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Effective 401(k) plan design features like auto-enrollment and auto-escalation have been shown to increase participation, boost deferral rates and improve investment diversification, but they can also bring unintended results, according to a new paper.
In their paper, “Best Intentions: The...
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The IRS has issued the required amendments (RA) list for qualified retirement plans for 2018. The IRS made the announcement — and said that there are no entries listing changes in qualification requirements on the 2018 RA List — in Notice 2018-91.
Section 5 of Revenue Procedure 2016-37, 2016-29 I....
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The parties in another proprietary fund suit have come to terms, both financially and with an agreement for “ongoing prospective relief.”
Under the terms of the settlement, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. will cause its fiduciary insurance carrier (RLI Insurance Company) to pay $4.875 million...
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The Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has voted to issue a new auditing standard. It has taken this step to address auditor reporting on ERISA plan financial statements.
The new auditing standard, “Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) plans to seek the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of a form and instructions that will enable it to obtain information it needs to make coverage determinations. The PBGC made the announcement on Dec. 3.
The proposed form and...
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OregonSaves, the first of the state-run IRA programs for private sector workers, is getting ready to take things up another notch.
Specifically, the contribution rates for OregonSaves participants will, beginning Jan. 1, automatically increase 1% on the first day of each year, until they reach 10...
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There are a variety of factors behind retirement plan participation levels and saving rates; among them is the belief that one simply cannot afford to set much aside, if any at all. A recent blog entry suggests that budgeting — as in, helping participants or potential participants do it — can be a...
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Senate Democrats recently unveiled a bill that would, among other things, enhance the Saver’s Credit – a provision which retains bipartisan support, even as the take-up rate disappoints. Here are six things that people who don’t get the Saver’s Credit often don’t “get.”
The Saver’s Credit is, of...
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The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Nov. 29 voted in favor of Gordon Hartogensis to serve as Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
The HELP Committee’s nod follows on the heels of that by the Senate Finance Committee, which on Nov. 15...
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The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) on Nov. 29 issued a report on its study of whether sponsors reporting that their 401(k) plans are nonqualified were correct in doing so. The EPCU found that a strong majority were not, even though all of the sponsors in the sample intended their plans...
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A bipartisan agreement on addressing the problems facing multiemployer pensions has not yet been reached, but the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans are pledging that work will continue past Nov. 30. It had been anticipated that a measure would be...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it is providing guidance and relief for victims of California’s Camp, Hill, Woolsey and other wildfires.
The DOL says that it “recognizes that these wildfires may impede efforts by plan fiduciaries, employers, labor organizations, service providers...
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There have been massive developments in the industry over the past year — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; the 2018 budget bill; the Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018; the Taxpayer First Act of 2018; and so much more.
Each of these has led to significant changes in 401(k)...
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The IRS on Nov. 29 issued a reminder in IR-2018-236 that the hardship withdrawal regulations that it issued earlier in November contain provisions that allow 401(k) plans and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans to make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Michael and...
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With only about two weeks left in the legislative calendar, the House of Representatives is expected to approve a revised tax and retirement savings package as early as today. But can the legislation be enacted in its current form?
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX)...
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Virtually any action, even one that is beneficial and well-intentioned, can have unintended consequences. And adopting auto-escalation is one such area, says an investment management corporation.
In “Best Intentions: The Unintended Consequences of Plan Design,” BlackRock posits that “The most well...
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The New Jersey Bureau of Securities on Nov. 19 held a public hearing on the proposed state rule that would implement a uniform fiduciary standard in the Garden State. It is the second public hearing on the proposal; American Retirement Association General Counsel Craig Hoffman offered testimony at...
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The Labor Committee of the New Jersey Senate will hold a hearing Dec. 3 on legislation that would create the New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program, a state-run retirement plan for private-sector employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan. Under the proposed plan, those employees...
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Hello ACOPA —
The weather in New York has mostly been moderate, with December golf a real possibility. While I sometimes get the winter blahs, working on PPA restatements has lifted my spirits (or at least kept me busy) these last few weeks.
And with the new clients coming on board as they do at...
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A belief among small business employers that offering a retirement savings plan can be costly, combined with a lack of awareness of options, helps explain why many of these employers don’t even consider them, a new study suggests.
Results from Millennium Trust’s inaugural Small Business Retirement...
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