News Archive

For all the good press and positive results that automatic enrollment gets, one might well expect that every plan would embrace it. And yet today, nearly a decade after the passage of the Pension Protection Act, many still don’t.So, why don’t all plans use automatic enrollment — and what can you do... READ MORE

ASPPA is always providing information and insights that will be valuable to its members! Following is a summary of upcoming webcasts and events.Live WebcastsACOPA Webcast: IRC §412(d)(2): What We Know and What We Don’tTuesday, March 22, 20162:00-2:50 p.m. ETSpeaker: Judy Miller, MSPA, Director of... READ MORE

The IRS on March 11 updated its web page on the Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) Non-Governmental 457(b) Plans Excess Deferrals Project.Section 457 plans may allow participants to make ‘catch-up’ deferrals during the three-year period immediately preceding the year in which they attain normal... READ MORE

Despite a lack of radical developments, there were some new trends among the 20 largest corporate defined benefit plan sponsors in 2015, says asset management firm Russell Investments.There was no predominant trend concerning DB plans last year, says Russell, and funded status was largely unchanged... READ MORE

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in its latest quarterly report about U.S. financial accounts, provides information on how defined benefit funds fared from a variety of perspectives during the fourth quarter of 2015. The report, “Financial Accounts of the United States: Flow of Funds,... READ MORE

For the last several weeks, the community of pension professionals has been focused on the potential impact of proposed changes to the general test under Code Section 401(a)(4). The proposed changes would require that in order for a rate group to meet the general test using the Average Benefits... READ MORE

We work in an industry that seems have an infinite amount of rules and regulations. Unless you’ve written the regulations yourself, or have been in the retirement industry since the beginning of time, odds are that you will run into a situation where you need a colleague’s advice. Prior to the... READ MORE

Last week, a harmful provision that could have extended Connecticut’s state-run retirement coverage mandate to ERISA plans was dropped from the bill reported out of committee. The move follows March 8 testimony in Connecticut by the American Retirement Association on the harmful effects the... READ MORE

When are sequence-of-returns risk and retirement date of concern? Are they issues only after retirement begins and then progresses?Michael Kitces in a recent Nerd’s Eye View blog post defines sequence-of-returns risk as “the fact that even if markets average out to long-term returns eventually, if... READ MORE