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News Archive
What’s happening with employer-sponsored retirement plans and where are current trends headed? Participation and deferral rates, auto enrollment and escalation, hardship withdrawals and loans — it’s tough to keep track.
The Plan Sponsor Counsel of America’s (PSCA) 66th Annual Survey provides this...
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Now is the time to act in order to avoid “draconian” cuts to Social Security benefits, warns a recently released issue brief.
And doing so, continues the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College in “Social Security’s Financial Outlook: The 2023 Update in Perspective,” would be a more...
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Recently, the nation’s longest-running gauge of the nation’s retirement confidence painted a bleak, but understandable read on that measure.
Indeed, in the midst of a volatile (though recently recovering market) and (still) stubborn inflationary impacts[1] (not to mention the near certainty that,...
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I recently met some friends for lunch – but the only seats available were those high-back stools you basically have to climb up to in order to sit. But that wasn’t the worst of it.
As it turned out, my seat…wobbled. Which is to say that it basically rocked even as I sat there. Now, I’m all about...
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A bill that would establish a state-run retirement plan to provide coverage for employees whose private-sector employers do not is working its way through the Pennsylvania legislature.
The Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives on May 3 voted in favor of HB 577 in a 12-8, party-line...
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Snap, Crackle — and now, Pop! Another multi-billion 401(k) plan has won its case against allegations of excessive fees.
The victor this time—winning dismissal of a proposed class action with prejudice[1] — was Kellogg’s, and the fiduciaries of its $1.9 billion 401(k) plan. The suit had been filed...
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A new report finds a decline in retirement confidence to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
The report, from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), also finds both employees and retirees are very concerned about inflation and its impact on their savings and spending....
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The third rail of American politics isn’t what it should be, according to Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R-LA).
“We have to redefine what that third rail is,” Cassidy said when asked about prospects for a Social Security fix. “The third rail, according to our leading presidential candidates, is...
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We’ve received numerous inquiries on the operational aspects of Roth provisions now that SECURE 2.0 expands the availability and benefits of Roth contributions in retirement plans.
In particular, I’ve seen a resurgence in Roth conversion questions. One much-discussed strategy is the Mega Backdoor...
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Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 ASPPA Leadership Council.
Elected at-large members of the Leadership Council serve for one term of four calendar years. Nominees must be credentialed ASPPA members nominated by at least two members to be considered.
Submit a nomination today!...
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The National Council on Aging (NCOA) and UMass Boston find that 80% of older Americans, or 47 million people, can’t sustain a financial shock such as needing to pay for long-term care services and supports (LTSS) or the loss of income due to divorce or widowhood.
“It is unacceptable that nearly...
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The Minnesota House of Representatives on May 1 passed a bill that would create the Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program, a state-run retirement plan for private-sector employees whose employers do not provide one.
HF 782, introduced by Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL-Roseville) on Jan. 25,...
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The IRS has issued a clarification it proposes be added to the 2023 Form 5500 instructions.
Specifically, the clarification is proposed for Schedule SB, Line 26b - Schedule of Projection of Expected Benefit Payments.
What Line 26b does. Line 26b of Schedule SB requires plans covered by Title IV...
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The California Retirement Savings Board has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for consulting services for CalSavers, the state-run retirement plan that provides coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not.
The Board seeks a contractor to provide technical and administrative...
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Various provisions under the SECURE 2.0 Act strongly resonate with employees amid considerable changes in retirement expectations, financial conditions and workforce demographics, but the findings of a new survey suggest that more can be done to promote retirement security.
And even though nearly...
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The fiduciary standards in ERISA include an obligation to act prudently and solely for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and for defraying reasonable expenses, and those standards apply to DB plans and DC plans. The Department of Labor (DOL) has not been...
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While the retirement plan industry generally applauds the introduction and adoption of state-sponsored retirement plans, the possibility some could compete with and “crowd out” private plans due to how the legislation is structured is an ongoing concern.
However, in some states, the opposite is...
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I recently stumbled across an academic study that claimed to find a correlation between higher employer contribution rates and leakage.
I will confess to a certain skepticism at that finding. There are, after all, a well-established series of things that contribute to leakage, broadly defined as...
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Automatic features served retirement plans — and participants — well in 2022, according to a recent report.
In its 2023 Reference Point Annual Benchmarking Report, which concerns developments related to 401(k) plan design and participant behavior in 2022, T. Rowe Price reports that plan features...
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The fiduciaries of the 99 Cents Only Stores have come to terms in an excessive fee suit involving their 401(k) plan – and for considerably more than…99 cents.
That said, the relatively quick (the suit was filed only about a year ago on March 25, 2022) settlement was, by the standards of such...
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