John Iekel
By John Iekel 2/12/2018
Many plan documents are requirements. So too, are fiduciary duties. Do the two intersect?In “Those Pesky Plan Documents…What Do They Have To Do With my Fiduciary Duties?” Deborah Fabricant in Boutwell Fay LLP’s Benefits News blog argues that plan documents are central to fulfilling fiduciary duties...
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By John Iekel 2/12/2018
Debt is accumulating like snow in a blizzard, we have long been told. And that load may not melt away quickly — it may linger, extending its chill seasons ahead to retirement. A recent blog post looks at its longer-term effects.
In “How Does Household Debt Affect Retirement?” Capital Groups...
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By John Iekel 2/9/2018
The IRS and Treasury Department have issued an update to their joint 2017-18 Priority Guidance Plan. It reflects projects they hope to complete by June 30, 2018. The IRS and Treasury note that the update to the Priority Guidance Plan “reflects 29 additional projects, including those that have...
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By John Iekel 2/9/2018
The Feb. 8 ASPPA Washington Update for the first quarter of 2018 offered a look at a variety of current issues, including the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) Missing Participant Program, the naming of a new Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration...
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By John Iekel 2/8/2018
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has retirement savers in mind this year. The OCIE on Feb. 7 announced its 2018 examination priorities.The OCIE says that its protection of those saving for retirement will include focusing...
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By John Iekel 2/7/2018
The largest retirement plans — defined benefit as well as defined contribution — in the United States collectively amassed more than $10 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2017, a recent report estimates.In fact, together they accounted for $10.326 trillion — an all-time high — reports...
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By John Iekel 2/7/2018
A bipartisan committee composed of members from both houses of Congress will be formed to examine ways to address the solvency problems facing multiemployer pension plans, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced on Feb. 7. His office said in the announcement that he had urged the creation of the...
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By John Iekel 2/7/2018
The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) will not affect 2018 pension plan limitations, the IRS said on Feb. 6 in IR-2018-19.
The Internal Revenue Code specifies dollar limits on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans and requires the Treasury Department to...
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By John Iekel 2/6/2018
The Oregon Retirement Savings Board (ORSB) has issued a status report on OregonSaves, the state-sponsored retirement plan for private-sector workers.
Participation
OregonSaves originally had been open to employers with 100 or more employees, which had to either register with OregonSaves or certify...
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By John Iekel 2/5/2018
The ink is barely dry on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) — it’s been on the books for less than two months. Panelists at a session of ASPPA’s Feb. 2 Tax Virtual Conference offered their take on what the new law means to retirement plan professionals.
The session, “Retirement Plan Threats and...
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By John Iekel 2/2/2018
A recent paper touches on where retirement readiness fits into the financial wellness equation, and it’s not just in the obvious ways.In “The Power of the Wellness Effect: Seeing the Real Value of Employee Financial Health,” Prudential Retirement President and CEO Phil Waldek and Prudential Group...
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By John Iekel 2/2/2018
January opened with the ball dropping, but that may be about all that fell last month — at least as far as pension plan funding was concerned.In its regular analysis of how pension funds are faring, October Three applies current conditions and circumstances to two model pension plans: a traditional...
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By John Iekel 2/1/2018
Two more House members, one from each major party, on Jan. 30 joined 132 of their peers as cosponsors of the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Dina Titus (D-NV) signed on as cosponsors of H.R. 4444, a bill that calls for the creation of a Pension...
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By John Iekel 1/31/2018
The IRS has reviewed and updated the information it provides in frequently asked questions (FAQs) concerning recharacterizations of IRA contributions. It did so on Jan. 23.
The FAQs are as follows.
What is a recharacterization of a contribution to a traditional or Roth IRA?
A recharacterization...
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By John Iekel 1/25/2018
At a Jan. 24 session of the National Tax-deferred Savings Association’s 2018 NTSA Summit in Houston, American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff discussed the most important federal legislative and regulatory developments affecting retirement plans. Tax Reform The recently enacted Tax Cuts and...
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By John Iekel 1/22/2018
A recent analysis suggests that the SEC’s take on a fiduciary standard may be inching closer to that of the DOL.In “SEC Enforcement Slowly Tilting Fiduciary Needle toward ERISA,” an article appearing on the Corporate Compliance Insights website, Duane Thompson argues that “the SEC’s examination and...
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By John Iekel 1/19/2018
President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) into law just before Christmas. The debate over tax reform roiled Washington, and the retirement plan community was among the many parties concerned about the outcome. A recent white paper discusses the new law and its possible effects...
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By John Iekel 1/19/2018
A new year is under way. What might it portend for the retirement industry? An organization interested in retirement security gazes into the crystal ball to divine what these 365 days may bring.The Institutional Retirement Income Council (IRIC) has offered its take on important trends and factors...
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By John Iekel 1/18/2018
The IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) are granting relief to those in the Golden State who have suffered due to the recent wildfires, floods, mudslides and debris flows that began on Dec. 4, 2017.This is only the most recent action by the IRS and PBGC to give such Californians a...
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By John Iekel 1/18/2018
In the functional absence of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, some states have taken matters into their own hands. The latest is New York — but the proposal recently unveiled is of limited scope and notable for what it leaves out.The New York Department of Financial Services’ (DFS)...
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