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Defined Contribution Plans

You have been instructed to terminate a defined benefit plan and a 401(k) plan as soon as possible. The DB plan is not covered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and there are no safe-harbor contributions under the 401(k) plan, so you prepare the paperwork with today as the date of... READ MORE
As we make our way through November and into December, this is truly my favorite time of the year. I refer not to Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukah, but to 2023 Contribution Estimates Season. I enjoy being able to provide guidance during this slower time of the year, as opposed to April or... READ MORE
Retirement coverage is not universal, and any employer can find it challenging not only to cover employees, but also to motivate them to participate in the retirement plan that it offers. But it can be particularly challenging for some industry sectors.  Leaders from one sector—post-acute care... READ MORE
With many workers electing workplace benefits during open enrollment this month, a new survey finds that less than half will review or increase their retirement plan contributions, suggesting a missed opportunity to improve their retirement readiness.   In fact, findings from the Corebridge... READ MORE
There are challenges facing not only those saving for their retirement, but also the retirement industry and professionals who work to help them to do so. A panel of industry leaders recently offered their perspective on meeting those challenges in order to better facilitate effective saving for... READ MORE
Providing retirement benefits is a dynamic function, and in an age of accelerating technological transformation that requires reinvention of products and services. An expert panel at the recent SPARK Forum shared some of their experiences in that vein.  Panelists included Balaraman Jayaraman, Co-... READ MORE
Halloween is the time of year when one’s thoughts turn to trick-or-treat, ghosts and goblins, and things that go bump in the night. But what keeps—or should keep—plan fiduciaries up at night?  Well, there are the things like… Re-enrollment Automatic enrollment has long been shown to transform... READ MORE
The IRS has just announced the new contribution and benefit limits for 2024 and—reflecting the moderating inflation readings, the increases are modest. The headline is that next year the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans (not to mention 403(b) and most 457 plans, as well as... READ MORE
To encourage so-called micro-businesses with less than 10 employees to adopt retirement plans, a bipartisan pair of House lawmakers introduced legislation that would increase and alter the way the start-up credit is calculated. Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Dan Kildee (D-MI)—who are both members... READ MORE
A panel at the Oct. 22 opening session of the 2023 ASPPA Annual Conference expressed agreement with the notion of closing the coverage gap but also evinced great concern over the effect legislation that would create a federal retirement savings program could have on the private-sector retirement... READ MORE
The nation’s youngest members of the workforce have ambitious goals to retire at an early age, though they also believe they are facing more obstacles to do so than those before them. In fact, according to Charles Schwab’s annual nationwide survey of 401(k) plan participants, Gen Z workers (21–26... READ MORE
[This article has been updated to reflect that Dan Gilbert is not one of EIG's co-founders, he is a member of the Founders Circle, an advisory board with no governance responsibilities. Additionally, Steve Glickman is not a tech entrepreneur, but rather former Senior Economic Advisor at the... READ MORE
The parties in a suit that claimed a $7.3 billion plan “stocked the Plan’s investment menu with their own proprietary index funds”—while “participants got the short end of the stick” have come to terms. As it turns out, the plaintiffs in this case (are Rita Kohari, John Radolec and Mohani Jaikaran... READ MORE
For the second time in a month, a law firm has brought suit challenging the use of forfeitures in a 401(k) plan. The lawyers are from Hayes Pawlenko LLP, a South Pasadena, CA-based duo (who met in law school, according to their website) positioning themselves as an employment litigation firm “... READ MORE
There’s an oft-repeated line from that 1967 classic movie “Cool Hand Luke” about a “failure to communicate.”  Now, most of us aren’t trying to convey the consequences of violating prison rules, but there are messages where mere words sometimes fall short of their purpose. There are literal... READ MORE
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series about service providers’ audits of clients and their plans.  That’s what a first financial audit can feel like, says an industry expert. But it doesn’t have to. “Death by a thousand cuts. That’s what initial 401(k) and 403(b) audit clients... READ MORE
The IRS has updated the content it provides through an issue snapshot on the deductibility of employer contributions to a 401(k) plan made after the end of the tax year. The refresh accounts for application of the SECURE 2.0 Act.  The Issue Snapshot discusses the timing rules of the Internal... READ MORE
A few years ago, my wife went to a garage sale and bought a box of old books for $25. She came home as excited as I had ever seen her. Why? One of the books was an 1831 edition of The Federalist Papers. We searched online and were thrilled to see an estimated value of $500. Those poor sellers had... READ MORE
Concerns about increasing partisanship in traditionally bipartisan retirement policy and legislation was the theme of a conversation between Brian Graff and Preston Rutledge at the ERISA 403(b) Conference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2. Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association, and... READ MORE
Another federal judge has weighed the assertions made in an excessive fee suit—and found them lacking both in terms of a “meaningful benchmark,” and specificity of the claims made. The Suit The plaintiffs here—Jennifer R. Lard, John G. Juergens, Gerald L. Robinson, Scott W. Anderson, Thomas A.... READ MORE

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