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Defined Contribution Plans
A new survey finds that demographic shifts (yes, Millennials) and employee expectations (gig, anyone?) are redefining the workplace — and benefit priorities for plan sponsors. Guess what hasn’t changed?Asked to rank their top benefits priorities, more employers (83%) chose retaining employees as an...
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“I would encourage caution among policymakers when considering dramatic changes to retirement policy for tax policy purposes,” former Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) told the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs’ Subcommittee on Economic Policy on April 5.“As tax reform discussions...
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With health care reform off the table (at least for the moment), Congress will now turn to… tax reform.Over the weekend, House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said he aims to move a tax reform bill through his committee this spring. According to Reuters, Brady said he...
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Tax-exempt organizations, governmental employers and churches have different types of options available in order to allow their employees to save for retirement. How do these entities know which option(s) to choose? This question and more will be covered in detail at the ASPPA Eastern Regional...
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Some plan fiduciaries contend that passively managed funds allow one to avoid ERISA liability. But are they a panacea? A recently released white paper suggests they are not.In “Actively Managed Funds Remain Appropriate Investment Options For 401(k) Plans,” a paper by Stephen M. Saxon and Jason H....
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A new tax reform proposal has surfaced that would impose a 15% tax on retirement accounts.More specifically, the proposal includes a new 15% tax on interest paid to tax-exempt institutions and retirement plans.The corporate tax reform plan, by Alan Viard of the American Enterprise Institute and...
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The so-called “Trump bump” looks to be bringing good news to those 401(k) balances.For the month, the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that the average account balance for younger (25-34), less tenured (1-4 years) workers surged by 8.0% (that’s not a typo) in February,...
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The IRS has expanded the applicability of the examination guidelines relevant to hardship distributions from 401(k)s. On March 7 the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division issued a memorandum that sets forth substantiation guidelines for Employee Plans (EP) Examinations employees to use in...
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Much of the preparation for the Labor Department’s fiduciary regulation has involved a focus on rollover advice — but it now looks like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is gearing up a larger focus as well.A new blog post from noted ERISA attorney Fred Reish reminds that the SEC’s...
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Drains on retirement income abound. That’s natural in the course of daily life. But one of them — long-term disability — is largely unheralded, despite its being less than rare, argues a recent analysis.In “Addressing the Risk of Long-Term Disability on Retirement Income,” an article appearing in...
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The so-called “Trump bump” looks to be bringing good news to those 401(k) balances.For the month, the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that the average account balance for younger (25-34), less tenured (1-4 years) workers surged by 8.0% (that’s not a typo) in February,...
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There’s strong support for employer involvement in facilitating retirement saving. Not only that, a healthy majority of workers at employers that do not offer a retirement plan would save for retirement if they were given access to a plan, says a recent study.In “Workers and Retirement Programs:...
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Timing, it is said, is everything. If that’s the case, financial wellness may offer yet more proof of the validity of that premise. Recent studies indicate that employers are increasingly interested in financial wellness — and that it can’t come soon enough.So what exactly is financial wellness?...
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U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) has introduced bipartisan legislation to make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement benefits to employees. It’s not the first time Buchanan has done so; he introduced an earlier iteration in the waning days of the 114th Congress in December 2016.H.R....
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U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) has introduced bipartisan legislation to make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement benefits to employees. It’s not the first time Buchanan has done so; he introduced an earlier iteration in the waning days of the 114th Congress in December 2016.H.R....
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The Oregon State Treasury has put forth a proposal in support of its state-run plan for private-sector workers who don’t have a plan at work — that could affect private-sector 401(k) plans.The proposal is intended to implement recent changes in state law that will require Oregon employers that don’...
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Most workplace retirement plans allow participants to take a loan against their retirement plan balance — but administering the option carries risks for plan fiduciaries. Here are what the IRS has identified as the most common plan loan failures.A plan loan is a taxable distribution unless the loan...
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At a Feb. 3 U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference, “The Shifting Paradigm of Retirement,” a panel of experts addressed the changing dynamics of the workforce and its financial wellness.“We know that millions of Americans are facing financial issues,” said panelist Prudential Senior Vice President...
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House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) says that Congress is “seeking ideas” on how to increase saving, including retirement saving. Brady made his remarks at the Financial Services Roundtable’s Jan. 25 meeting, “Breaking Down the Barriers to Financial Security,” held in...
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The most common DC match turns out to not be the one that participants were more likely to get, according to a new report.Altogether, the most common match rates for employee contributions (with various limits on the maximum employee contribution matched) were 50% and 100%, both used by about 37%...
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