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Matt Rustige
For the longest time, it seemed an unwritten rule that the safe and wise path of a defined benefit plan termination should include an IRS Determination Letter request. However, this approach seems to have come under much more scrutiny in recent years by sponsors and advisors of plans...
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The Massachusetts Securities Division has filed charges against a firm for knowingly violating its internal policies regarding implementation of the DOL fiduciary rule — and taken a shot at the Department of Labor (DOL).
Specifically, Commonwealth Secretary William Galvin, the state’s top...
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Encouraged by the new tax reform law, more well-known employers have announced plans to boost retirement plan contributions for their workers.The most recent is Anthem Inc., which says it will make a one-time $1,000 contribution to the retirement saving accounts of more than 58,000 employees and...
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Savers across all generations expect to increase their 401(k) contributions in the coming months, according to the results of a new survey that examines 401(k) savers’ attitudes and behaviors.
T. Rowe Price’s third installment of its Retirement Savings and Spending survey finds that this is...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has proposed changes to its records systems. It proposes that some be modified, some be rescinded and some be introduced. The proposal appeared in the Federal Register of Feb. 13.The PBGC says that after its biennial review of its systems of records...
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A bill that would revamp the multiemployer pension system is now before the U.S. House. Rep. David Roe (R-TN) introduced the measure on Feb. 13; Rep. David Norcross (D-NJ) is its co-sponsor.The Give Retirement Options to Workers (GROW) Act, H.R. 4997, is intended to safeguard the multiemployer...
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The New Jersey Treasury Department is reviewing responses to its request for information (RFI) from private-sector firms to provide investment products for New Jersey’s Small Business Retirement Marketplace. It issued the RFI on Jan. 9 and accepted them through Jan. 26.The Garden State Treasury...
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The IRS and Treasury have proposed a plan to streamline tax regulations, including some that are related to and affect retirement plans. The proposal is set to be published in the Federal Register on Feb. 15.The proposal would remove 298 regulations the IRS and Treasury say are no longer necessary...
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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on Feb. 13 cited the cut in corporate tax rates under the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as a way to boost retirement plans and retirement savings. Hatch made his remarks at “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: The New Business Tax Landscape,” a program held by the...
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While the most common default deferral remains 3% of pay (used by 36.4% of plans), more than half of those with automatic enrollment now have a default deferral rate higher than 3%, according to a new survey.
According to the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s (PSCA) 60th Annual Survey of Profit...
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In its FY 2019 budget request, the Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking a slight increase in funding for inspections and examinations.
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), whose mission is to protect investors, ensure market integrity, improve compliance,...
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Many plan documents are requirements. So too, are fiduciary duties. Do the two intersect?In “Those Pesky Plan Documents…What Do They Have To Do With my Fiduciary Duties?” Deborah Fabricant in Boutwell Fay LLP’s Benefits News blog argues that plan documents are central to fulfilling fiduciary duties...
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Debt is accumulating like snow in a blizzard, we have long been told. And that load may not melt away quickly — it may linger, extending its chill seasons ahead to retirement. A recent blog post looks at its longer-term effects.
In “How Does Household Debt Affect Retirement?” Capital Groups...
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The IRS and Treasury Department have issued an update to their joint 2017-18 Priority Guidance Plan. It reflects projects they hope to complete by June 30, 2018. The IRS and Treasury note that the update to the Priority Guidance Plan “reflects 29 additional projects, including those that have...
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The two-year budget agreement that Congress passed in the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 9 includes several tax policy changes affecting retirement plans.In general, the amended version of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892) increases discretionary budget caps for both defense and...
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The Feb. 8 ASPPA Washington Update for the first quarter of 2018 offered a look at a variety of current issues, including the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) Missing Participant Program, the naming of a new Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has retirement savers in mind this year. The OCIE on Feb. 7 announced its 2018 examination priorities.The OCIE says that its protection of those saving for retirement will include focusing...
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Witnesses at a Feb. 6 Senate committee hearing debated current challenges and offered several policy proposals to help so-called “gig economy” workers save for retirement.At the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security’s roundtable-style hearing, four panelists argued for...
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The largest retirement plans — defined benefit as well as defined contribution — in the United States collectively amassed more than $10 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2017, a recent report estimates.In fact, together they accounted for $10.326 trillion — an all-time high — reports...
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A bipartisan committee composed of members from both houses of Congress will be formed to examine ways to address the solvency problems facing multiemployer pension plans, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced on Feb. 7. His office said in the announcement that he had urged the creation of the...
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