"The [Self Correction Component (SCC)] ... falls significantly short of meeting industry expectations. Unlike the Self-Correction Program provided by the IRS under EPCRS -- which makes available a true self-correction alternative that permits plan sponsors to self-correct certain qualification failures over a much longer period of time, without regard to the dollar amount of the failures and without requiring plan sponsors to report their self-corrections of those failures to the IRS -- the SCC appears to simply be a somewhat lighter, abbreviated version of the VFC Program."  MORE >>

"The opinion explained that ERISA's fiduciary provisions require that 'a fiduciary must always discharge his duties in the interest of the beneficiary alone and only for the purpose of gaining financial benefit.' However, the provisions do not explicitly limit what a fiduciary may consider while discharging his or her duty.... While narrow, the decision acts as a considerable example of a court approving the use of ESG principals and stands as a potential case study for the limited impact Loper Bright may have on agency deference decisions." [Utah v. Micone, No. 23-0016 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 14, 2025]  MORE >>

"[T]he Third District Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the CalPERS Board's exclusion of certain compensation paid to a member for serving as the president of his employee union. This case, the first to interpret Government Code Section 3558.8, held that Section 3558.8 does not require retirement systems to include all pay received while on leave for service to a labor union in retirement allowance calculations." [Serrano v. California Public Emp. Ret. Sys., No. C098392 (Cal. App. Feb. 25, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Nearly 84% of U.S.-based retirement plans have at least one likely fiduciary violation under [ERISA] ... [A recent report] suggested that more than 600,000 American companies are at risk for fines, legal penalties and fiduciary failure based on red-flag warnings found in the latest Form 5500 filings for 764,729 plans. The violations uncovered were described as 'infractions, fineable offenses, fiduciary failure, or plan malpractice.' They fell into two categories: Regulatory infraction red flags and egregious plan mismanagement red flags."  MORE >>

"401(k) plans that use automatic enrollment mechanisms and/or employer contributions are critical to encourage workers to save and to invest for retirement ... More than one-third of large 401(k) plans have automatic enrollment, and nearly 90 percent make employer contributions."  MORE >>

80 pages; Mar. 2025. "More than half of large 401(k) plans in the sample ... reported that they automatically enrolled their participants ... 88 percent of large 401(k) plans, covering more than nine out of 10 401(k) participants, had employer contributions.... In 2022, the average large 401(k) plan offered 29 investment options ... CITs held 43 percent of large private-sector 401(k) plan assets in the sample in 2022.... In 2022, the average total plan cost was 0.85 percent of assets, down from 1.02 percent in 2009."  MORE >>

"A flurry of recent agreements in the U.S., U.K., Middle East and Japan neatly demonstrate the key benefits of asset owners taking equity stakes in asset management firms, and in the private markets space in particular: pension funds are able to precisely allocate long-term capital to an asset manager and strategies that they will in some cases co-design; asset owners are able to negotiate lower fees; and they also are able to gain direct access to expertise in new areas of the markets without the need to build in-house capability."  MORE >>

"Many 401(k) advisors are exceptional at managing retirement plans, guiding committees, and compliance monitoring.... Advisors must embrace a combination of digital marketing, referral strategies, and differentiation techniques to stand out. Let's break down the key components of a high-performing sales funnel to help you gain -- and retain -- more 401(k) plan sponsors."  MORE >>

"Through March 4, 2025, SSA has already paid 1,127,723 people more than $7.5 billion in retroactive payments. The retroactive payments are the result of the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The average retroactive payment so far is $6,710."  MORE >>

"The IRS recently released proposed regulations which ... outline the methodology which would be used to identify the expanded group of covered employees. Additionally, the proposed regulations address the identification of covered employees at affiliated groups.... [T]his article summarizes the new regulations and provides a practical approach for managing the multiple categories of covered employees."  MORE >>