John Sullivan

SECURE 2.0—The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: 2023 ASPPA Annual

By John Sullivan 10/23/2023

The challenges, opportunities, and complexities surrounding high-profile SECURE 2.0 provisions were tackled in an Oct. 23 morning session at the 2023 ASPPA Annual conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Bob Kaplan, the American Retirement Association's Director of Technical Education, and Robert... READ MORE

Power of Auto-Enrollment and Auto-Escalation—By the Numbers: ASPPA Annual

By John Sullivan 10/23/2023

Is auto-enrollment and escalation a good or bad thing for participants? It might seem like a settled question, yet nonetheless asked at a Monday morning workshop at ASPPA Annual in National Harbor, Maryland. While attendees overwhelmingly felt both were a net positive, there were outliers. The... READ MORE

An Explanation of Automatic Enrollment After SECURE 2.0: ASPPA Annual

By John Sullivan 10/23/2023

Automatic enrollment provisions contained in SECURE 2.0 were the focus of an Oct. 23 presentation at the ASPPA Annual conference in National Harbor, MD. Craig Hoffman, an Attorney/Senior Consultant with Nova 401(k) Associates in Houston, Texas, said that in SECURE 2.0, Congress went much further... READ MORE

Controversial Bill to Establish Federal Retirement Plan for Private Sector Workers Reintroduced

By John Sullivan 10/20/2023

[This article has been updated to reflect that Dan Gilbert is not one of EIG's co-founders, he is a member of the Founders Circle, an advisory board with no governance responsibilities. Additionally, Steve Glickman is not a tech entrepreneur, but rather former Senior Economic Advisor at the... READ MORE

Inflation Leading to Retirement Saving Behavioral Change Across Generations

By John Sullivan 10/20/2023

Inflation fears are (understandably) leading to behavioral change, especially with retirement saving and investing. Following a second straight year of above-average inflation, and after last year’s volatile markets, workers’ perceptions of what retirement will look like has begun to shift,... READ MORE

The Ins and Outs of Fiduciary Liability Insurance

By John Sullivan 10/15/2023

An explanation and history of fiduciary liability insurance were among the topics addressed at the recent ERISA 403(b) Conference in Washington, D.C. The panel discussion “Fiduciary Liability Insurance” featured Euclid Fiduciary’s Daniel Aronowitz, Sompo International’s Joe Kelly, and Marsh... READ MORE

Rep. Foxx: DOL ‘Foreshadows Abusive Regulatory Expansion, Gross Overreach’

By John Sullivan 10/11/2023

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) on Oct. 5 sent a letter to Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Assistant Secretary Lisa Gomez that raises concerns about the Department of Labor’s (DOL) potential regulations that could affect retirement plans... READ MORE

Is This the End of Retirement Policy Bipartisanship?

By John Sullivan 10/2/2023

Concerns about increasing partisanship in traditionally bipartisan retirement policy and legislation was the theme of a conversation between Brian Graff and Preston Rutledge at the ERISA 403(b) Conference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2. Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association, and... READ MORE

Protect Against a Retirement Plan Cybersecurity Breach or Else: DOL

By John Sullivan 10/2/2023

October is cybersecurity month, “something that pairs nicely with Oktoberfest,” American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff joked during a panel called “Fulfilling Cybersecurity Oversight Requirements” at the ERISA 403(b) Conference in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2. It was a moment of levity in... READ MORE

More Evidence Suggests State-Sponsored Retirement Plans Close the Coverage Gap

By John Sullivan 9/28/2023

Analysis of the first state-sponsored retirement plan for uncovered workers—OregonSaves—supports earlier findings that auto-IRAs do, in fact, close the coverage gap. More specifically, a new paper examined Oregon’s program, started in 2017, which requires employers who did not offer any workplace... READ MORE

Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Stop Social Security Benefits from Garnishment

By John Sullivan 9/19/2023

Democrats have reintroduced a bill during President Biden’s ongoing battle over student debt forgiveness to restore federal protections for Social Security benefits to prevent them from garnishment by the federal government for the repayment of all non-tax federal debt. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)... READ MORE

Scary, ‘Sensational’ Headlines Mar Retirement Income Good News

By John Sullivan 9/11/2023

Everyone, relax. There is no retirement savings “crisis,” and you’re probably saving enough for retirement. That’s the message in a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, and a working paper from the American Enterprise Institute’s Andrew Biggs, a frequent critic of what he says are... READ MORE

Running the Race for National 401(k) Day

By John Sullivan 9/8/2023

Retirement plan professionals are getting increasingly creative in how they observe 401(k) Week, culminating in Friday’s National 401(k) Day. Take Qualified Plan Advisors, the high-profile Kansas City-based firm. Its Nebraska Practice Leader, Charles (Chuck) Smith, is an elite runner with many... READ MORE

New York Life Clients Latest Victims of Massive MOVEit Data Breach

By John Sullivan 8/29/2023

Almost 26,000 New York Life customers had their names and Social Security numbers exposed to a data breach, the latest in a massive hack that affected hundreds of companies and millions of Americans. The hack occurred in late May and involved Progress Software, the provider of MOVEit transfer... READ MORE

IRS Clarifies Erroneous Late-Filing Notices

By John Sullivan 8/28/2023

UPDATED: Find the IRS Announcement HERE On Aug. 25, the IRS contacted the American Retirement Association (ARA) to clarify issues regarding erroneous notices sent regarding supposed late filing of 2022 Form 8955-SSA. The IRS confirmed that the issue was a programming glitch, which it fixed on... READ MORE

IRS Grants Two-Year Delay in Roth Catch-Up Requirements

By John Sullivan 8/25/2023

The IRS released guidance on Aug. 25 that addressed Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act with respect to Roth catch-up contributions. The guidance grants a two-year delay in the provision's effective date that mandates that catch-up contributions must be Roth for those earning more than $145,000.... READ MORE

‘Staggering’ Number of Adults Don’t Know How Long Retirements Last

By John Sullivan 8/23/2023

Compounding the problem of low financial literacy is “low longevity literacy,” or a lack of understanding of how long people tend to live in retirement. According to new research from the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at the George Washington University... READ MORE

Glitch Blamed for Erroneous Late Filing Form 8955-SSA Notices

By John Sullivan 8/23/2023

An apparent electronic glitch with a regulatory filing system is causing confusion. More specifically, the American Retirement Association (ARA) is hearing from many members regarding erroneous 2022 8955-SSA late filing notices. It appears that several plan sponsors for whom complete Form 8955-... READ MORE

Is the Current Retirement Income System ‘Inadequate?’ The Data Has an Answer

By John Sullivan 8/21/2023

Recent research from the Investment Company Institute (ICI) sought to answer two critical questions on which retirement policy is often based—how do the amount and compositions of spendable income for individuals change from middle to old age? “There are constant proposals to overhaul Social... READ MORE

What Is the Dollar Amount of Potential Cuts Without a Social Security ‘Fix?’

By John Sullivan 8/15/2023

The effect of skipping past Social Security’s looming solvency deadline without a solution is by now widely known. If payroll taxes are the only available funds, Social Security will pay 77% of scheduled benefits. While still a sizable portion of promised benefits, the cuts will nonetheless hurt... READ MORE

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