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Government Affairs
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Director Gordon Hartogensis defended PBGC actions and said that it is “providing crucial pension relief” in a March 20 appearance before the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
The subcommittee, part of the House Education and...
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The Illinois Senate may vote soon on a bill that would require school districts in the Land of Lincoln that offer their employees a 403(b) plan to enter into a contract with only one vendor in the plan.
On Feb. 14, 2024, Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) introduced language for SB2568 stating...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on March 12 issued the interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the second 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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Harkening back to the early days of the administration, President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget, once again, proposes significant tax increases on corporations and upper-income taxpayers, including a proposal to limit how much taxpayers are allowed to accumulate in their retirement plans. ...
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The IRS has confirmed that they expect to fix a system-wide glitch that has resulted in improperly withheld refunds of erroneous penalties related to Form 8955-SSA filings.
Kelsey Mayo, the American Retirement Association’s Director of Regulatory Policy, reports that some plan sponsors’ refunds...
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The Joint Board for Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) on March 13, 2024 announced proposed regulations that not only would retroactively extend the temporary waiver of its physical presence requirement for continuing professional education (CPE) programs—they also would eliminate the requirement...
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A Georgia Senate Committee has favorably reported a bill that would require a fiduciary of a retirement plan funded wholly or in part by public funds to put the interests of participants and their beneficiaries ahead of “nonpecuniary interests” such as social, political, or ideological concerns. ...
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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) received the fiduciary rule, listed as Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary, from the Department of Labor (DOL) on March 8.
The OMB will review its costs and benefits within 90 days. However, the compressed two-month...
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Add the Evergreen State to those that provide retirement plan coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not. Well, soon.
"In the beginning of March, Washington joined the 15 other states that had previously adopted state auto-IRA language, to provide the best opportunity for small...
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Illinois Rep. Charles Meier, in an interview with ASPPA Connect, has outlined how the rules concerning the participation of members of volunteer fire departments (VFDs) in Illinois Secure Choice would change if a bill he introduced is enacted.
Meier (R-Highland), who serves as Assistant...
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[Updated: On Friday morning, the House passed H.R. 2799, Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2023, the larger bill that included the CITs in 403(b)s amendment, on a party line vote of 212 - 205. The bill will now go to the Senate. A quote from ARA CEO Brian Graff is added below.]
On March 7, the...
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Home and community-based services employees would be able to participate in Minnesota Secure Choice if a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives is enacted.
Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-40A) introduced HF 4248 on Feb. 26. The legislation would amend the law creating the Minnesota Secure...
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued information about the updated thresholds for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) for 2024.
The updated information is contained in an annual report the CRS issues concerning the WEP and the GPO. Both...
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The solvency of Social Security is not a new concern. It’s been on a slow—or, at times, high—burn for more than 40 years. Proposals to address the problem are almost as numerous as the warnings about it; in a recent report, the Congressional Research Service takes a look at the potential impact of...
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A hearing that was billed as “taking a serious look at the retirement crisis in America” with a focus on improving the defined benefit system ended with witnesses agreeing that some reforms are needed, but calling for drastically different measures.
The Feb. 28 hearing was held by the Senate...
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A bill currently before the Georgia legislature would affect the exercise of fiduciary duty regarding the investment of retirement plan assets. The legislation includes a provision that would require a fiduciary to put the interests of participants and their beneficiaries ahead of “nonpecuniary...
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Familiar 401(k) critic Teresa Ghilarducci testified before Congress on Feb. 28, claiming America’s retirement system is “severely broken” and seniors must either “work or rely on the kindness of strangers to dodge the increasing risk of elder poverty."
Ghilarducci, a professor at the New School...
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The states that offer a retirement program for private-sector employees whose employers do not have a new prospective member: Michigan. Legislation has been entered in the state House of Representatives that would create such a program in the Wolverine State.
The Retirement Savings Program Act, HB...
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On Feb. 20, the American Retirement Association (ARA) sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that addressed technical issues affecting certain SECURE 2.0 provisions. It noted a few that are of particular relevance to retirement plan sponsors and advisors.
More specifically, the ARA...
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Amid the recent attacks on the 401(k) savings system, the key Senate committee with jurisdiction over ERISA plans to hold a hearing next week to examine what it describes as “confronting the retirement crisis facing working class Americans.”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP...
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