John Sullivan

ARA Opposes MA’s Voluntary MEP Expansion, Wants Mandatory Auto IRA Instead

By John Sullivan 7/12/2023

The American Retirement Association (ARA) and its affiliates sent a letter to the Massachusetts legislature opposing its House Bill No. 3031 and Senate Bill No. 2025, legislation that makes available the Massachusetts Defined Contribution CORE Plan to nonprofit organizations of any size in the... READ MORE

Quit Using 401(k) Financial Jargon, Once and for all

By John Sullivan 7/10/2023

The damage an overreliance on financial jargon can do to participant confidence and, by extension, a retirement professional’s business is well-documented. Still, a new survey brings it (yet again) into stark relief. It might make a retirement professional sound smart while making the client... READ MORE

Baseball Great Bobby Bonilla Has One Heck of a Deferred Comp Plan

By John Sullivan 7/7/2023

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! It’s that magical time of the year when the former New York Mets great collects a gargantuan check for having done little more than extremely savvy financial planning. The 59-year-old MLB vet hasn’t played in a major league game since the late 1990s, but the Mets still pay... READ MORE

Millennial Retirement Plan Allocations Mirror Their Grandparents (No, Really)

By John Sullivan 7/3/2023

Not your grandparents’ retirement? Actually, it is. A little-reported finding from Schroders’ recent US Retirement Survey 2023 is that Millennials are inexplicably investing in much the same way as their grandparents. The surprising fact doesn’t bode well for the younger generation, which should... READ MORE

Bipartisan Opposition Grows to Swing Pricing and Hard Close Proposals

By John Sullivan 6/30/2023

On June 28, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, criticized the Biden administration’s hard close proposed rule that they said “... READ MORE

ARA, Major Organizations Urge Congress to Delay Roth Catch-Up Requirement

By John Sullivan 6/30/2023

The American Retirement Association joined over 100 organizations—including major corporations, law firms, and advocacy organizations—in sending a letter June 29 to the House Ways & Means Committee seeking a two-year delay of the Roth catch-up requirement in SECURE 2.0 that requires anyone who... READ MORE

Bill Would Ban 401(k)s from Investing in ‘Foreign Adversary’ Firms

By John Sullivan 6/15/2023

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) has introduced a bill that would block private pension plans under ERISA from making new investments in companies controlled by or based in foreign adversaries. H.R. 4008, The Protecting Americans’ Retirement Savings Act (PARSA) would also require the disclosure of existing... READ MORE

There Isn’t a Retirement Plan Coverage Gap Between Men and Women, But …

By John Sullivan 6/2/2023

A surprising finding in a comprehensive report from earlier this year: there is no gender gap between men and women in access to employer-based retirement plans, and participation rates are also consistent between the genders. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for savings, with women... READ MORE

Senate Committee Urges DOL to Implement 6 Specific SECURE Provisions

By John Sullivan 6/2/2023

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) on May 30 urging it to “effectively and expeditiously” implement SECURE 2.0. It also urged the DOL to prioritize six provisions related to the committee’s mission. More specifically... READ MORE

Fraudster’s 401(k) Can Be Used for Restitution

By John Sullivan 6/1/2023

Evan Greebel, pharma bro Martin Shkreli’s lawyer and co-conspirator, lost his bid to protect his 401(k) from garnishment to pay restitution to his victims. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, effectively ending Greebel’s quest to keep his retirement plan free from a $10.4 million judgment... READ MORE

What Could Happen to Retirement Savings if a Debt Deal Isn’t Reached

By John Sullivan 5/31/2023

Racing against a looming June 5 deadline, negotiators for President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked late into the night on May 26 in order to announce an agreement in principle on the morning of May 27 to raise the debt ceiling. The news came just over one week before the earliest... READ MORE

Congress Tells Treasury SECURE 2.0 Corrections Are Coming

By John Sullivan 5/24/2023

On May 23, Congress sent a letter to the Treasury Department informing Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel that it will introduce legislation to fix several technical errors contained in SECURE 2.0. Signed by four prominent SECURE 2.0 figures—House Ways and Means Committee... READ MORE

Near-Retirees Blow Basic Quiz on Social Security Benefits

By John Sullivan 5/17/2023

Almost 70% of near-retirees either failed or barely passed MassMutual’s latest Social Security retirement benefits quiz. Over one-third failed (35%), and another one-third received a D (34%). More than a quarter of near-retiree respondents did not know that if they have a spouse, the other spouse... READ MORE

How Auto Enrollment Closes the Retirement Savings Gap for Communities of Color

By John Sullivan 5/15/2023

New research put stark numbers to the retirement savings coverage gap for communities of color. Voya Financial uncovered striking differences in overall workplace retirement plan participation, savings rates, and average account balances for underserved employee communities. For instance, Black... READ MORE

Small Plan Stats: Will SECURE 2.0 Move the Needle?

By John Sullivan 5/12/2023

Only 28% of businesses with less than 10 employees offer retirement plans, and only 51% of businesses with 10-24 employees offer them. New research from Capital Group found that many business owners may not be offering a plan due to misperceptions around cost and company size requirements,... READ MORE

Former Congressman Lee Zeldin Slams Federal Retirement Plan Takeover Bill

By John Sullivan 5/12/2023

Former New York Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin pulled no punches in his condemnation of the Retirement Savings for Americans Act, which would establish a federal program to oversee private retirement plan saving and investing. In an op-ed for Newsweek published Thursday, Zeldin... READ MORE

Employees’ Retirement Confidence Takes a Big Hit

By John Sullivan 5/5/2023

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.... READ MORE

A Bipartisan ‘Big Idea’ to Fix Social Security

By John Sullivan 5/4/2023

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... READ MORE

80% of Seniors Cannot Withstand a ‘Financial Shock’

By John Sullivan 5/3/2023

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... READ MORE

Surprising Findings About State Plans’ Impact on Private-Sector 401(k)s

By John Sullivan 4/28/2023

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... READ MORE

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