"Countless surveys suggest many American families have little to nothing set aside for unexpected emergency-type expenses.... [L]et's look at some of the reasons you could break your plan by using PLESAs to help participants plan for emergencies..... Enter the good old fashioned after-tax contribution ... There are no contribution limits ... and participants can access those accounts at any time. Contributions are included in the ACP test, so it would generally make sense to limit availability to non-HCEs, which is no different than the PLESA."  MORE >>

"FAB 2025-01 provides that until the DOL issues formal guidance, the DOL will take no enforcement action (e.g., a claim of fiduciary breach) if an unclaimed account of no more than $1,000 ... is transferred to a state unclaimed property fund, provided [certain conditions are met] ... This guidance, while not complete relief or necessarily permanent, is welcome news for the sponsors and administrators of ongoing DC plans with significant numbers of unclaimed participant accounts."  MORE >>

"[FAB 2025-01] does provide sponsors with a way of dealing with small benefits for missing participants. But it does (in effect) turn DOL's Best Practices 'guidance' ... into a requirement: ... to take advantage of this non-enforcement policy the sponsor/sponsor fiduciary must implement a missing participant program 'consistent with [DOL's] Best Practices for Pension Plans.' "  MORE >>

"The suit [alleges] that the defendants' allocation of forfeited fund assets to reduce its own employer contributions 'benefitted [sic] Defendants, but harmed the Plan and participants in the Plan, by reducing Plan assets, not allocating forfeited funds to participants' accounts, and/or by causing participants to incur expenses that could otherwise have been covered in whole or in part by forfeited funds." [Wright v. JPMorgan Chase & Co. No. 25-0525 (C.D. Calif. complaint filed Jan. 21, 2025)]  MORE >>

"There is an unprecedented surge of newly defined contribution plans -- especially 401(k)s ... caused primarily by state mandates plus tax credits in SECURE 2.0 and group plans like PEPs.... The current roster of 12,000 retirement plan advisor specialists will not be able to serve the almost 400,000 new 401(k) plans ... As they had done when DC plans surged in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, TPAs are a valuable resource who can help newbies providing local service."  MORE >>

"While automation brings significant benefits, it also takes time and money to implement. Initial setup and ongoing maintenance are essential, particularly as the automated workflows grow more complex.... Furthermore, automation tools ... involve monetary costs for ongoing subscription fees, which can vary based on usage, with optional consulting fees for support creating or fixing workflows."  MORE >>

"Annuity purchases for retirees with small benefit amounts can be an easy and highly effective way to reduce PBGC premiums and save money at no cost to plan participants. For plan sponsors not subject to the PBGC Variable Rate Premium Cap, purchasing annuities for retirees receiving less than $350 monthly will save the plan money. For plan sponsors subject to the cap, purchasing annuities for retirees receiving less than $1,050 monthly will save the plan money."  MORE >>

"The selection of the lookback month ... influences the maximum deductible contribution amount.... By default, the plan's lookback month is set to 0, allowing the plan sponsor the flexibility to opt for an alternative lookback month in a future year.... If interest rates were lower during any of the four preceding months, electing an alternative lookback month could increase the maximum deductible contribution. Although this strategy can only be employed once for each client, it has proven invaluable in recent years as interest rates have risen. "  MORE >>

22 pages. " Savers eligible for the full match could experience significant increases in retirement wealth, with scenarios projecting mean boosts of up to 12.01% overall. Single women stand to benefit disproportionately, with potential wealth increases reaching 13.13%.... Maximum benefits are achieved when savers adjust their behavior to fully leverage the program's matching incentives."  MORE >>

"The recent repeal of the Social Security windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO) is expected to significantly increase the benefit amounts of public-sector employees who would have otherwise been subject to their restrictions. Bigger Social Security checks are clearly an exciting prospect for affected clients ... The 'raises' may also come with potential downsides for retirees, however, including new Medicare surcharges and higher income taxes."  MORE >>

"Over the years, the DOL has issued a series of PTEs for captives created by employers -- typically to reinsure benefit risks arising under the employer's employee welfare benefit plans ... while also allowing for deduction of the premiums as trade or business expenses. And, in July 2024, the DOL proposed a significant PTE that would allow an employer's captive insurer to reinsure pension annuity risks. Accordingly, employers that successfully secure PTEs for captive insurance in the future need not be concerned with the IRS' onerous 'listed transaction' rules."  MORE >>