing is mandatory for all plans.... This document provides information for plans paying premiums for plan years beginning in 2025, including instructions for each data element that must be reported."  MORE >>

"[The] Regs confirm that [mandatory automatic enrollment (MAE)] must be added to applicable plans for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024, thereby confirming for the public that there is no permissible delay in instituting MAE for plans that need to do so. However, the effective date of the MAE Regs themselves is plan years beginning six months after publication of final regulations.... A reasonable, good faith interpretation of Code Section 414A is required in the meantime.... [T]here is not a specific statement in the preamble that adherence to the MAE Regs constitutes such an interpretation ... The real question is: what other 'choices' that a plan sponsor makes in relation to the law versus the regulations will be considered to be reasonable and in good faith?"  MORE >>

"The relief takes on three forms, a plan sponsor can decide what, if any, of the relief provisions it wants to adopt and offer to its participants ... [1] Distribution relief -- expands distribution rights and related tax relief; [2] Plan loan relief -- expands the loan limits for qualified plans and permits a one-year delay in loan repayments; and [3] Home purchase relief -- provides an ability to repay 401(k) or 403(b) plan hardship distributions taken for principal residence purchase or construction that never actually happen."  MORE >>

"The airline breached its fiduciary duty of loyalty -- but not its fiduciary duty of prudence -- in allowing its $26 billion retirement plan to be influenced by corporate goals unrelated to workers' best financial interests, Judge Reed O'Connor ... said after a four-day, non-jury trial. The 2023 lawsuit, which says the airline wrongly offered 401(k) funds managed by companies that pursue ESG policy goals through proxy voting and shareholder activism, is the latest battle in the broader debate over socially conscious investing." [Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc., No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025)]  MORE >>

"[T[he divergence between a finding of disloyalty and one of prudence strikes this writer as unusual ... Granted the two are often discussed separately, but it seems that in the vast majority (if not all) such cases, the two march hand in hand. The implications here are that a fiduciary could do what fiduciaries broadly are expected to do in terms of process, and still ignore their obligations to participants. To some -- including this writer -- that may seem a distinction without a real difference." [Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc., No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The court emphasized that comparisons to other plans must consider the quality and scope of services rendered. It also noted that Montefiore had actively managed and reduced the plan's fees over time, which contradicted claims of imprudence. The court also rejected the appellants' argument that recordkeeping services were fungible across providers. The court pointed out the variability in fees among comparator plans, indicating that such services are not standardized." [Boyette v. Montefiore Med. Ctr., No. 24-1279 (2d Cir. Jan. 8, 2025; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"[O]fficials from the DOL, IRS and Social Security Administration hammered out a way for the IRS to share the 8955-SSA data with the DOL. Tim Hauser, EBSA's deputy assistant secretary for program operations, declined to get into the specifics on how the IRS went from 'no' to 'yes,' but said it took a lot of 'good faith' work between the agencies.... 'Right now, the database is basically as good as the 8955 data is,' Hauser said. 'To the extent that data is accurate and complete, so is the database. To the extent that data is outdated, or folks haven't supplemented it or corrected it or fully complied with it, it's not.' "  MORE >>

"The frequency of [ERISA] excessive fee class action litigation surged by 35% in 2024, with even more ERISA class action cases filed with novel theories against both defined contribution and defined benefit plans. Most of the increased volume took place in the second half of the year, as filings spiked to a near-record pace."  MORE >>

"Despite experiencing significant levels of inflation, many retirees are better off financially than they were several years ago and may be considering increases in their spending plan as a result.... [Y]ou may wish to stress test some of your assumptions before committing to those spending increases."  MORE >>

"[PBGC] has approved the application submitted ... by the Laborers' International Union of North America Local No. 265 Pension Plan. The plan, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, covers 1,460 participants in the construction industry ... [and] will receive approximately $59.4 million in SFA ... The plan was projected to become insolvent and run out of money in 2027."  MORE >>

"[PBGC] has approved the application submitted ... by the International Union of Operating Engineers Upstate New York Engineers Pension Fund. The plan, based in Syracuse, New York, covers 6,461 participants in the construction industry ... [and] will receive approximately $85.5 million in SFA[.]"  MORE >>

"[PBGC] has approved the application submitted ... by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 734 Pension Plan. The plan, based in Chicago covers 3,453 participants in the transportation industry ... [and] will receive approximately $99.7 million in SFA ... The plan was projected to become insolvent and run out of money in 2032."  MORE >>

"The court has ordered the parties to brief on whether and to what extent employees incurred losses as a result of the investing decision [a]nd the court has deferred a decision on an injunction against American Airlines ESG investing for these funds ... ESG investments are fairly standard and selecting a BlackRock fund hardly seems imprudent, but ... there's zero theoretical question that ESG investing sacrifices returns." [Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc., No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025)]  MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses in parts of California affected by wildfires and straight-line winds that began on Jan. 7, 2025 ... now have until Oct. 15, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. ... [I]ndividuals and households that reside or have a business in Los Angeles County, qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"[A] table reflects the DOL's 2025 annual inflation adjustments to the civil money penalties for violations of certain requirements under ERISA, effective January 15, 2025.... [A second] table reflects the DOL's 2025 annual inflation adjustments to the civil money penalties for violations of certain requirements under WHD enforcement authority, effective January 15, 2025."  MORE >>