"While the proposal introduces a more defined framework for evaluating prudence, it does not lower the fiduciary standard. In several respects, it may raise expectations by making the elements of a prudent process more explicit.... [1] A higher bar for documented process ... [2] A false sense of security around the safe harbor ... [3] Increased complexity in investment decisions ... [4] Misalignment between selection and monitoring ... [5] Litigation will likely evolve, not disappear ... Taken together, these risks point to a common theme: greater clarity is likely to bring greater accountability in practice."  MORE >>

"The plaintiffs ... filed a petition in April requesting an en banc hearing in the case, following the March decision by a three-judge panel rejecting class certification. The panel ruled that the plaintiffs' claims were too individualized to proceed as a mandatory class action." [Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc., No. 24-1880 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2026; rehearing denied Jun. 4, 2026)]  MORE >>

"MetLife agreed to a $23 million settlement to end a nearly eight-year legal dispute ... [P]laintiffs questioned how MetLife's pension plan calculated the value of joint and survivor annuity payments compared with single annuity payments under both the current and old versions of the plan ... [T]he complaint argued that MetLife used mortality tables from the 1970s and 1980s to make these calculations." [Masten v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 18-11229 (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 14, 2021)]  MORE >>

"For years, insurers and some plan consultants have marketed general account fixed annuities as 'stable value' or 'capital preservation' investments. But the Phoenix collapse again demonstrates that policyholders are not simply investing in a conservative bond portfolio. They are becoming unsecured creditors of a leveraged insurance company whose liabilities can become frozen during periods of financial distress." [Nietz v. LPL Financial LLC, No. 26-3383 (S.D. Calif. complaint filed Jun. 3, 2026)]  MORE >>

16 pages. "[M]anaged accounts can improve retirement outcomes across a wide range of plan environments. Their impact is largest when participant behavior is less influenced by plan design, such as in plans with lower default contribution rates, no auto-escalation, and greater reliance on individual decision-making. In more structured plans, managed accounts still provide value, but the incremental opportunity is generally smaller because automatic features already place many participants on stronger savings trajectories. Rather than asking only whether managed accounts add value, plan sponsors may want to ask where they add the most value and how they should be deployed. This analysis provides a practical framework for answering that question."  MORE >>

"Getting to this 'properly structured and regulated' system of converting savings to income does require a bit of Zigging Down the Zag (Dr. Seuss), especially when we are trying to do it in a system designed to simply accumulate savings.... Deconstructing things like CITs, target date funds and annuities and reconfiguring them -- within regulatory bonds, of course -- to try to effectively pull off the policy initiatives is a fascinating (and workable) task, which will serve us well going forward. These sorts of efforts are well beyond the ken of existing AI systems."  MORE >>

"If the Federal Reserve does manage to hit its long-term target of 2% annual inflation ... 44% of the spending power would be wiped out in 30 years. But 10% annual inflation would wipe out over 96% of that spending power.... If inflation is high, the value of the longevity protection is virtually wiped out.... If one can afford to buy an insurance annuity either within a target-date fund or otherwise, then they can use the funds to delay Social Security. If one wants more than Social Security can provide at age 70, a TIPS ladder is superior to an insurance annuity."  MORE >>

"Today, the retirement industry insists that if a product is somehow legal under lax state insurance rules or state banking laws and has a vague, weak ERISA exemption, then it somehow belongs inside a 401(k) plan. ... A much better test is this: Could the product survive inside a fully transparent, federally regulated, SEC-registered mutual fund subject to daily fair-value accounting? If the answer is no, fiduciaries should immediately ask why.... [T]he best historical example may be stable value itself."  MORE >>