49 pages; Mar. 13, 2025. "What's New: [1] Compensation ... [and] up contribution limits for 2024 and 2025 ... [2] Required minimum distributions (RMDs).... [3] Plans established after end of tax year.... [4] Increased small employer pension plan startup cost credit.... [5] Employer contributions credit.... [6] Small employer military spouse participation credit.... [7] Designated Roth nonelective contributions and designated Roth matching contributions.... [8] Matching contributions on account of qualified student loan payments.... [9] Starter 401(k) deferral-only arrangement.... [10] Additional nonelective contributions under a SIMPLE IRA plan.... [11] Midyear replacement of SIMPLE IRA plan with safe harbor 401(k) plan.... [12] Roth IRAs under a SEP arrangement and Roth SIMPLE IRAs under a SIMPLE IRA plan.... [13] Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts. "  MORE >>

53 pages; Mar. 10, 2025. "What's New: Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... Distributions for emergency personal expenses.... Transfers and rollovers of assets and the substantially equal payment method.... Reminders: [1] The direct payment requirement for certain distributions for payment of health or long-term care insurance repealed.... [2] Form 8915-F replaces Form 8915-E. "  MORE >>

"Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are payments typically made by year end. However, individuals who turned 73 in 2024 can delay their first RMD until April 1, 2025. This special rule applies to IRA owners and participants born after Dec. 31, 1950.... Taxpayers receiving their first required distribution for 2024 in 2025 (by April 1) must take their second RMD for 2025 by Dec. 31, 2025."  MORE >>

"[1] The SCC is not available for every VFCP-eligible failure ... [2] The SCC does not absolve plans from notifying the DOL about the failure ... [3] The SCC does not absolve plans from documenting the failure and correction ... [4] Following a self-correction under the SCC, self-correctors will not receive a 'no action' letter from the DOL like they would following a formal VFCP submission.... [5] [F]ailures corrected under SCC may also be eligible for excise tax relief[.]"  MORE >>

"For Roth catch-ups, plan sponsors should work with their payroll provider and recordkeeper to be in a position to comply with the Roth catch-up mandate for 2026 -- from the proposed regulations, we can see there will be a number of administrative changes needed to make this all work. And those who are not adding a Roth program will need to track the impacted participants to ensure they are not able to make catch-up contributions."  MORE >>

"[F]or at least one of the BlackRock Lifepath TDF suits, after giving the plaintiffs three opportunities to make their case, a federal judge has dismissed the suit — with prejudice.... The defendants here (again) are the fiduciaries of the Cisco Systems Inc. 401(k) plan[.]" [Bracalente v. Cisco Systems Inc., No. 22-4417 (N.D. Calif. Mar. 11, 2025)]  MORE >>

"[A] class action involving the Pride Mobility ESOP ... is one of six brought so far -- and the second to settle -- claiming that the ESOP's investment in assets other than employer stock was too conservative.... While an ESOP is generally exempt from the diversification requirement, this is only to the extent of employer stock held by the plan. The issue raised by these cases is whether the plan fiduciaries went too far to minimize the risk of large losses by investing too conservatively."  MORE >>

"Reliability depends on mitigating various risks, including administrative (e.g., there is easy access to accurate data to ensure accurate benefits), operational (e.g., cybersecurity), demographic and investment risks.... [It] is critical for the success of all types of retirement plans that stakeholders appreciate the role the plan serves in ensuring secure benefits, ultimately leading to meaningful retirement income."  MORE >>

"When automatic enrollment with a 6 percent default contribution is adopted by all DC plans, the retirement savings shortfall among those who have access to a DC plan in the future decreases by 7 percent.... When automatic portability alone is used by all plans, the reduction in the retirement savings shortfall reaches over 11 percent for those ages 35-39.... The impact of automatic features is the largest among those who will have more years exposed to them -- those younger and with more future years of eligibility in a DC plan."  MORE >>

"Employer plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are an important source of income for all but the lowest-income retirees. Either directly or through a spouse, more than 70 percent of Americans over age 70 receive income from retirement plans. That share increases rapidly with income, however, to nearly 90 percent for those outside the bottom quartile of the income distribution."  MORE >>

Updated March 2025. "On a nationwide basis, contributions made by state and local governments to pension trust funds account for 5.11 percent of direct general spending. Pension spending levels, however, vary widely among states, depending on various factors, and are actuarially sufficient for some pension plans and insufficient for others."  MORE >>

"Georgia lawmakers have proposed a bill that would establish Peach State Saves, a defined contribution retirement program for most private sector employees without access to employer-sponsored plans. Under the bill, a covered employer that does not offer a retirement plan would be required to automatically enroll employees in a payroll-deduction individual retirement account run by the state, unless an employee chooses to opt out of the program."  MORE >>

"[In] most cases, an ESOP is a complement to -- not a replacement for -- a more diversified retirement vehicle. If future policies encouraging ESOPs keep this balance and also encourage the adoption of 401(k)s, then ESOPs will continue to be a great way to help workers accumulate wealth while also encouraging ownership and empowerment."  MORE >>

"Employers generally need to respond to a written request for certain ERISA documents within 30 days to avoid potential penalties of up to $110 per day. In many common written request situations, there is some level of ambiguity for employers to resolve as to which documents are subject to this mandatory disclosure requirement and which specific plan materials the employer should provide."  MORE >>

"The U.S. Senate on March 12 confirmed [Keith Sonderling], who was a former EEOC commissioner and [DOL] official, to serve as Deputy Secretary.... While at the EEOC, Sonderling ... took interest in artificial intelligence and workplace technology issues as they apply to civil rights laws. He also published various articles on the benefits and potential harms of using AI-based technology in the workplace."  MORE >>