PBGC has launched a new webpage designed specifically to support the practitioner community. It is intended to streamline the user’s experience and make it easier to find information. PBGC’s statute and regulations require the submission of various notices, forms, applications and payments. This new page brings those requirements together in one place by providing an overview, clear guidance, and direct links to relevant information. Practitioners can now easily access details on what must be filed, when it must be filed, and how to submit required materials.  MORE >>

"[Executive Order 14403] is a directive; it sets a destination, but most of the substantive rules haven't been written yet. Open questions include: [1] The full criteria financial institutions must meet to be listed on TrumpIRA.gov ... [2] The mechanics of how the Saver's Match will flow to participant accounts and which institutions will be set up to accept it. [3] The worker protection, fiduciary, and prohibited transaction rules called for in Section 5 of the order. [4] The tax treatment of charitable contributions to IRAs on behalf of eligible workers. [5] Whether Treasury or DOL will have authority to encourage or default enrollment absent congressional action. [6] Whether and how the framework gets codified by Congress."  MORE >>

"Employers that sponsor 403(b) plans should: [1] Confirm whether their plan uses a preapproved IRS plan document. [2] Coordinate with their plan vendor, third‑party administrator and legal counsel to obtain the Cycle 2 restated plan document. [3] Formally adopt the updated plan document by Dec. 31."  MORE >>

"This article provides an overview of the current state of guidance on ERISA investment following DOL's most recent actions.... DOL formally reinstated the agency's longstanding regulatory definition from 1975.... DOL reinstated the text of PTE 2020-02 as originally adopted during the first Trump administration. DOL also updated its website to reflect the pre-2024 text of the six other PTEs amended in connection with the Biden-era rule.... DOL also reinstated a 2005 advisory opinion -- previously withdrawn by the Obama administration in 2016 -- that provides guidance on whether participant rollover recommendations are advice under the 1975 regulation. "  MORE >>

"There are many steps involved in running a plan with the best service providers, good investment options and reasonable fees, all of which require active involvement of plan sponsor fiduciaries and sound oversight. However, the overriding principles are few in number. Most common mistakes ... occur when fiduciaries depart from those basic principles.... [1] Not clearly allocating plan responsibilities.... [2] Not hiring the right professionals ... [3] Not doing regular reviews of services and investments ... [4] Not following new developments ... [5] Not developing written policies and procedures ... [6] Not doing self-audits."  MORE >>

"The most important present-tense consequence therefore isn't hypothetical automation sometime down the road. It's that fiduciaries are already dealing with AI-assisted operations, whether or not they label them that way.... That immediately broadens the due-diligence agenda for single-employer plans.... Cybersecurity is the second immediate effect, and it may become the most expensive one.... Multiple-employer arrangements, especially pooled employer plans, or PEPs, are likely to experience AI differently because the cited legal guidance is focused on centralized provider structures."  MORE >>

"In a May 8 letter ... Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) requested that [GAO] examine, among other things, the '…benefits, risks, and challenges that retirement plans face in investing in private credit or offering it as an investment option ...' Rep. Neal explained that the recent push to encourage 401(k) plans to invest in private credit 'coincides with very concerning reports' of private credit funds blocking investors' redemption requests and being downgraded by debt-ratings agencies."  MORE >>

"The funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans improved by $23 billion during April ... The funded ratio increased from 105.9% at the end of March to 107.8% at the end of April, driven primarily by strong investment returns. Meanwhile, pension liabilities fell during the month after a small increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates. The funded ratio at the end of April is the highest since the 108.1% mark observed at the end of October 2007."  MORE >>

"Forecasts for the 2027 Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) saw massive spikes as seniors feel the financial strain caused by rising gasoline prices, inflation, and increasing costs of goods and services. The Senior Citizens League’s (TSCL) latest report predicts a 3.9% jump, up 1.1 percentage point from this year’s COLA of 2.8%. According to the organization, the average benefits check for retired workers would increase by $81.17, from $2,081.16 to $2,162.33."  MORE >>

"While there are several strategies to reduce the overfunding or minimize the financial consequences, this article focuses on the business owner's state of mind, which is similar to the four stages of grief. Invariably business owners' express denial, as their belief that virtually all of the plan's asset belongs to them is dispelled. This is generally coupled with anger seeking to blame someone else (usually their actuaries) for providing inadequate advance warning."  MORE >>

"In today's volatile markets, pension funds can strengthen portfolio resilience by diversifying alternative credit allocations across geographies and asset classes, reducing overreliance on any single market.... [E]nergy infrastructure credit -- supported by powerful structural tailwinds including AI-driven power demand, domestic manufacturing and electrification -- can offer pension investors stable, risk-adjusted income even in uncertain times."  MORE >>

"Employers and plan administrators who sponsor a retirement plan, a group health plan, or any employee plan subject to ERISA, are plan fiduciaries and have very specific fiduciary obligations. But fiduciary duties under ERISA are much more than their enumerated requirements. Plan fiduciaries need to understand this and embrace the mindset that is necessary for ultimate compliance."  MORE >>

"For companies with 100 to 499 employees, benefits strategy is at an inflection point.... [This report] examines how VC‑ and PE‑backed companies with 100 to 499 employees are approaching healthcare, leave, retirement, and wellbeing programs as they move from startup benefits toward more established, scalable programs -- with an eye toward informing decisions for 2027 and beyond."  MORE >>

"For the first time in nearly two decades, the SEC is taking a hard look at how public companies tell shareholders about executive pay. Some might say this is old news, given that the SEC held its Executive Compensation Disclosure Roundtable almost a year ago ... Ten months, one proxy season, and roughly 70 substantive comment letters later, we now have the benefit of potentially seeing where the SEC may be headed."  MORE >>