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Guaranteed Income
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated a variety of interest rates for the first quarter of 2022 and for periods early in the year.
Variable Rate Premiums
Variable Rate Premiums are used to determine the premium funding target—that is, the present value of vested benefits—...
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April 1 may be April Fools Day, but a deadline looming on that date is no joke: Participants in retirement plans and IRA holders who attained age 72 after June 30, 2021 must receive their first required minimum distribution (RMD) by April 1, 2022.
There is an exception to the April 1 deadline,...
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While many small-to-medium size employers don’t offer financial wellness benefits, the results of a new survey suggest there’s a clear contrast between those with a benefit and those without.
According to Ramsey Solutions’ 2022 SmartDollar Employee Benefits Study, starting to save for retirement...
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For plan sponsors wondering what they can do to help diverse workers increase their retirement savings, a new paper outlines plan features and strategies that can help bolster savings for underserved workers.
In Improving Retirement Readiness for Underrepresented Groups, Alight explains that...
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As we approach the second anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown, a new study by Fidelity Investments finds that consumers have shifted their employee benefit priorities and are adapting their investing habits and attitudes.
According to the study by Fidelity Investments, nearly two-thirds (63%) of...
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released an updated version of its report concerning the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). It includes discussion of bills that would affect both.
The CRS report “Social Security: The Windfall Elimination...
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has updated its report on the government pension offset (GPO), a formula intended to replicate the dual entitlement rule for spouses and widow(er)s who receive pensions based on noncovered employment.
About the GPO
The GPO reduces the Social Security...
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Pension risk transfers and annuity sales are strong, say recent reports.
The pension risk transfer (PRT) market was “very active” throughout the first quarter of 2022, October Three reports, and there has been strong demand for annuities. And the Secure Retirement Institute (SRI), joins them in...
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I’d like to start what is likely to be a series of columns on the possibility that we are or may be moving to a provider-based retirement benefit system.
What problems might be solved by such a change? And what challenges might be created? I want to begin with a consideration of our current...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on March 14 issued a final rule that amends its regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the second quarter of 2022. The...
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The $1.5 trillion budget bill passed by Congress this week includes budget boosts for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the IRS—but bipartisan retirement legislation apparently will have to wait for another day.
On March 9, the House of Representatives passed, by a vote...
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It seems that one of the constants of human existence is the misapprehension by current generations that they are the first ever to face a particular situation. And that even holds true regarding the challenges pension plans face, as a recently released paper reveals.
Pension plans, like...
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The funded status of private-sector defined benefit plans rose slightly in February, after dropping a little in January and experiencing a slight rise in December.
The funding status yo-yo is not just a recent phenomenon, however. Reports show that the current gentle volatility has been occurring...
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The challenges the Social Security system faces have been much discussed for almost half a century, and one of the answers often suggested is raising the normal retirement age (NRA). A recent paper examines that option.
In the issue paper “Raising the Social Security Retirement Age,” the American...
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It’s not all about “the Benjamins,” but a recent analysis of the nation’s private retirement system certainly puts a lot of emphasis on the accumulation of aggregate assets in retirement plans.
The Morningstar report—“Retirement Plan Landscape Report, An In-Depth Look at the Trends and Forces...
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Amid the Great Resignation, a new survey finds that workers are reevaluating what they want from their employers, with many considering leaving for better benefits and higher pay.
In fact, more than two-thirds of American workers (67%) have reassessed what they want from their employers and...
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My decision as to whether or not to save in my workplace savings plan wasn’t long or complicated.
Yes, I had to actually fill out a form, and yes, I actually had to figure out how to invest those savings (though in fairness, there were only four funds from which to choose, one of which was...
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The employer match has been found to be effective in recruiting and retaining employees, as well as encouraging them to participate in a retirement plan. A recent blog entry looks at different approaches an employer can take in matching participant deferrals.
Jim Quaid, Chair of the Not-for-...
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Appropriate to a time of winter hibernation, February brought a relative holding pattern for private-sector pension plans according to recent reports.
Funded Status
Investment manager Investment Insight reports that overall funded status rose by 0.5 percentage points, almost counteracting the...
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“Pennies” over “percent”? A new study finds that a simple change in information architecture, such as how the savings rate is framed, can lead to a significant boost in savings behavior among lower-income employees.
Conducted in association with the Voya Behavioral Finance Institute for...
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