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Government Affairs
In late June, the Labor Department issued a proposed rule innocuously titled “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments.”
While the proposed rule itself was relatively short and largely uncontroversial, the preamble and supporting analysis of costs left little doubt that the authors saw a...
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President Trump on Oct. 22 issued a memorandum directing the heads of three departments to review pension plans the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) holds in trusteeship.
The impetus for the memo was the pension plan serving retirees of the Delphi Corporation, but also concerns...
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Witnesses testifying at a hearing before the New Jersey state legislature voiced strong opposition to a proposed financial transaction tax that would impact retirement plans.
At the Oct. 19 hearing held by the New Jersey Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, 17 organizations...
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Illinois employers that have failed to register for the Secure Choice program and don’t offer their own retirement plan should take note that the Prairie State plans to step up enforcement of the program’s mandates next year.
“We are planning to begin enforcement next year for our employers who...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has released new studies that update its data on single-employer pension plans and multiemployer pension plans.
Single-Employer Plans
The PBGC has released its Analysis of Single-Employer Pension Plan Partial Risk Transfers (Based on Risk Transfer...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on Oct. 16 that the guarantee limits for single-employer plans that fail in 2021 will be 3.81% higher than the limits that applied for 2020.
The maximum guarantee for participants in single-employer plans is determined using a formula...
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The IRS on Oct. 16 modified guidance and clarified rules to address payments made to state unclaimed property funds. The IRS announced the changes in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2020-46 and Revenue Ruling (Rev. Rul.) 2020-24.
Rev. Proc. 2020-46
Rev. Rul. 2020-46 modifies and updates Rev. Proc...
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Release of the Department of Labor’s final rule addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in selecting plan investments appears to be imminent.
Following a 30-day comment window that ended July 30 and more than 8,000 comment letters, the DOL on Oct. 14 submitted a final rule,...
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The costs of offering a pension plan will increase next year.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has determined the premium rates applicable for 2021 plan years in accordance with the indexing rules provided in Section 4006 of ERISA. The rates are higher than those set for 2020; most...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to amend its regulation on the disclosure and public inspection of its records under the Freedom of Information Act. The proposed rule would modify the regulation to reflect statutory changes and current PBGC procedures and update the fee...
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A proposed financial transaction tax has not been enacted yet, and a recent study suggests that could save retirement plans in the Garden State billions of dollars.
“A Case Study on the Effects of a Financial Transaction Tax on Savers in New Jersey,” an October 2020 study by Gourprabh, University...
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In an Oct. 1 comment letter filed with the Department of Labor, the American Retirement Association raised several concerns with the proposed Pooled Plan Provider registration requirements under the SECURE Act.
The DOL on Sept. 1 published the proposed rule in the Federal Register to establish...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) submitted a statement to the Senate Special Committee on Aging in connection with its Sept. 24 hearing, “Women and Retirement: Unique Challenges and Opportunities to Pave a Brighter Future.”
“Women face a series of interconnected issues that make them...
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Amid ongoing negotiations with Trump administration officials, the House of Representatives moved forward on its own Oct. 1, approving a scaled-back economic relief bill with targeted retirement provisions.
The revised HEROES Act (H.R. 925, as amended) was approved by the House on a near-party-...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has announced that it has extended until Sept. 30, 2021 its pilot program for employers considering establishing a plan.
While the PBGC cannot provide coverage determinations for plans that do not yet exist, through the program employers may submit a...
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Effective Sept. 28, the Department of Labor (DOL) began following the Promoting Regulatory Openness through Good Guidance Rule, a measure that requires that it use guidance appropriately, transparently and in a manner that is accessible to the public.
The rule implements Executive Order 13891, “...
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I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Rick Unser as a guest on his 401(k) Fridays podcast. Guess what we talked about…
It was a wide-ranging discussion—no predictions as to the outcome of the elections, but we had a chance to bring to light some of the topics that we’ve covered over the...
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A continuing resolution approved by the House of Representatives to temporarily fund the government all but assures that a lame-duck session will happen. Here’s what that could mean for retirement relief.
The House of Representatives late Sept. 22 approved continuing appropriations legislation (...
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The deadline by which large employers in California are to register with CalSavers—the state-sponsored retirement plan for employees whose employers do not offer a plan—is fast approaching.
Employers in the Golden State with 100 or more employees have until Sept. 30 to register. The original...
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A month ago, the Labor Department unveiled an interim final rule on lifetime income disclosures on participant statements. Today the window for comments opens.
Under the Interim Final Rule, retirement plans would provide lifetime income illustrations using prescribed assumptions designed, the DOL...
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