Fiduciary Governance

Funded status for typical corporate pension plans changed only slightly in October, says a new study.  According to investment consulting firm NEPC, the funded status of a typical corporate pension plan increased by 0.9%, while that of a frozen pension plan focused on liability-driven investment (... READ MORE

This is a rare time. And not just in ways we’ve focused on for seemingly ages—it’s a once-every-four-years time when we select a president. That has great implications for a host of things, including investments—which can affect retirement plans and participants.  And those effects are relevant to... READ MORE

The final rule on ESG investing by ERISA plans steps away from the proposed rule’s focus on ESG. Indeed, the Department of Labor (DOL) notes that “unlike the proposal, the final rule’s operative text contains no specific references to ESG or ESG-themed funds.”  Rather, acknowledging the fluid... READ MORE

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... READ MORE

Noting that the settlement agreement is “fair, reasonable, and adequate, and within the range of possible approval,” the parties in an excessive fee suit have come to terms. More specifically, on Oct. 12, 2020, “after extensive litigation, lengthy discovery,[1] and protracted arm’s-length... READ MORE

In a year full of challenges for plans and plan sponsors alike, we’ve seen a spate of litigation against retirement programs like none in recent memory. So what’s a plan fiduciary to do?  At times, it seems that every plan in American with more than $1 billion in assets has fallen short of at... READ MORE

A plan sponsor, sued for a 401(k) account theft, is off the hook for now—but not the recordkeeper. The suit was filed on behalf of Heide Bartnett, 59, a retired former employee of Abbott Laboratories, who had left her savings in the Abbott Corporate Benefits Stock Retirement Plan. Filed against... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated its Pension Insurance Data Tables by providing the third installment of 2018 data concerning its Single-Employer and Multiemployer Programs and the private defined benefit pension system.  Highlights of information from this installment... READ MORE

What does the rest of 2020 portend for retirement plans? The election? American Retirement Association Retirement Education Counsel Robert Richter provided a look ahead, as well as a retrospective of recent months, in a Sept. 23 ASPPA Washington Update webcast.  Not Taking Wing Richter said he is... READ MORE