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Legislation
The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans, the bipartisan, bicameral body created by the Bipartisan Budget Act to look for ways to improve the solvency of multiemployer plans, held its first meeting on March 14. It was an organizational business meeting to consider...
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Major employers are among those that have increased their retirement benefits in the wake of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), according to a recent report.
The Senate Republican Communications Center has reported that the following employers are among the “more than 400 companies...
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in remarks on the Senate floor on March 6 cited increased retirement benefits as one of the results of enacting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA).
“Every day, we hear of more ways that tax reform is immediately helping American workers, job...
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Legislation has been introduced to address the proliferation of small accounts that the bill’s sponsors say is costing Americans tens of billions of dollars every year in lost savings because of cash-outs and redundant fees — not to mention lost savings from missing accounts.Sens. Elizabeth Warren...
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) have named the four Republicans and four Democrats from the Senate who will serve on the new Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans.The bipartisan, bicameral committee was...
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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on March 1 outlined some of the effects the recently enacted tax reform law had on retirement plans and their participants. Hatch made his remarks at an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) event concerning assessments of the impact of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Hatch...
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Now is the time to get up-to-date on developments in Washington and their impact on retirement plans. Learn from someone in the know, Craig Hoffman, ARA’s General Counsel.
Late last year, President Trump signed into law the budget reconciliation bill popularly known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act...
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Concerned that the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule could be pared back, Maryland is considering extending fiduciary duty under state law.The Maryland Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on proposed legislation on Feb. 22, following a Feb. 16 hearing on the legislation by the Maryland House...
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A bill that would revamp the multiemployer pension system is now before the U.S. House. Rep. David Roe (R-TN) introduced the measure on Feb. 13; Rep. David Norcross (D-NJ) is its co-sponsor.The Give Retirement Options to Workers (GROW) Act, H.R. 4997, is intended to safeguard the multiemployer...
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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on Feb. 13 cited the cut in corporate tax rates under the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as a way to boost retirement plans and retirement savings. Hatch made his remarks at “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: The New Business Tax Landscape,” a program held by the...
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The two-year budget agreement that Congress passed in the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 9 includes several tax policy changes affecting retirement plans.In general, the amended version of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892) increases discretionary budget caps for both defense and...
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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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Witnesses at a Feb. 6 Senate committee hearing debated current challenges and offered several policy proposals to help so-called “gig economy” workers save for retirement.At the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security’s roundtable-style hearing, four panelists argued for...
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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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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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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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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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In the wake of any new tax law, there are always issues that cause problems when the new provisions are put actually into practice. One such issue with the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: hardship withdrawals from a 401(k) plan to address a personal casualty loss of a principal residence...
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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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In the wake of any new tax law, there are always issues that cause problems when they are actually put into practice. One such issue is that hardship withdrawals from a 401(k) plan to address a personal casualty loss of a principal residence may no longer be allowed unless the loss is attributable...
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