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News Archive
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule on Jan. 9 that it says will help employers and workers better understand when a worker qualifies as an employee and when they may be considered independent contractors. It will take effect on March 11, 2024.
The rule provides guidance under the...
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Like a snowflake dancing on the breeze uncertain where to land, how private-sector pension plans fared was a bit indeterminate in December, according to a variety of analysts.
This continues the neither-fish-no-fowl results reported in November and that have held sway since August, with some...
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While many financial services firms and related trade groups have expressed their opposition, several high-profile firms have come out in support of the latest iteration of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed fiduciary rule, officially known as the "Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated the instructions for filing premiums as well as the portal through which they can be filed.
Rules Are Rules
Sections 4006 and 4007 of ERISA and the PBGC’s Premium Regulations require that premiums be paid to the PBGC; every plan covered...
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The IRS has updated the instructions for Form 8606, which is used to report contributions and distributions, as well as conversions, from IRAs—including Roths.
Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs, is used to report:
Nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs;
Distributions from traditional,...
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The IRS has announced that it is postponing electronic filing of the Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, through the Department of Labor's (DOL) EFAST 2 system until Jan. 1, 2025.
The IRS attributes this to administrative issues concerning EFAST-2....
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A new study finds that two-thirds of people are confident they will be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, but diving deeper into the data shows that sentiment varies dramatically across demographic segments.
Overall, roughly 1 in 4 Americans (24%) strongly agree they are...
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With an increase in longevity and the demise of corporate pension plans, it is hardly a surprise to note there are more “older” Americans in the workforce, at least when analyzing demographic trends in recent decades.
Pew Research Center recently did just that—quantifying how quickly the cohort is...
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A billion-dollar plan has come to terms—cash and non-monetary terms—with participant-plaintiffs represented by Capozzi Adler that had made claims the plan paid $77 per participant, when plans of similar sizes were paying as little as $25 per participant.
The suit had been filed against Advance...
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New results from the Retirement Clearinghouse’s Auto Portability Simulation (APS) model further reveal the potential for auto portability to dramatically increase retirement savings.
Based on new assumptions that increase the model’s predictive accuracy, the firm’s resulting paper—Revisiting...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has work to do in order to accomplish its mission and better serve plans and participants, says a just-released report by the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate.
The 2023 Annual Report of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate Pension...
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There is a “common wisdom” in our business that suggests that all plan sponsors are, more or less, alike; that large plans are the inevitable early adopters of trends that, sooner or later, trickle down to plans of all sizes.
Consequently, those who make their living trying to discern trends and...
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Editor’s note: This is Part I of a two-part series. This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Plan Consultant magazine.
As a best practice, we know that plan sponsors should have a retirement plan committee and have regular committee meetings.
Do plan sponsors do this? And...
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In our comment letter submitted to the Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 2, 2024, the American Retirement Association (ARA) expressed support for—yet specific issues with—the department’s proposed definition of “fiduciary investment advice” and amendments to PTE 2020-02.
The rulemaking package,...
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A number of lawsuits have recently been filed regarding the alleged misuse of forfeitures—but just a couple of months ago a plan was sued—and lost—a case brought by the Labor Department for not following the plan document’s forfeiture provisions.
According to the Labor Department, on Dec. 27, 2017...
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New year, new forms. The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on Jan. 1 released the Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and Form 5500-EZ for reporting concerning the 2023 plan year.
The DOL released informational copies of these forms on Nov. 17; they were intended to...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reports that in 2023 it changed its actuarial valuation methods, but at the same time a report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) warns that the PBGC has more work to do with its financial recordkeeping.
Actuarial Changes
The PBGC in its...
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Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are more than regulatory requirements—they affect real people. In its latest issue of Employee Plans News, the IRS provides a refresher concerning the application of the RMD rules regarding plan beneficiaries.
Spousal Beneficiaries
Spousal beneficiaries...
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Call it the not so Solo 401(k). We’ve received questions from some American Retirement Association (ARA) members regarding the impact of the long-term part-time employee rules (LTPTE rules) on Solo 401(k) plans. Many sponsors of Solo 401(k) plans were given advice, and established plans with the...
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A report by The Pew Charitable Trusts released on Dec. 22 revealed that state automated savings programs in the United States have collectively reached over $1 billion in assets as of November. This development is part of a broader initiative to assist private sector workers, especially those...
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