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Regulatory Compliance
Starting a state-run program could result in private-sector employers dropping their existing retirement benefit plans, warned some soothsayers. Not so, says an industry expert.
Kim Olson, Senior Officer of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Retirement Savings Project took issue with such doom and gloom...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) was recently informed of a legal scheme in Texas—a community property state—that allows younger workers to raid up to 100% of their defined contribution (DC) plan (such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan) account balance without incurring the tax penalty for...
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The IRS has confirmed that those that filed Form 8955-SSA on time do not need to respond to penalty notices dated before Sept. 1, 2023. The IRS made the confirmation in the Sept. 1 issue of Employee Plans News.
The IRS had contacted the American Retirement Association (ARA) on Aug. 25 to clarify...
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Taking action in advance to protect vital documents can be helpful when a disaster strikes, a principle that applies to retirement plans and administration as well as other records and functions.
The IRS issued a reminder in Tax Tip 2023-107 about the importance of such steps on the heels of...
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Pension risk transfers (PRTs) are, at their core, financial transactions. But there are other important factors to keep in mind when contemplating and conducting a PRT—among them, fiduciary responsibility.
With PRTs heating up lately, a discussion of how fiduciary duty factors in may be timely...
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The Maine Retirement Savings Program is getting closer to implementation. The Maine Retirement Savings Board has proposed a rule that would set the nuts and bolts of program operation.
Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the Act To Promote Individual Retirement Savings through a Public-Private...
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Almost 26,000 New York Life customers had their names and Social Security numbers exposed to a data breach, the latest in a massive hack that affected hundreds of companies and millions of Americans.
The hack occurred in late May and involved Progress Software, the provider of MOVEit transfer...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) on Aug. 28 announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will extend the grace period to obtain new Login.gov credentials for the EFAST2 filing system until Dec. 31, 2023.
The ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2) is the system by which the...
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UPDATED: Find the IRS Announcement HERE
On Aug. 25, the IRS contacted the American Retirement Association (ARA) to clarify issues regarding erroneous notices sent regarding supposed late filing of 2022 Form 8955-SSA.
The IRS confirmed that the issue was a programming glitch, which it fixed on...
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The IRS released guidance on Aug. 25 that addressed Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act with respect to Roth catch-up contributions.
The guidance grants a two-year delay in the provision's effective date that mandates that catch-up contributions must be Roth for those earning more than $145,000....
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Retirement plans and benefits still are among the matters the IRS plans to address in upcoming guidance. They still are included in the IRS 2022-2023 priority guidance plan; the IRS issued a fourth quarter update to the plan on Aug. 21.
The IRS had released the initial plan on Nov. 4, 2022,...
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An apparent electronic glitch with a regulatory filing system is causing confusion.
More specifically, the American Retirement Association (ARA) is hearing from many members regarding erroneous 2022 8955-SSA late filing notices.
It appears that several plan sponsors for whom complete Form 8955-...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has been operating appropriately and within the law in actions under the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARPA) regarding special financial assistance (SFA) payments, says the GAO in a recent analysis.
The GAO performed the analysis in response to a...
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Despite “uncertain” claims regarding alleged fiduciary breaches, “thin” methodology, and opinions that bordered on “conclusory,” a federal judge has denied the plan fiduciaries’ motion to dismiss—and set a trial date in an excessive fee suit.
The defendants are the fiduciaries of Genentech’s $7...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has proposed amendments to its regulation on allocation of assets in single-employer plans.
The PBGC seeks to make the changes in order to update the actuarial assumptions—the interest, mortality, and expense assumptions—used to determine:
the...
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The EFAST2 website authentication process is being modernized in 2023. Some changes have already taken place; some deadlines are still ahead—including a grace period that ends Sept. 1.
The Department of Labor (DOL) is changing the method of logging in to the EFAST2 website with an EFAST2-issued...
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Defined contribution plans are constantly evolving and the number of features plan sponsors can select that encourage employee participation, recruitment and retention, continues to grow. But plan sponsors must balance the desire to offer these incentives and the need to keep the plan manageable...
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It’s not the first time out for these plaintiffs (Julio C. Alas, Robert J. Bugielski, and Chad S. Simecek), though it is their first win.
They lost twice already at the district court level—once in September 2021 and again back in 2018. (when they had been accorded a chance to “fix” their...
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Is the litigation tide turning in favor of plan sponsors? That’s a growing perception but one contradicted by data, at least when it comes to dismissal motions.
Fiduciary liability insurance provider Euclid Fiduciary found that, as of the end of July, plan sponsors “are only winning approximately...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a request for information (RFI) on SECURE 2.0 mandates related to ERISA’s reporting and disclosure provisions.
Several sections of SECURE 2.0 establish new, or revise existing, ERISA reporting and disclosure...
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