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News Archive
February may be the depths of winter, but the fortunes of pension plans were warm this year, say a variety of reports. “Pension finances enjoyed another month of positive experience in February,” said one report, summing up the month’s results.
Pension Plan Funding
October Three, which tracks...
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An excessive fee suit targeting a $5.9 billion 401(k) plan has been dismissed — with prejudice.
Fending off this particular lawsuit was Kroger and the fiduciaries of the Kroger 401(k) Retirement Savings Account Plan — the suit brought by participant Lisa A. Sigetich (a Customer Service...
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In the post-SECURE Act 1.0 era, plan consultants are becoming more comfortable recommending lifetime income options, but there apparently are potential obstacles with newer solutions, according to a new study.
Following passage of the SECURE Act in December 2019, more than 8 in 10 (82%) defined...
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A bill before the Illinois Senate would give participants in the state retirement system the opportunity to choose an additional option for their retirement plan coverage.
Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) introduced SB 1516, which would require plans by July 1, 2025 to prepare and implement a...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on March 14 issued the interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the second quarter of 2023.
The assumptions are contained in a final rule that amends the PBGC’s regulation on Allocation of Assets in...
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Legislation is pending in two states to adjust the definition of “covered employer” and “covered employee” for purposes of state-sponsored retirement plans that cover private-sector employees whose employers do not offer a plan.
Hawaii. Bills are before both the Hawaii House of Representatives...
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While self-directed 401(k) investor balances increased in the fourth quarter, year-over-year returns remained negative — consistent with the market overall, according to Charles Schwab’s SDBA Indicators Report.
The report, which tracks retirement plan participant investment activity within self...
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The terms in an excessive fee suit settlement announced last fall have finally been revealed.
The plaintiffs here — Douglas G. Bailey, Jason J. Hayes and Marianne Robinson — who are two former and one current participant of the LinkedIn Corporation 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust — have filed...
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A number of recent excessive fee suits have failed to state a “plausible” claim to move past a motion to dismiss — but a federal judge in Massachusetts embraced what seems to be a lower threshold and is allowing one of those cases to proceed to trial.
This suit involved participants in the MITRE...
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This last weekend most of America underwent a rather painful change.
I’m talking about the legally mandated move to Daylight Saving Time (for most of us). That’s right, at 2 a.m. on March 12, clocks around the nation will “spring ahead” to 3 a.m., reversing course from last fall when the move was...
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American households that adopt some or all of five key financial wellness behaviors are more likely to be saving more and better positioned for building wealth, but the findings of a new report suggest that “retirement savings” is one of the most difficult behaviors to adopt.
Hearts & Wallets...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) has signed on to a joint letter supporting the IRS’ new permanent rules to allow remote notarization of spousal consent forms.
Background
During the pandemic, the IRS received requests from stakeholders to permit remote witnessing of spousal consents...
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April 1, 2023, is the last day, in most cases, for retirees who turned 72 during 2022 to begin taking distributions from IRAs, 401(k)s and similar workplace retirement plans. The IRS issued a reminder about the impending deadline on March 9.
RMDs, the IRS reminds, generally are made by the end...
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The Administration’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposes massive tax increases on corporations and upper-income taxpayers, including a proposal from the Build Back Better Act[1] to limit how much taxpayers are allowed to accumulate in their retirement plans.
According to the Treasury Department’s...
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The Alaska Senate is considering a measure that would give certain employees who participate in the Public Employees' Retirement System of Alaska and the teachers' retirement system an opportunity to choose between the defined benefit and defined contribution plans those systems offer.
Senate...
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So, if you had a court hearing with the same judge on the same day, ruling on suits involving identical allegations — what result would you expect?
Well, if you said the same result — you’d be correct. The suit here was brought by Michael Tullgren, an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and a...
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After many years of saving in a defined contribution (DC) plan, what does a retirement-age participant typically do with the money they’ve accumulated? New research by Vanguard breaks it down.
As an issue that has increasingly piqued the interest of policymakers, plan sponsors and recordkeepers,...
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Hello ASEA —
It has been a challenging March 15 season (if not brain-crushing). It reminds me of planning a 2023 trip with high school friends last winter. We were picking a tentative date, and I advised that before March 15 would not be a good time for me to go ... and neither would before April...
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Plan fiduciaries that had come close to settling a suit that accused them of mismanaging plan assets — twice — have managed to prevail because the plaintiffs waited too long to sue.
In this case, participant-plaintiffs Daniel Draney and Lorenzo Ibarra brought suit against the plan fiduciaries of...
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The IRS has issued guidance to financial institutions for reporting required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2023. The guidance, contained in Notice 2023-23, implements a change to the RMD rules made by the SECURE 2.0 Act, which delayed the required beginning date for RMDs.
Under this change, IRA...
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