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Guaranteed Income
The government should limit contributions or accumulations in tax-advantaged retirement plans—or tax the earnings each year—to address Social Security’s shortfall, a trio of high-profile industry academics argue in a new paper. It’s the latest in a string of controversial ideas that 401(k)...
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December’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) didn’t keep pace with inflation, but a new report says that Social Security beneficiaries could be riding an inflation rollercoaster this year, courtesy of 2023’s 8.7% COLA—alongside static income thresholds for taxation of benefits....
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Jan. 19 announced that it has chosen the firms that will participate in its Smaller Asset Managers Program (SAMP).
SAMP is intended to reduce barriers to competition and create opportunities for smaller asset investment management firms. SAMP...
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Rhode Island is on the road to possibly becoming a member of the Secure Choice Club. A bill has been introduced in the state’s House of Representatives that would establish a state-run retirement program that would cover those whose employers do not offer one.
Rep. Evan P. Shanley (D-East...
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More than 900,000 participants of terminated plans were receiving benefits from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2023, says the agency in its FY 2023 annual report.
The Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)—...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final rule adjusting for 2024 the civil penalties for failure to provide certain notices or other material information and for failure to provide certain multiemployer plan notices. The PBGC is required to amend its regulations annually...
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The U.S. retirement system is a success—but we still can do better. That was the message from an expert panel that recently examined the gaps in that system and made suggestions regarding how to fill them.
Pete Swisher, Managing Partner at Group Plan Systems, and Annie Messer, President, Member...
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From New England to Key West, from the Atlantic to the Great Plains, there are bills before state legislatures that would expand retirement plan coverage for certain public-sector employees.
Rhode Island
Rep. Patricia Serpa (D-West Warwick) on Jan. 5 introduced HB 7026, a measure that would...
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“Best condition this century.” Or, “improved” but “fragile.” Both are characterizations of the state of pensions in 2023; which applies depends on which pension system one is talking about.
Better, But…
State and local pension plans saw improvement in 2023, but there is still plenty of room for...
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Like a snowflake dancing on the breeze uncertain where to land, how private-sector pension plans fared was a bit indeterminate in December, according to a variety of analysts.
This continues the neither-fish-no-fowl results reported in November and that have held sway since August, with some...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated the instructions for filing premiums as well as the portal through which they can be filed.
Rules Are Rules
Sections 4006 and 4007 of ERISA and the PBGC’s Premium Regulations require that premiums be paid to the PBGC; every plan covered...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has work to do in order to accomplish its mission and better serve plans and participants, says a just-released report by the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate.
The 2023 Annual Report of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate Pension...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reports that in 2023 it changed its actuarial valuation methods, but at the same time a report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) warns that the PBGC has more work to do with its financial recordkeeping.
Actuarial Changes
The PBGC in its...
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An increasing body of research and results seem to confirm that state-sponsored retirement plans—and auto-IRAs specifically—close the coverage gap, not only by providing a public option but also by encouraging higher private plan adoption.
Currently, 14 states have a mandate in place, with another...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval to extend its collection of information contained in the regulation on special financial assistance (SFA).
The OMB’s approval of the collection of information expires May 31, 2024...
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We see it happen on a regular basis. Usually as the result of a miscommunication, a retirement plan sponsor makes an erroneous contribution to the plan. This can cause unintended and unwanted consequences, often including nondeductible and/or disallowed amounts. What can be done?
Contributions to...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Dec. 15 issued the interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the first quarter of 2024.
The assumptions are contained in a final rule that amends the PBGC’s regulation on Allocation of Assets in...
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More good news on (closing) the retirement plan coverage gap, specifically related to state auto-IRA mandates.
The American Retirement Association has long argued—and an increasing body of research confirms—that state-sponsored retirement plans close the coverage gap, not only by providing a...
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Delaware is joining the Partnership for a Dignified Retirement, an interstate consortium that helps states provide access to retirement plan coverage. The action brings Delaware’s program into formal cooperation with those of Colorado and Maine.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed the measure...
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By many measures, CalSavers’ fortunes matched the warm colors of the foliage in Autumn 2023, although some results did not show progress.
CalSavers, as one of the longest-lived state-run programs that provides retirement plan coverage to private-sector employees whose employers do not have a plan...
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