Advertisement
News Archive
The IRS on Jan. 21 issued the instructions for the Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts to be used in reporting concerning benefits and distributions from 2018. Employers, plan administrators and retirement plan professionals may find it a...
READ MORE
Like a teeth cleaning, plan audits are not popular but serve a useful purpose. And for many plans, they are unavoidable. But a plan audit need not be unpleasant, and there are steps that can be taken to prepare for one and make it a smoother experience.
In “Making Your Benefit Plan Audit Easier,”...
READ MORE
Members of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) have filed a class action lawsuit against the AAA’s board alleging violations of the organization’s bylaws.
The complaint (2018-CH-15777) was filed on Dec. 20, 2018 in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. It alleges that the defendants, who are...
READ MORE
Happy New Year to one and all! May the New Year bring you success in all your endeavors.
Almost 3 months into the ACOPA year, most of the ACOPA time of Leadership continues to be spent on determining how to respond the recent Academy decision to exclude ACOPA (and CCA) from the Selection Committee...
READ MORE
The American Retirement Association’s governmental affairs staff and volunteer Legislative Relations Committee (LRC) both review legislative proposals and proactively propose legislative changes to improve the employer-provided retirement system. Over a period of years, many of ARA’s proposals have...
READ MORE
Nevada’s Office of the Secretary of State, Securities Division, on Jan. 18 released draft regulations defining the state’s new fiduciary standard based on legislation enacted by the state’s legislature in 2017 – the first of several states to do so.
There does not appear to be an ERISA exemption,...
READ MORE
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the new chair of the House Financial Services Committee, recently outlined a full-bodied agenda that seeks to protect consumers, safeguard investors and prevent another financial crisis.
In terms of setting the committee’s agenda, Waters, who has served on the committee...
READ MORE
Three years to the day after filing suit, a 401(k) plan participant has dropped his excessive fee suit – with a whimper, not a bang.
The suit, originally filed Jan. 14, 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, was filed by Wahan Krikorian, a participant in the TPS Parking...
READ MORE
ASPPA’s offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 21 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Our next edition will next appear on Jan. 23.
To mark the day, the “I Have a Dream” speech Dr. King delivered in Washington in 1963 is available here.
READ MORE
Any industry develops its own language and unique terms. Those in it consider them to be terms of art; those who are not, and whom a particular industry serves, are likely to regard its unique terms as jargon. Recent research shows that retirement plan participants are among those who prefer...
READ MORE
Putnam Investments, LLC has officially asked the nation’s highest court to weigh in on an issue on which district courts have split 6-4: Who bears the burden of proof when alleging losses due to a fiduciary breach?
Indeed, the issue seems ripe for consideration. As Putnam states in its petition to...
READ MORE
Being able to afford a comfortable retirement is Americans’ biggest financial concern, according to a recent report from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.
LIMRA reports that 53% of the 50.5 million retirees in the United States retired earlier than they had planned to, and not all did so...
READ MORE
As part of a program to make the Big Apple the “Fairest Big City in America,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan for retirement savings.
Specifically, noting that fewer than half of all working New Yorkers have access to a plan that can help them save for their retirement years and 40%...
READ MORE
December’s market volatility capped off a year in which 401(k) investors started off flocking to equities, only to later flee them for fixed income.
According to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index, 2018 was an interesting year for trading activity among 401(k) investors, as 18 of the first 28...
READ MORE
A month ago, when we wrote about the 61st Annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans from the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), there were several key points highlighted – but there are some interesting findings you might have overlooked.
Perhaps the most significant finding of that...
READ MORE
Some studies suggest that Millennials aren’t saving enough and lack confidence making investment decisions, while others suggest Millennials are aggressive, knowledgeable and confident when it comes to investing. So what’s the deal?
It turns out that advisors may be taking the wrong approach in...
READ MORE
The gym parking lot is full — must be January, with New Year’s resolutions fresh on people’s minds. But a recent blog argues that resolutions about physical fitness are not the only kind that should be made; it suggests that they should also include being ready for a plan audit by the IRS or...
READ MORE
This is the time of year when resolutions for the cessation of bad behaviors and the beginning of better ones are in vogue. Here are four for plan fiduciaries to keep in mind all year long.
Find your plan document(s) – and read them.
One of the key guiding principles for plan fiduciaries is...
READ MORE
One week into the 116th Congress and the first retirement legislation has been introduced.
I will admit, the bill has a particular focus, and that many of you probably don’t interact with multi-employer plans, which are created by collective bargaining agreements and sponsored by multiple...
READ MORE
Legislation is before the Virginia House of Delegates that would establish the My Virginia Plan Program, a state-based retirement plan. The bills were prefiled by Del. Luke Torian (D-Dumfries), who introduced them before the new session of the state’s General Assembly began on Jan. 9.
H.B. 2431
H...
READ MORE