"You must complete the form and provide a copy of the completed checklist and the required documentation to the plan administrator to receive the relief under the Self-Correction Component of the Program with respect to the breach of fiduciary responsibility under Part 4 of Title I of ERISA associated with the delinquent participant contributions or loan repayments. EBSA may request a copy of this information to determine that you have satisfied the requirements of the Self-Correction Component of the Program."  MORE >>

"The proposed regulations permit plan administrators and employers to deem any catch-up contributions made by those earning more than $145,000 in FICA wages as Roth contributions in 202, and no special salary deferral or other election is required. So as long as the participant is given an effective opportunity to opt out of the deemed Roth catch-up election, deferrals greater than the 402(g) limit would automatically be treated as Roth catch-up contributions for the remainder of the year, and there would be no need for corrections."  MORE >>

"Roth conversions are most optimal in a down market because you can convert more shares. You sell your holdings in your tax-deferred account and then move the money to your Roth account, where you capture any upswing in a tax-free environment. There are things you can control about this, and things that are better left to long-term planning."  MORE >>

130 pages. "Nationally, 47% of 125.6 million part-time and full-time private sector workers over the age of 18 -- 59.0 million workers as of 2023 -- are estimated to lack access to retirement savings through their workplaces, and 53%, or 66.6 million workers, are estimated to have access to workplace retirement savings plans or programs.... Early-adopter states Oregon (2017), Illinois (2018), and California (2019) have seen meaningful program participation and increased private sector plan formation, which is beginning to help close the access gap in those states."  MORE >>

"Total U.S. single-premium pension risk transfer (PRT) premium was $51.8 billion in 2024, up 14% from prior year's results and less than 1% below the record set in 2022 ... There were 794 single-premium contracts sold in 2024, a new record high for the U.S. market. Fourth quarter total single-premium PRT premium fell 4% year over year to $12.0 billion, aligned to the choppy nature of PRT sales."  MORE >>

"Cited as a critical way to protect women's retirement security, a group of House and Senate Democratic lawmakers have reintroduced legislation that would require spousal consent for 401(k) plan distributions.... The [Women's Retirement Protection Act of 2025 (S 988)] would provide spousal protections to defined contribution (DC) plans similar to those that are available for defined benefit plans.... [T]he sponsors point out that the Federal Thrift Savings Plan already requires spousal consent for almost all distributions."  MORE >>

"Congressional reform reduced securities class action litigation abuse. Plaintiffs are not prevented from suing, but there are better pleading standards and guardrails. Contrast that with [ERISA] excessive fees filing ... Plaintiff law firms file these cases with no research or investigation. All of the PSLRA reforms are needed for ERISA class action litigation, including a higher pleading standard.... [T]he disparate rulings in the HP and Clorox forfeiture cases demonstrate another needed reform: we need a specialized court that is dedicated to ERISA litigation.' [Hutchins v. HP Inc., No. 23-5875 (N.D. Calif. Feb. 5, 2025); McManus v. The Clorox Company, No. 23-5325 (N.D. Calif. Mar. 3, 2025)]

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"[R]egardless of any short-term 'smoothing' of actual contributions relative to volatile actual costs that may be considered expedient, accurate liability and cost measurements are always the proper benchmarks against which to judge funding and investment practices, the net debt owed by taxpayers, the value of the total employee compensation package, and the risk to a plan sponsor's bondholders."  MORE >>

17 pages. "The Roth catch-up mandate will be challenging to administer, especially in the early years, and additional simplification and clarification will be of great assistance.... [SPARK is] also asking the Service to consider an additional delay, or provide additional good faith or similar relief, given that the final regulations will not be available in time to implement for 2026."  MORE >>

12 pages. "[SPARK is] very supportive of the proposal treating a single-employer qualified CODA established before December 29, 2022 that merges with a [MEP or PEP] with a qualified CODA established on or after December 29, 2022 as maintaining its status as a plan established before that date. [These] comments primarily request flexibility for plans implementing the automatic enrollment requirements and seek additional clarification or confirmation on several key aspects of the proposal."  MORE >>

"If finalized, this Proposal could create serious challenges for large companies and plans where employees might work for several different 'employers' within the same controlled group.... IRS should ... allow plans to require all participants to make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis in the final rule.... [T]he regime of deadlines by which corrections must be made is also unnecessarily complex, ... [T]he Proposed Rule should be amended not to require ... dual-qualified plans to offer after-tax catch-up contributions for the participants subject to the Puerto Rico Code."  MORE >>

"Establishing a committee to which fiduciary duties are delegated is itself a fiduciary act, and the manner in which that act is carried out is subject to the fiduciary standards of ERISA. So, having interposed a layer of protection against fiduciary liability in the form of the fiduciary committee, how can the board fulfill its obligation to monitor the activities of the committee?"  MORE >>

"With a return to office mandate, employees are looking for reasons as to why being physically in the office can benefit them. Simply changing work location can work against an employee who now must navigate logistics related to childcare, household tasks, or commuting costs. So how can companies make the physical office space more appealing?"  MORE >>