"[T]he Proposed Regulations will apply to plan years beginning six months after the final regulations are issued by the [IRS]. For earlier years, plans must follow a reasonable, good-faith interpretation of the new rules. Generally, plan amendments and plan design changes will not impact a plan's automatic enrollment requirements. However, plans should review the automatic enrollment requirements if the plan amendment relates to a merger or the adoption of a multiple employer plan."  MORE >>

"[The] proposed regulations give guidance on SECURE 2.0 catch-up requirements, including the 2026 Roth mandate for higher-earning participants. Participants age 50+ who hit the regular deferral limit may be deemed to have elected that their pretax catch-up contributions auto switch to Roth. For violations of the Roth requirements, the proposal provides correction methods that avoid the need to distribute elective deferrals."  MORE >>

"The aerospace and defense company was accused of violating its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty by taking a 'DIY' approach to their 401(k) investments and creating a 'home-grown, ineffective private investment funds,' and paying themselves 'excessive and unreasonable fees' using the plans' assets." [Fezer v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 25-0908 (D. Md. complaint filed Mar. 19, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Considering ordinary notions of property rights, the court concluded that the foreign tax credits were inalienable and owned by John Hancock as the legal and taxable owner of the shares of the mutual fund. The fact that the foreign tax credits were the result of foreign taxes on the Romanos fund did not make them assets of the fund. This was underscored by the fact that the Romano Law Plan was a tax-exempt plan unable to use the credits." [Romano v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co. (USA), No. 22-12366 (11th Cir. Oct. 30, 2024)]   MORE >>

"[When retirement plan participants] hear about the advantages guaranteed income products offer, they're all for it but balk at the word 'annuity' itself, given its complicated past.... DC plans can offer structured drawdown strategies that provide flexibility while mitigating longevity risk rather than incorporating a strict guaranteed income component."  MORE >>

"Managed accounts are often marketed as 'better' for participants in the long run ... However, ... a participant needs to supply additional data inputs ... to make the service and investment allocation more effective. If most of your QDIA participants are, by definition, not fully engaged and are not supplying the additional data needed to maximize the managed account services, then is the extra half percent, or more, in fees worth it to essentially have an enhanced target-date investment?"  MORE >>

"When provided in combination with a DC plan, alternative DB plan designs can offer employees the opportunity to have sufficient retirement savings with lifetime income protection. Termination of the DB plan can eliminate the opportunity for both."  MORE >>

"February 2025 saw asset growth match the growth in plan liabilities, resulting in no change in the estimated funded status of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans from January 31, 2025  ... The funded ratio remained at 81.1% as of February 28, 2025, hovering just shy of its highest level in the past three years."  MORE >>