John Iekel

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 8 that Central States is returning approximately $127 million in excess funds it received through the PBGC’s Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program.  The Central States pension plan, at the... READ MORE

A variety of factors slow some individuals’ retirement saving, if not impede it outright—and one of them is student loan debt. A recent NTSA webinar looked at a step some entities pursue that affects those with loans as well as retirement saving—student loan forgiveness.    In a March 27 NTSA... READ MORE

Add private-sector employees in Alaska and Wisconsin to those covered by state-run plans if their employers do not offer a retirement plan. Maybe.  That is, if the governments of both states enact bills that would create state-run retirement savings plans for private-sector employees who do not... READ MORE

The Treasury Department, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have announced that they are extending the period during which they will accept comments on the effectiveness of existing reporting and disclosure... READ MORE

Washington is the latest state to run a retirement program that will provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not. On March 27, Pat Sullivan, Executive Director of Legislative Affairs in Inslee’s office, issued an announcement that SB 6069 was among the bills the Gov. Jay... READ MORE

The Georgia Senate may create a committee to study the creation of Peach State Saves, a retirement saving program.  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) on March 20 introduced in the state senate SR 807, a resolution that would create the Senate Peach State Saves... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated a variety of interest rates used in determining the value of benefits, premiums, and penalties.  Variable Rate Premiums  The PBGC has adjusted the interest rates used in determining the value of vested benefits for purposes of variable... READ MORE

Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a two-part series on a recent report by the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su.   Recordkeeping today is not your grandfather’s recordkeeping. Maybe not even your older sibling’s. So guidance and... READ MORE

Automatic enrollment of eligible employees in the Hawaii Retirement Savings Program is closer to being put in place.  Sen. Sharon Moriwaki (D-Waikiki) introduced SB2553 on Jan. 19, 2024. Under the bill, employees would no longer be required to opt in to participate in the Hawaii Retirement Savings... READ MORE