Rev. Apr. 2025 "What's New: [1] Annual inflation adjustments to dollar limitations on premiums ... [2] New regulations affect Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLAC)."  MORE >>

"The DOL notes that the model notice is only intended for applicants to use. It is not intended for those employing self-correction to use in order to fix errors.... The model notice lets a plan participant know that the plan sponsor has applied to participate in the DOL's VFCP regarding the plan, and explains that the program is voluntary and is intended for plan administrators to use in order to correct possible breaches of Title I of ERISA."  MORE >>

"If a client is at least 59.5 and five years have passed since their last contribution, all Roth IRA distributions become tax-free, including the earnings. While a typical Roth IRA is not subject to minimum distribution rules, inherited Roth IRAs are subject to the same RMD rules as traditional IRAs. When a surviving spouse is at least 59.5, the spousal rollover option is likely advantageous."  MORE >>

"FINRA is focusing on services and recommendations by broker-dealers and their registered representatives to retirees, senior investors and investors with diminished capacity. To state the obvious, the regulator is concerned about the aging of the Boomers in real time."  MORE >>

"The proposed class of Southern Company pension plan participants ... entered a reply brief with the appellate court on [March 20] ... arguing a district court wrongly found that companies have the discretion to define for themselves what the term 'actuarial equivalent' means under Section 1055(d) of ERISA." [Drummond v. Southern Company Services, Inc., No. 22-0174 (N.D. Ga. Jul. 30, 2024; on appeal to 11th Cir. No. 24-12773)]  MORE >>

"House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg has called on newly appointed Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to rescind the Biden administration's fiduciary rule ... [The] request comes after a recent [Fifth Circuit] ruling ... granting ... the DOL a 60-day pause to analyze its response to the rule and two federal court cases challenging the regulation.... Industry observers have said the pause means a possible change in course in the DOL's strategy under the Trump administration[.]"  MORE >>

"Historically, it has been standard practice for the ESOP trustee to provide a certification confirming several aspects of a transaction, including a financial advisor's opinion on the adequacy of the deal consideration and the fairness of the transaction's terms.... Based on recent caselaw, advisors have begun holding a special meeting with the board and trustee before the closing of the transaction to further support the position that the board has fulfilled its monitoring duty."  MORE >>

"During the fourth quarter of 2024, the funded status of Segal's model pension plan ... rose by 5 percentage points, to 110 percent ... This increase in funded status is attributable to a 7 percent decrease in liabilities, partially offset by a 2 percent decrease in assets."  MORE >>

"Foreign securities don’t always correlate with U.S. securities, so owning both can reduce the volatility and long-term risk of one’s portfolio."  MORE >>

"Cash Balance plans designed to maximize benefits for older, higher-paid participants combined with Defined Contribution plans that provide enough in contributions to the staff so that the plans can pass arcane nondiscrimination tests have become popular ... The problem is that IRC 401(a)(26) requires Defined Benefit plans (which Cash Balance plans are) to cover a minimum number of eligible participants so some rank-and-file employees may need to be in the Cash Balance plan AND get a ‘meaningful benefit’.... [W]ho now gets to decide what words like ‘reasonable’, ‘fair’, and ‘meaningful’ written in a law really mean now that the Chevron’s default preference for regulators has been overturned?"  MORE >>

"A PBGC policy mandating a forensic review upon a plan's termination would discourage bad behavior by pension advisers during this critical wind-down period.... [If] undertaken routinely, PBGC could become the leading resource for private and public pensions, and regulators, seeking to improve the nation's retirement savings plans. However, then, as today, opposition to forensic investigations of pension failures, or losses was intense."  MORE >>

"In an extended interview [North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner] talked about the health plan's recent change to a new administrator. Briner also talked about the potential for bringing popular weight-loss drugs back into the coverage plan. And he discussed Bitcoin's role in boosting returns for pension plan members -- and revealed plans for proposed legislation aimed at adding checks-and-balances for the state employees who manage the state pension plan."  MORE >>

"Healthcare costs are grossly underestimated.... Rising costs and advancements in technology increase financial burden.... Investors are considering asset spend-down to qualify for Medicaid.  ... Concerns over long-term care costs are amplified among financial professionals surveyed.... Personal experience drives better preparedness."  MORE >>

"Although NQDC plan designs vary significantly, PSCA’s annual survey of NQDC plans shows a continued focus on plan education and helping employees save for retirement across all plan sponsors."  MORE >>