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Legislation
Of late, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about legislation that would create open multiple employer plans (MEPs). Here’s the update.
Ever since the Department of Labor issued an explicit ruling in 2012 that an open MEP is not a single employee benefit pension plan but a group of single...
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All that stands between a bill establishing the New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program and its becoming law is the signature of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
The state Assembly passed the bill, which calls for the establishment of a state-run retirement savings plan for private-sector...
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The seeds have been sown for a retirement income crisis, says a former U.S. Senator, and the time to act is now.
“We face a looming retirement crisis that will impact millions of elderly and soon-to-be elderly Americans, as well as our children and grandchildren who will have to bail out those...
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A new report by the Government Accountability Office calls on federal regulators to clarity the rules regarding the transfers of unclaimed savings from employer-based 401(k) plans to the states.
In “Federal Action Needed to Clarify Tax Treatment of Unclaimed 401(k) Plan Savings Transferred to...
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The ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951 may limit U.S. Presidents’ tenure, but that doesn’t mean their influence over a host of areas ends when their terms of office do. And that includes retirement readiness.
In “How 5 U.S. Presidents Continue to Influence Your Retirement Readiness Today...
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In his First Quarter 2019 Washington Update, Robert Kaplan, the American Retirement Association’s Director of Technical Education, provided an overview of the new climate on Capitol Hill as well as recent regulatory developments affecting retirement plans.
On the Hill
With the changes that took...
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Another state has moved to impose its own fiduciary standard with no ERISA exemption.
The Maryland legislature aims to implement a state level fiduciary standard through a comprehensive consumer protection bill introduced this week by State Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s).
The bill grants...
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The Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) has been reintroduced in the new Congress.
The bill introduced on Feb. 6 is bipartisan – sponsored by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Mike Kelly (R-PA) – as was the one introduced nearly a year ago by the same duo.
The bill, which is a replica of last...
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At the first hearing on retirement security issues in the 116th Congress on Feb. 6, enactment of the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) again took center stage as a vital step in expanding access and addressing the coverage gap.
Featuring a single panel of witnesses, the four-hour...
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The Senate Special Committee on Aging in a Feb. 6 hearing, “Financial Security in Retirement: Innovations and Best Practices to Promote Savings,” listened to ideas from a panel of experts on how to increase retirement savings and enhance Americans’ financial readiness to retire.
“As Americans live...
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Two key senators reintroduced legislation to provide greater flexibility for small businesses interested in offering SIMPLE plans as an option for saving for retirement.
Introduced Feb. 4 by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA), the SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act (S. 322) would, among...
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Retirement security has received some much-needed attention in bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate.
The Retirement Security Act of 2019 was introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), with a goal of helping small...
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House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richie Neal (D-MA) announced Jan. 30 that the committee will hold a hearing on Feb. 6 on improving retirement security for America’s workers.
It is anticipated that the hearing will be the first of many focusing on retirement security issues, eventually...
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Legislation has been introduced in the Bay State that would expand the Commonwealth’s auto-IRA program for private sector workers and establish a 401(k) parallel, with an employer mandate.
The first bill, SD 1902, introduced by state senator Patricia D. Jehlen, establishes the Massachusetts Secure...
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Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the new chair of the House Financial Services Committee, recently outlined a full-bodied agenda that seeks to protect consumers, safeguard investors and prevent another financial crisis.
In terms of setting the committee’s agenda, Waters, who has served on the committee...
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As part of a program to make the Big Apple the “Fairest Big City in America,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan for retirement savings.
Specifically, noting that fewer than half of all working New Yorkers have access to a plan that can help them save for their retirement years and 40%...
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Legislation is before the Virginia House of Delegates that would establish the My Virginia Plan Program, a state-based retirement plan. The bills were prefiled by Del. Luke Torian (D-Dumfries), who introduced them before the new session of the state’s General Assembly began on Jan. 9.
H.B. 2431
H...
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One week into the 116th Congress and the first retirement legislation has been introduced.
I will admit, the bill has a particular focus, and that many of you probably don’t interact with multi-employer plans, which are created by collective bargaining agreements and sponsored by multiple...
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Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) on Jan. 9 introduced the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act, legislation that seeks to address the problems facing multiemployer pensions. Neal had introduced the measure during the 115th Congress, but it had been referred to three House committees and was not...
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While much of Washington has been focused on the government shutdown, House Democrats kicked off the 116th Congress by implementing a series of changes to the standing rules that will will make it harder for Congress and President Trump to agree on major legislation.
Perhaps one of the more...
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