62 pages, Jan. 31, 2025. "What's New for 2024: [1] IRA contribution limit increased for 2024....  [2] Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... [3] Qualified tuition program rollover to a Roth IRA.... [4] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions.... [5] Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions.... What's New for 2025:  [1] IRA contribution limit for 2025.... [2] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions increased.... [3] Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions increased."  MORE >>

"A higher catch-up contribution limit applies to employees who attain ages 60-63 during a plan year, which is first effective for plan years beginning in 2025.... Catch-up eligible employees with wages over $145,000 (indexed for inflation) in the prior calendar year will be eligible to make catch-up contributions only on a Roth basis beginning in 2026.... While the proposed regulations will not be effective until six months after they are issued as final regulations, plans are permitted to apply them beginning in 2025."  MORE >>

"Several mandatory and optional provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 take effect this year, and recent IRS guidance has helped clarify some of the issues. Meanwhile, plan sponsors are also gearing up for a big change in 2026.... It requires that people at least 50 years old whose prior-year Social Security wages from an employer sponsoring the plan exceeded $145,000 make catch-up contributions to a Roth account, rather than a pre-tax account."  MORE >>

"[1] American Airlines breached duty of loyalty, but not prudence, in ESG case -- on unique facts.... [2] UnitedHealth group settles target-date-fund challenge for $69 million settlement amid conflict-of-interest allegations.... [3] Pension settlements: legal challenges continue.... [4] Supreme Court hears case on what's needed in a viable ERISA complaint, oral argument did not suggest an outcome.... [5] Vanguard settles target-date-fund claim for $40 million -- along with a $106 million penalty."  MORE >>

"AI enhances phishing attacks by generating error-free messages using GenAI ... This means it can produce realistic images, voice recordings and videos, and it can also craft personalized emails from stolen and publicly available information ... It also enables highly targeted phishing emails -- making scams more convincing -- and automates phishing attempts and response processing."  MORE >>

"While catch-up contributions and cash-out thresholds have been adopted widely, take-up is more ponderous for student loan matching and emergency withdrawal flexibility."  MORE >>

"Getting noticed online can feel like trying to have a conversation at a concert -- overwhelming and chaotic.... Fortunately, breaking through the noise doesn't have to be complicated, it just takes a little creativity, relatability, and authenticity. Sometimes, the key isn't to yell over the noise. It's to say something meaningful in the right moment. Often, it's the simplest ideas that create the biggest impact."  MORE >>

"The Cannex study hypothesized a plan participant, 40 years old in 2023 and with plan savings of $100,000 in a target date fund (TDF). This imaginary participant intends to add $10,000 (increased by 3% each year) to the TDF each year for the next 25 years, and to retire at age 65. The study then imagines five different paths -- each representing one of the most common methods for drawing down 401(k) in retirement -- that the participant might take."  MORE >>

"[Strategic Withdrawal Plans (SWPs)] generally provide an algorithm for determining how much of your portfolio you can withdraw each year. This amount is determined without regard to the existence of other household assets and is generally the same real dollar amount each year with possible adjustments for deviations between actual and assumed investment experience ... The basic problem with SWPs is that many sources of income and many household expenses are not linear in the real world."  MORE >>

"A recent survey ... found that more than half -- 59% -- of workers who were not saving for retirement -- thought they WERE saving for retirement. Nearly half (49%) thought they had been automatically enrolled, but nearly as many (41%) thought they had signed up on their own. And three-quarters (77%) said they had started saving as soon as they were eligible for the plan!"  MORE >>

"State insurance regulators are now looking hard at use of artificial intelligence tools and other high-tech tools at life and annuity issuers' vendors.... The NAIC's Third-Party Data and Models Task Force is developing a framework for the regulatory oversight of the data files, predictive models and related tools that insurers get from outside sources."  MORE >>

"[1] Invest wisely in rewards ... [2] Make rewards count for employees ... [3] Help employees grow and deliver to their best [4] ... Solve for workforce health and wellbeing as a business performance vulnerability ... [5] Make total rewards work better globally."  MORE >>

"The proposed regulations provide clarity on the application of the deduction limit to a broader group of covered employees. Notably, 'covered employee' was formerly limited to five executive officers, plus former covered executive officers. Under the expanded definition, the next five highest-compensated employees are included, even if they are not executive officers, do not work directly for the publicly held corporation, or were employed for only part of the year."  MORE >>