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Free 401(k) Education Seminars for Small Businesses Offered by the Retirement Solutions Foundation

Excerpt: Are you a small business with a 401(k) plan that some of your employees aren't taking advantage of? Retirement Solutions Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to boost retirement savings, has received a grant for small business 401k education that involves offering free educational seminars, focus groups and follow-up to employees of small businesses. Any questions, please email Retirement Solutions president Jane White at smallbusiness@retirement-solutions.org.

Do You Bring Problems or Solutions to Your Retirement Plan Clients?

"Finding issues is second nature for TPAs. Whether it's failed ADP tests, nondiscrimination risks, or plan design flaws, you catch these issues in an instant because spotting them is second nature to you. But if clients hear 'it's wrong,' without a clear understanding of why it's wrong, then they can walk away feeling overwhelmed. Stacking problems on problems makes the plan feel like a burden instead of a benefit.... [I]nstead of stopping at the problem, pair it with a clear, actionable solution."

DOL Obtains Emergency Court Order to Protect Assets of 17 Retirement Plans Served by TPA Whose Owner Allegedly Embezzled Over $5.5M from Plans

"The temporary restraining order ... [1] Forbids the defendants from any further involvement with trust assets. [2] Enjoins them from serving as fiduciaries or service providers to any ERISA plans. [3] Forbids the defendants from withdrawing any funds from their two corporate accounts into which they had illegally transferred the plan assets ... [4] Requires the defendants to preserve all relevant records for the purpose of transferring to an independent fiduciary appointed by the court. [5] Requires the independent fiduciary to oversee an accounting of the 17 mismanaged plans." [Su v. RiversEdge Advanced Retirement Solutions, LLC., No. 24-0104 (W.D. Penn. complaint filed Jan. 26, 2024)]

DOL Lawsuit Alleges TPA Stole $5.5M in Retirement Plan Assets from 17 Clients

"The DOL requested a court order removing RiversEdge and Palguta from serving as fiduciaries and service providers of the plans they administer and appointing an independent fiduciary to secure plan records, assist with recordkeeping transition activities and perform an accounting of suspicious asset transfers." [Su v. RiversEdge Advanced Retirement Solutions, LLC., No. 24-0104 (W.D. Penn. complaint filed Jan. 26, 2024)]

Getting Real About 401(k) Dollar Caps; Australia's Limit on Contributions by Older Employees Reflects Actual Retirement Needs

Excerpt: Not only are Australian employers required to contribute the equivalent of 9% of pay to their employees' accounts up to a salary ceiling of more than $145,000 -- compared to the equivalent of 3% here, but workers over age 50 can contribute over $100,000 per year to their accounts. This is nearly 20 times the measly $5,500 additional contribution ceiling for those over 50 in the U.S, a ceiling that also remains unchanged in 2010.

Give Yourself a 'Wealth Check-up' for National Retirement Planning Week

Excerpt: Contrary to popular opinion, investing for retirement doesn't take special skill and knowledge, for the most part it means not wasting money on items that will become obsolete, not getting into debt and hanging onto one of your biggest assets: the roof over your head. Take this quiz to see if you're on track.

Five Reasons Why 401(k) Reform Must Happen in 2010: If You Don't Work for Trader Joe's You Probably Can't Retire

"For the most part, the only Americans who can afford to retire are those that work in the public sector, academics (who are covered by generous 401(k)-style plans), long-serving members of Congress or employees of Trader Joe's, the supermarket chain."

Companies in Colgate-Palmolive Retirement Theft Case Try to Wash Hands of Liability

"Alight Solutions, Bank of New York Mellon and Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s employee relations committee all sought to toss a lawsuit brought against them by a former Colgate-Palmolive employee who had the entire balance of her retirement account stolen.... [The employee] filed a complaint against the companies in July, claiming they violated [ERISA] via a breach of fiduciary duty. This came after an individual impersonating her drained more than $750,000 from her account in March 2020 by successfully changing much of her account information, according to the complaint." [Disberry v. Employee Relations Committee of the Colgate-Palmolive Company, Alight Solutions, LLC, and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, No. 22-5778 (S.D.N.Y. complaint filed Jul. 7, 2022)]

Fourth Circuit Finds Elimination of Early Retirement Subsidy Barred Under Plan's Definition of Accrued Benefit

"The appellate court determined the plain, unambiguous language of the plan included the supplement in its definition of 'accrued benefit.' Thus, the benefits committee abused its discretion when it denied the benefits. The court cautions that its holding is based on the specific language of the employer's plan. Stand-alone, ancillary welfare benefits generally are not independently protected by ERISA. However, the drafters of a retirement plan may choose to define any benefits as accrued or vested, and thereby trigger ERISA's protections." [Savani v. Washington Safety Management Solutions, Inc., f/k/a Westinghouse Safety Management Solutions, LLC (4th Cir.)]

Jane White Comment Letter to DOL on Proposals for Lifetime Income Illustrations in Pension Benefit Statements (PDF)

"The communication must take into account assets in participants' rollover accounts and at previous employers, not just the balance at the current employer.... The projected income stream should be based on the assumption of a long lifespan and modest investment returns; otherwise the projections could be overly optimistic.... [T]he projection should deduct estimated taxes that will be owed when people take distributions.... [T]he vast majority of participants would benefit from software that not only takes the 'big picture' of all of their retirement savings but advises them on how much to save to achieve retirement security based on their current savings and how many years until they are scheduled to retire."