61 pages, Jan. 30, 2025. "What's New for 2024: [1] IRA contribution limit increased for 2024.... [2] Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... [3] Distributions for emergency personal expenses.... [4] Qualified tuition program rollover to a Roth IRA.... [5] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions.... [6] 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 >>

"Participants between age 60 and 63 whose employers opt to offer the additional catch-up can elect to contribute the maximum $23,500 + $11,250= $34,750, or $2,895.33 per month, or $668.27 weekly, but if the employer codes the payroll software so that the mechanics follow the law, no part of the employee deferral will be considered a catchup until August. It means that there is time to get it right."  MORE >>

"The EBSA has provided informal guidance ... [which includes] 'warnings' of a problem with missing participants ... [F]ew plan fiduciaries automatically get reports from their service providers about these 'warnings' ... [and] will need to request the information from their plan recordkeepers.... [T]he missing participant issue [is] one of the top investigation priorities for the EBSA and will almost certainly be a part of any investigation of an ERISA governed retirement plan."  MORE >>

"Six former employees of the Trader Joe's Co. filed a lawsuit against the grocery chain ... claiming the 401(k) plan was overinvested in one fund with excessive fees and that the company mismanaged forfeited funds.... According to the complaint, approximately 70% of plan assets -- nearly $2 billion -- were invested in one fund in the 401(k) plan ... in 2019 and 2020.' [Stephen v. Trader Joe"s Co., No. 25-10212 (D. Mass complaint filed Jan. 28, 2025)]  MORE >>

"[K]ey considerations for plan sponsors, consultants, and advisors include remembering that different plans have different priorities, and that retirement income needs are highly diverse, so one solution will not meet the needs of all.... Building a feedback loop with the employee base, for example, through an annual survey, would help an employer and plan sponsor better meet their needs[.]"  MORE >>

"By taking proactive steps, employers can ensure they're well-positioned to maximize SECURE 2.0 and help their employees prepare for retirement.... With Secure 2.0 in place, it is a great time to enhance or overhaul benefits communication and education so they focus more on employee needs and less on technical details."  MORE >>

"[T]he retirement industry is beginning to examine its relationship with AI and how it can integrate new functionality in the coming years ... [S]ome forms of AI are already integrated into at least one area of defined contribution (DC) plan management and have the potential to ease back-office operations for recordkeepers and asset managers."  MORE >>

"24% of advisors say that half of their clients have bought alternative assets.... Twenty percent of advisors now recommend cryptocurrencies to all their clients -- nearly double compared to Q3 2024.... 64% advise the usage of crypto to 10% of clients while 35% recommend digital assets to at least half of participants."  MORE >>

"Defined benefit funds of the 200 largest U.S. retirement plans reported $198.4 billion in private credit assets as of Sept. 30, up 57.2% from $126.2 billion a year prior. Private credit has seen a huge leap in recent years from only $26 billion five years ago, according to P&I data. The growth in private credit assets continued at a steady pace, up from the 29% growth seen a year earlier."  MORE >>

"New public employees in North Dakota and New Hampshire would participate in a state-run DC plan rather than a defined benefit plan, and existing employees would be able to shift to coverage under the state-run DC plan as well. And North Dakota takes it a step further and would make it possible for new employees to pursue more options."  MORE >>

"In early January, Social Security's retiring Chief Actuary, Steve Goss, released an actuarial valuation of a proposal intended to improve the solvency of the Social Security trust funds ... [which] includes a total of 17 provisions that would affect the system's finances.... [W]hile the proposal would definitely improve Social Security's solvency, it should not be considered as a 'fix' for 75 years or any specific period."  MORE >>

"ERISA permits the use of actuarial assumptions to calculate the benefits due to participants and beneficiaries of defined benefit pension plans. Despite this long-held tenet of ERISA, the Appellants in Drummond urged the court to rewrite ERISA and impose their own evolving standards to calculate these benefits." [Drummond v. Southern Company Services, Inc., No. 22-0174 (N.D. Ga. Jul. 30, 2024; on appeal to 11th Cir. No. 24-12773, ERIC amicus brief filed Feb. 3, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The Order directs that any agency endeavoring to promulgate a new rule, regulation or guidance must simultaneously identify at least 10 existing rules, regulations, or guidance documents to be repealed. The Order further requires that the total incremental cost of all new regulations for fiscal year 2025, taking into account any repealed regulations, be significantly lower than zero ... [In] 2024 alone the [DOL] issued or proposed three significant new ERISA-related regulations ... The cost to the [DOL] for just three new regulations under the Trump Administration will be the elimination of 30 existing regulations."  MORE >>

"Providing a baseline level of core benefits coverage, combined with flexibility for personalization, can help meet the diverse needs of employees.... Benefits packages also significantly impact workplace culture.... Companies should prioritize offerings that foster a deep-rooted relationship with employees, such as retirement plans."  MORE >>

"ERISA litigation has rapidly expanded over the past few years, and 2024 was no exception. Defined contribution plan litigation picked up even more steam, defined benefit plan litigation took off, and health plan fiduciary breach claims were also on the rise. And the 2025 outlook is even busier."  MORE >>

"[T]he IRS's proposal to cover certain individuals who are not employees of the publicly held corporation [PHC] but who perform substantial services for the publicly held corporation.... While many PHCs may be little affected by this rule, there are some for whom this rule could be a major pain, administratively, legally and financially. This will arise in situations where, for one reason or another, the employee of another organization spends substantially all his or her time working for the PHC in a particular year."  MORE >>