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John Iekel

The Maine Retirement Savings Program is getting closer to implementation. The Maine Retirement Savings Board has proposed a rule that would set the nuts and bolts of program operation.  Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the Act To Promote Individual Retirement Savings through a Public-Private... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated certain information and rates relevant to premiums. Premium Funding Targets The PBGC has updated the information it makes available concerning the interest rates used to determine the "premium funding target" (that is, the present value... READ MORE
The Department of Labor (DOL) on Aug. 28 announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will extend the grace period to obtain new Login.gov credentials for the EFAST2 filing system until Dec. 31, 2023. The ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2) is the system by which the... READ MORE
Social Security—often cited as a “third rail”—has been a staple of the retirement landscape for almost 90 years. But that doesn't mean that it’s free of misconceptions. A recent commentary highlights some to avoid.  In “5 Social Security Myths Debunked,” Fidelity points out some common assumptions... READ MORE
Pension risk transfers (PRT) hit record levels in the second quarter of 2023, and have been high all year. Some industry analysts suggest what may be behind that heat wave.  Annuities and Funding Levels. Annuity purchase interest rates, as well as improved pension plan funded status, help explain... READ MORE
Retirement plans and benefits still are among the matters the IRS plans to address in upcoming guidance. They still are included in the IRS 2022-2023 priority guidance plan; the IRS issued a fourth quarter update to the plan on Aug. 21.  The IRS had released the initial plan on Nov. 4, 2022,... READ MORE
The typically hot inland areas of the Golden State may have been torrid this summer, but one thing at least has been cooling: CalSavers employer registrations and contribution levels.  Registrations had been steadily growing since 2019. But employer registrations dropped from May 31, 2023 to June... READ MORE
Brace yourself for shocking news: Summer is hot. But this year, at least, that’s not limited to thermometers—pension risk transfers (PRTs) have heated up, according to recent reports.  Highest Ever for Q2 PRTs in the United States in the second quarter of 2023 were the highest for any second... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has been operating appropriately and within the law in actions under the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARPA) regarding special financial assistance (SFA) payments, says the GAO in a recent analysis. The GAO performed the analysis in response to a... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has proposed amendments to its regulation on allocation of assets in single-employer plans. The PBGC seeks to make the changes in order to update the actuarial assumptions—the interest, mortality, and expense assumptions—used to determine: the... READ MORE
The EFAST2 website authentication process is being modernized in 2023. Some changes have already taken place; some deadlines are still ahead—including a grace period that ends Sept. 1. The Department of Labor (DOL) is changing the method of logging in to the EFAST2 website with an EFAST2-issued... READ MORE
The first half of 2023 brought slow—but relentless—growth in assets and registrants for CalSavers, the state-run program that provides retirement plan coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not. So reports the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board, which administers the program.... READ MORE
They may be on almost completely opposite ends of the country, but Colorado and Maine are cooperating in offering retirement plan coverage to their citizens.  Colorado Secure Savings program and the Maine Retirement Investment Trust (MERIT) on Aug. 11 established a partnership to provide... READ MORE
Participants’ understanding of their retirement plans and individual prospects can be more well-rounded and complete if they are educated on risk literacy, argues an industry expert.  Risk literacy is a “crucial aspect of participant education” that is often neglected, posits PlanPILOT Managing... READ MORE
Many members of the Baby Boom generation have retired, and many of those who remain in the workforce are not far off from following suit. But many of those individuals are less financially prepared for retirement than one may expect, says a recent study.  In “What Happened to Late Boomers’... READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a request for information (RFI) on SECURE 2.0 mandates related to ERISA’s reporting and disclosure provisions. Several sections of SECURE 2.0 establish new, or revise existing, ERISA reporting and disclosure... READ MORE
Coverage by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) ultimately is intended to make it possible for individuals to be able to obtain distributions from the plan in which they have been participating. A recent study looks at what kinds of distributions individuals covered by the PBGC choose... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Aug. 7 announced that it is granting a one-time waiver of filing requirements under ERISA Section 4010 for certain filers.  The PBGC issued the relief in PBGC Technical Update 23-1. It provides a one-time waiver of the reporting requirement in... READ MORE
The club of states adopting retirement plans that provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not is becoming increasingly less exclusive. A recent study takes a look at how employers are responding.  In the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper “How Do Firms... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) expects that both of its pension insurance programs—for single employers and for multiemployer plans—will remain not only solvent but robust for years to come.  The good news is contained in its FY 2022 Projections Report, which it released on Aug.... READ MORE

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