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Legislation
The Department of Labor has criticized an effort by a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives to address concerns about its proposed fiduciary rule, with a DOL spokesman calling the initiative “puzzling and disappointing.”Reps. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.),...
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Another bill looking to derail the Department of Labor’s fiduciary proposal has been introduced in Congress.This one, the Retirement Choice Protection Act of 2015 (H.R. 3922), was introduced by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) — a member of the House Ways and Means Committee — with Social Security...
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The Windy City played host in the first week of November to a gathering focused on developing ideas to address America’s retirement savings challenge — but government-run solutions dominated the conversation.At the conference, “Saving — America’s Challenge and Opportunity in the Twenty-First...
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With concerns about the final Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule and its potential impact on low- and middle-income families still percolating on Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of House of Representatives members has outlined a series of legislative principles to help guide those efforts....
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The details of a new budget deal have been released and to use the late Yogi Berra’s famous malapropism, it’s déjà vu all over again (and again). Congress has once again (and again) gone to the defined benefit pension well to pay for a budget deal, using gimmicks that further penalize responsible...
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The sweeping two-year budget package that is swiftly moving through Congress this week collects over $8.1 billion in revenue from America’s defined benefit plans. This revenue largely comes from increases in premium payments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).The pension section of...
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Discussing alternatives to encourage small businesses to offer retirement plans, a Senate subcommittee found consensus around a specific solution.Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security Chairman Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) convened a...
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Oct. 27 that would block the Department of Labor from finalizing its fiduciary proposal until the Securities and Exchange Commission weighs in.By a 245-to-186 margin, the House passed the Retail Investor Protection Act of 2015 (H.R. 1090), which...
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As the Department of Labor (DOL) finalizes new fiduciary regulations, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are considering new legislation to address their concerns with DOL’s proposal.On Sept. 30, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing on the regulations’...
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Think administering loans and withdrawals is complicated now? New legislation introduced in the Senate claims to shore up retirement security for women — but it’s got implications for plan design and administration.Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty...
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The House Financial Services has given a nod to a bill that would delay the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing the proposed fiduciary rule. H.R. 1090, the Retail Investor Protection Act, passed the committee in a 34-25 vote on Sept. 30.The bill, which Rep. Ann Wagner (D-Mo.) introduced on...
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We’re months away from December, but it felt like a fiduciary rule Festivus on Capitol Hill Sept. 10 as members of Congress aired their grievances about the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed extension authority to regulate assets contained in retirement accounts.Two subcommittees of the House...
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Congress returns from its summer break next week, and House Republicans are wasting no time reengaging in oversight of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule re-proposal.On Sept. 10, two subcommittees of the House Financial Services Committee are planning to hold a joint hearing on the...
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The push to create government-sponsored retirement plans to address the retirement plan coverage gap is not exclusive to governments at the federal and state levels. Now governments of individual cities are getting into the mix, with the largest U.S. city at the tip of the spear.The effort to...
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Connecticut Gov. Dannell P. Malloy (D) on July 2 signed into law a measure that protects retirement plan benefits from creditors’ claims. The measure goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2015.Public Act 15-167 exempts from creditors’ claims interests in, or amounts payable to, participants and beneficiaries...
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Efforts to stop or roll back the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule will continue, according to Steve Saxon of Groom Law Group. Saxon made his remarks at the Insured Retirement Institute’s recent Government Legal Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C.According to zinsurance, Saxon...
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The exemption from the 10% penalty tax on early distributions from a government retirement plan for qualified public safety employees who are at least 50 years old has been expanded. The Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act, which President Obama signed into law on June 29, expands...
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The Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25 in a 16-14 vote approved the fiscal year 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) funding bill, which denies funding that would enable the Department of Labor (DOL) to implement the fiduciary rule.Committee Chairman Thad Chochran (R-Miss.) hailed...
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Appropriations subcommittees on Capitol Hill — in the House and now in the Senate — have taken a shot at blocking the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal by denying funding for the measure.House BillOn June 24, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2016...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on June 19 issued an interim regulation to implement the partition provisions of the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. The regulation makes it possible for financially troubled multiemployer pension plans to apply for PBGC...
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