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News Archive
ASPPA Connect will not appear on Monday, Dec. 24, as the ASPPA office will be closed. We’ll be back on Wednesday, Dec. 26. We wish you happy holidays — and offer a few little-known facts concerning the holiday season:
The first Christmas card was sent in 1843 and was designed by John Horsley....
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In the waning days of the 115th Congress, the bipartisan duo of Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) unveiled one of the most comprehensive pieces of retirement security legislation proposed in this congressional session.
The 121-page “Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2018,” ...
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Wishing they had done more to prepare for retirement, new research finds that nearly 40% of U.S. retirees are spending more than they expected and are having to cut back on common expenses.
Additionally, slightly less than half (49%) of pre-retired consumers (ages 40+) believe planning for...
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The participant-plaintiffs in a stock drop case have won a rare victory in federal court.
The plaintiffs alleged that the IBM defendants (IBM itself, along with the Retirement Plans Committee of IBM; Richard Carroll, IBM’s Chief Accounting Officer; Martin Schroeter, IBM’s CFO; and Richard Weber,...
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced legislation that would permit 401(k), 403(b) and SIMPLE retirement plans to make matching contributions to workers as if their student loan payments were salary reduction contributions.
Earlier this year the IRS...
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“Cash is king” may not be fully true when it comes to finding the perfect job, as a newly published survey shows that Americans favor workplace benefits over extra salary.
An AICPA survey of 2,026 U.S. adults, among whom 1,115 were employed, suggests that employers need to be ready to show...
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The Garden State is one step closer to becoming the latest to create a state-run employment plan for private-sector employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan. The New Jersey Assembly on Dec. 17 passed a bill that would establish such a system.
In a 52-24 vote, the Assembly approved...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has made its Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions for 2019 Plan Years available.
The new instructions reflect the 2019 premium rates, as well as minor changes to reflect the PBGC’s streamlined disaster relief policy. They also provide...
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The on-cycle filing deadline for third cycle pre-approved defined contribution plans ends Dec. 31, 2018. The IRS issued a reminder about the upcoming deadline on Dec. 14.
The IRS encourages filers to red line all changes made since the pre-approved second cycle plan document.
The IRS also reminds...
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There are many challenges facing plan sponsors, and in a recent blog entry Christopher Carosa has identified the top challenges of which they are not aware.
Understanding the Extent of Legal Liability
“The eye cannot be on two balls at once,” writes Carosa, noting that most plan sponsors “stay...
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Many argue that retirement plan participation is not where it should be. And some warn that not only is it far below what’s needed, it’s also getting worse. But the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Andrew Biggs is not one of them.
Biggs, a resident scholar at AEI and former principal deputy...
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For all the buzz around financial wellness, a new survey suggests there is a long way to go.
These days there’s not much argument against the premise behind pursuing financial wellness. The notion is that bad financial health contributes to (and/or causes) a bevy of workplace woes: stress, which...
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It’s always unpleasant when a TPA gets a call or a letter from the Department of Labor (DOL) about an investigation of a client’s qualified plan.
What should a TPA do? As a first step, a TPA should notify its client about the inquiry from the DOL, so that the client can, if desired, relay that...
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Employees increasingly are looking to their employers for help with managing their student loan debt, but there are several issues employers should consider in advance, according to industry experts.
In a new Employee Benefit Research Institute issue brief summarizing a web briefing — “Student...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA), in a Dec. 12 letter to Joe Canary, Director of the Office of Regulations and Interpretations of the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, has suggested steps the agency can take to improve retirement security.
The ARA sent the letter as part of...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Dec. 12 issued a final rule amending its regulation on allocation of assets in single-employer plans by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans undergoing distress or involuntary...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) in a Dec. 11 letter to Acting IRS Commissioner David Horton has made suggestions regarding the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). Namely, the ARA has suggested that the IRS provide additional examples of “significant” and “insignificant”...
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Single-premium pension buy-outs broke $6 billion in the third quarter of 2018, says a recent report, less than in the second quarter but still the second highest third quarter sales figure in the last 15 years.
The LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute reports that in the third quarter of 2018,...
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Dec. 31 is the deadline for most retirees who must make required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) and other retirement plans and IRAs. The IRS has issued a reminder, which applies to many retirees born before July 1, 1948, regarding the looming deadline in IR-2018-248....
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As the 401(k) commemorates its 40th anniversary, new research finds a record-setting pace for retirement plan savings.
According to the 61stAnnual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans from the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), part of the American Retirement Association (ARA), employers...
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