"Judge Ed Kinkeade ruled ... against sections in Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 stating that an advisor could start an 'ongoing advice relationship' with a retirement saver under [ERISA] if the advisor helped the retirement saver with even one retirement savings rollover transaction." [FACC v. DOL, No. 22-0243 (N.D. Tex. Jul. 9, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The brief stated '… the Secretary's view that a fiduciary's use of forfeited employer contributions in the manner alleged in this case, without more, would not violate ERISA.' This is a powerful statement. This statement reinforces what plan sponsors and fiduciaries have understood and is very helpful. That said, the phrase 'without more' is also important because it notes that there may be situations where forfeitures should be used differently than offsetting employer contributions." [Hutchins v. HP Inc., No. 23-5875 (N.D. Calif. Feb. 5, 2025; on appeal to 9th Cir. No. 25-826)]   MORE >>

"Half of respondents said they feel more prepared for retirement than those in previous generations; 20% said they feel much more prepared. Almost 30% said they consider themselves to be as prepared for retirement as their earlier counterparts ... The study found strong support for a steady income stream during retirement. A strong majority -- 86% -- said that is their preference."  MORE >>

"Nearly thirty percent of respondents are unsure how float income is handled in their plan, and 22 percent do not track it and it is not addressed in their plan documents. For those that do have an allocation policy, 16 percent use it to pay plan administrative expenses and 16 percent credit it to the forfeiture account. Eleven percent credit it back to participants' accounts while for seven percent of respondents, their recordkeeper keeps it as part of their compensation."  MORE >>

"The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's lower tax rates were scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025. By eliminating this deadline and extending these rates into the future, OBBBA has opened the door to conversions in future years at today's low tax rates.... Many of the new tax breaks that are part of OBBBA come with income limits. Smart planning with tax-advantaged accounts is one way to reduce income and thus preserve a deduction that otherwise would be lost."  MORE >>

"In April, the BLS stopped collecting data on two cities: Lincoln, Nebraska, and Provo, Utah. In June, the BLS suspended collection entirely in Buffalo, New York. The BLS has acknowledged ... that the loss of data from these cities 'may increase the volatility of subnational or item-specific indexes' but will have 'minimal impact on the overall all-items CPI-U and CPI-W indexes.' ... A distortion of the CPI-W data could result in either a higher or lower COLA."  MORE >>

"The trend of high earners delaying their benefits has reversed amid false claims of widespread fraud. If a benefit cut occurs, everyone's payment will fall -- even those who claimed early. Your affluent clients can likely afford to wait until 70 and will probably live longer than the average American."  MORE >>

21 pages. "[FRTIB] conducted an analysis of the participant demographics of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) based on participant data. The report focuses solely on active participants in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). Information from this analysis provides insight on demographics, investment behaviors, and how plan design changes may have influenced participation and contribution behaviors. Finally, this analysis helps identify trends with participant usage of benefit options."  MORE >>

"After having been left out of the initial House bill, the Act includes the long-awaited telehealth extension.... Although employees may want to take advantage of the increase in the DCAP contribution limit, employers should continue to run and monitor DCAP nondiscrimination testing ... Employers that want to offer [Trump Account] contributions to their employees will need a formal plan document and will need to comply with certain nondiscrimination testing rules."  MORE >>

"The case underscores the limits of arbitral authority and offers important guidance for ERISA plan sponsors navigating disputes governed by arbitration clauses." [Nalco Co. LLC v. Bonday, No. 22-13546 (11th Cir. July 10, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Good plan governance provides a roadmap for and is the key to fulfilling ERISA fiduciary responsibilities well.... [T]he governance structure sets out the various responsibilities and applicable deadlines, how those responsibilities will be fulfilled, and who is responsible for taking action. Good governance requires effective delegation, committee charters, regular oversight of plan providers and input from qualified investment and legal professionals."  MORE >>

"Morgan Stanley has lost a court battle in its long-running fight to withhold deferred compensation from financial advisors who left the firm -- opening the door for more than 100 advisors to move forward in their FINRA arbitration claims ... [T]he Second Circuit ... dismissed Morgan Stanley's appeal of a 2023 New York U.S. District Court decision that found the advisors' deferred compensation was protected under [ERISA].... The claims range in size from the mid-five-figures to multimillion-dollar cases[.]" [Shafer v. Morgan Stanley, No. 24-3141 (2d Cir. July 9, 2025; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"[T]opics covered during the roundtable include: [1] Alignment of compensation disclosure with compensation decision-making ... [2] Perquisites ... [3] Pay-for-performance ... [4] CEO pay ratio ... [5] Clawback rules ... [6] XBRL ... [7] Say-on-pay."  MORE >>