John Iekel

Overall, private-sector employees are more than four times as likely to have access to a defined contribution plan than a defined benefit plan, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS in “TED: The Economics Daily” reports that in its most recent National Compensation Survey... READ MORE

For the IRS, fiscal year (FY) 2023 “was a transitional year,” largely due to funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and application of technology, according to Commissioner of Internal Revenue Danny Werfel. His made his remarks in the agency’s most recent data book, an annual... READ MORE

Spring cleaning is well underway. But that need not be limited to closets, kitchens, and garages—it can serve retirement plans and their administrators too. And one such prime function is addressing missing participants.  Missing participants—former employees whose benefits remain in the plan but... READ MORE

The IRS on April 16 issued guidance on certain specified required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2024. It adds that the final regulations it plans to issue related to RMDs will apply for purposes of determining RMDs for calendar years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025.  The guidance is... READ MORE

Legislation that would put the interests of participants and their beneficiaries ahead of “nonpecuniary” interests when assets of publicly funded retirement plans are invested is closer to enactment in Georgia. And the ball has just begun rolling on a similar measure in Louisiana.  The Peachtree... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 8 that Central States is returning approximately $127 million in excess funds it received through the PBGC’s Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program.  The Central States pension plan, at the... READ MORE

A variety of factors slow some individuals’ retirement saving, if not impede it outright—and one of them is student loan debt. A recent NTSA webinar looked at a step some entities pursue that affects those with loans as well as retirement saving—student loan forgiveness.    In a March 27 NTSA... READ MORE

Add private-sector employees in Alaska and Wisconsin to those covered by state-run plans if their employers do not offer a retirement plan. Maybe.  That is, if the governments of both states enact bills that would create state-run retirement savings plans for private-sector employees who do not... READ MORE

The Treasury Department, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have announced that they are extending the period during which they will accept comments on the effectiveness of existing reporting and disclosure... READ MORE