Government Affairs

As expected, President-Elect Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary has thrown down the gauntlet on tax reform — and that’s not likely to be good news for retirement plans.“Our No. 1 priority is tax reform. This will be the largest tax change since Reagan,” said Steven Mnuchin, the former banker who... READ MORE

Legislation that would amend the nondiscrimination rules applicable to retirement plans to protect older plan participants and those with longer-term service whose employers have closed or frozen their pension plans is now before both chambers of Congress.H.R. 6335, the Retirement Security... READ MORE

While Millennials appear to acknowledge personal responsibility for their retirement preparations, they are also much more likely to want substantial change in retirement plan design, according to a new survey.According to the Natixis 2016 Retirement Plan Participant Study of 951 workers of all... READ MORE

The Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA, S. 3471), which would amend the Internal Revenue Code to encourage retirement savings, was placed on the Senate’s legislative calendar by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) Nov. 16.Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also placed the Miners... READ MORE

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White, after nearly four years as the agency’s head, has announced that she intends to leave at the end of the Obama administration.White, who became the 31st Chair of the SEC in April 2013, will be one of the Commission’s longest-serving... READ MORE

What most people — and nearly every pundit — thought could never happen — has.Though candidate Trump never specifically addressed the fiduciary regulation, he has consistently spoken of his intention to reduce the reach of government regulations, and it seems reasonable to think that he’d see the... READ MORE

Regulatory Paul Reveres are sounding the clarion call about the impending effective date of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule. It’s not exactly a middle-of-the-night surprise, but it is coming. A recent paper offers ideas on preparing for the rule’s April 10, 2017 effective date.In “... READ MORE

What’s the retirement plan industry’s biggest concern in the coming election? ASPPA Executive Director Brian Graff addressed the issue in the opening session of ASPPA’s 2016 Annual Conference at National Harbor, Md. “The biggest concern that we have has to do with tax reform,” said Graff, noting... READ MORE

Transparency and accountability are behind the Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest effort to update the Form 5500. At least so say the speakers in ASPPA’s recent webcast on the subject.In the Oct. 6 ASPPA webcast, “DOL's Proposed Form 5500 Modernization Initiative,” four speakers from three federal... READ MORE