"Recordkeepers increasingly leverage virtual assistants to bolster the self-service experience and serve as a navigational aid ... Leaders in Plan Health offer robust functionality, customization and tailored recommendations, but recent changes forecast the increasing value of design enhancements."  MORE >>

"The first step to mitigating risk is understanding whether the plan documents contain discretionary language permitting the use of forfeitures for plan expenses or future employer contributions. If so, consider: [1] Narrowing the acceptable uses of the plan's forfeiture account to one category of expenses (e.g., employer contributions only or plan expenses paid by the employer only), or [2] Identifying one category of expenses to always be paid first."  MORE >>

"[O]ver 80% of plan sponsors prefer to allow employees to keep their assets in-plan and withdraw them over time. The number of workers aged 55 and older has increased by 74% over the past two decades, prompting plan sponsors to focus more on how participants transition from saving for retirement to living in it."  MORE >>

"Legislation has been reintroduced in both the House and Senate that would prohibit ERISA-covered retirement plans from investing in companies based in foreign adversary countries. The Protecting Americans' Retirement Savings Act [HR 2067/S 928] ... would also require the disclosure of existing investments in foreign adversary and sanctioned entities."  MORE >>

"[T]he value of the cash balance annuity is 20-30% greater than the value of the 401(k) TDF annuity. This is due to the much more favorable annuitization basis available within a DB plan ... As a result, DB plans (including cash balance plans) provide employers a unique legal ability to deliver substantially more retirement income per dollar to their employees."  MORE >>

"Twenty-six percent of women cannot afford to save.... For 15% of women, the absence of employer matching contributions is a deal-breaker.... 25% of women prefer to invest outside of their employer-sponsored plans, raising questions about whether they're maximizing all available retirement savings opportunities."  MORE >>

"Senate Bill 282 establishes the Kansas Retirement Investment and Savings Plan, which would offer a defined contribution (DC) retirement benefit for all state employees -- excluding police, firefighters, judges, and correctional officers -- hired on or after July 1, 2027... [T]he Pension Integrity Project found that the proposed DC retirement plan in SB 282 reflects a high-quality public sector retirement plan design that incorporates best practices from national experience."  MORE >>

"Furloughed federal workers will maintain their coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program during a lapse in appropriations. Premiums will accrue over the course of a shutdown, but will then be deducted from employees' first paychecks after agency funding has been restored.... Federal retirees enrolled in both the Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System will still receive their scheduled annuity payments during a shutdown. Contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan will be halted until the government reopens ... Federal workers cannot substitute leave or unpaid furloughs when the government shuts down."  MORE >>

"[T]he Acting General Counsel of the [NLRB] recently rescinded, via Memorandum GC 25-05, more than 30 Biden Administration memoranda. Chief among the rescinded memoranda is the NLRB's 2023 guidance [Memorandum GC 23-05] regarding non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions included within non-managerial employees' severance agreements, which followed the NLRB's February 21, 2023 decision in McLaren Macomb."  MORE >>