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So you think your data is safe? It probably isn't, as keynote speaker Kevin Mitnick, “the world’s most famous hacker” and bestselling author, demonstrated at the 2019 NAPA 401(k) Summit.
Mitnick, once on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, is now a trusted security consultant to Fortune 500 companies...
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The IRS is conducting a study of how burdensome it is for pension plan sponsors to fulfill tax reporting requirements with which they must comply. It will be conducted throughout 2019.
In response to reports the IRS received that these requirements exact a high cost in expenditure of time and...
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Principal Financial Group has announced a definitive agreement with Wells Fargo & Company to acquire its Institutional Retirement & Trust businesses. Principal will assume ownership of Wells Fargo’s DC, DB, executive deferred comp, ESOP, institutional trust and custody, and institutional...
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As a vital safety net for millions of pension plan participants and retirees, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is facing some difficult challenges. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) puts those challenges in comprehensive, and sharper, relief.
In “Pension Benefit...
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Ascensus, the nation’s largest TPA, announced April 8 that its TPA Solutions group will become FuturePlan by Ascensus.
The division consists of 42 locations across the country servicing more than 34,000 plans with 30 different recordkeeping partners. Its expertise includes DC plans, DB plans (...
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At the opening general session of the 2019 NAPA 401(k) Summit on April 7, Preston Rutledge, head of the DOL’s Employee Benefit Security Administration, and ASPPA Executive Director Brian Graff reported respectively on what EBSA and NAPA are anticipating in the coming year.
Retirement plan...
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Offering lump sum windows to pension recipients recently got a green light of sorts. But not everyone is convinced that that’s a wonderful thing, and suggest that lump sums may not be exactly a panacea.
The IRS in Notice 2019-18 said that it no longer plans to amend the required minimum...
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A new report claims that participants and plan sponsors are keen on ESG – but apparently not enough to do much about it.
The report, by Cerulli Associates, cites a 2018 survey of 1,000 active 401(k) plan participants among which “more than half” agreed with the statement, “I prefer to invest in...
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A bipartisan task force in Pennsylvania is recommending the establishment of a state-run auto-IRA program to help workers who don’t have access to a private-sector retirement plan.
The task force, which was established in September 2017 by State Treasurer Joe Torsella, released a report March 27 ...
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A pair of Senate Democrats, one of whom is a 2020 presidential candidate, introduced legislation on April 4 that would require businesses to pay at least 50 cents into an employee’s retirement savings plan for every hour worked.
Noting that 3 in 10 workers lack access to a workplace retirement...
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The American Retirement Association is asking the ERISA Advisory Council to examine issues concerning the extent to which an ERISA-covered retirement plan may use plan assets to pay the costs associated with plan design changes and other features that encourage retirement savings.
In an April 3...
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David Levine of Groom Law Group will be covering this hot topic during his session at ASPPA Eastern Regional Conference to be held May 9-10 in Philadelphia PA.
The problem of plan participants who go missing after leaving their employers is a challenge for plan fiduciaries attempting to:
comply...
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In response to unilateral actions taken by the American Academy of Actuaries, the ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries (ACOPA), part of the American Retirement Association (ARA) has taken steps in defense of its members, and the actuarial profession at large.
In September 2018, the American Academy...
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The Maryland Senate Finance Committee has overwhelmingly voted to recommend the rejection of a pending fiduciary bill.
In fact, 10 out of the 11 committee members voted in favor of a motion to consider Maryland Senate Bill 786 – The Financial Consumer Protection Act of 2019 – as “unfavorable.”...
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The Oregon Retirement Savings Board (ORSB) on April 2 reviewed a proposal to change the rules and amend OregonSaves to allow a presumption of employer exemption.
The Oregon Treasury filed the proposal on Feb. 16. It held a public hearing on the proposal on March 19 and accepted public comments...
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The most powerful committee in the U.S. House of Representatives has advanced a powerful piece of retirement reform legislation – unanimously.
Signifying the importance of the issue, the first markup meeting of the House Ways & Means Committee for the 116th Congress on April 2 featured the...
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Ever since passage of the Economic Growth Tax Relief and Recovery Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions – as much as $6,000 in 2019.
The provision was designed to allow workers to “catch up” on contributions...
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Hello ACOPA –
It has been a tiring first three months of 2019, work-wise. January Madness did not stop with March as we dealt with March 15 deadlines. The April 15 deadline is fast approaching with a new burst of stress. Summer can’t arrive soon enough as it brings on vacation time, summer...
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In 2013, I responded to an ad on our beloved ACOPA discussion board to volunteer for the EA2-L Exam Writer’s committee. For those who don’t know, EA2-L is what I like to call the “everything but the funding law” exam. It is an incredible way to remain sharp on topics that you might see day-to-day...
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This column is to update ACOPA members on the view of progress from the President of ACOPA.
Much ACOPA leadership time in recent months has been spent on responding to September 2018 actions of the American Academy of Actuaries. To briefly review, the Academy voted to remove ACOPA and the...
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