John Iekel
By John Iekel 4/12/2021
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule still generates discussion. That’s staying power—it was first proposed more than a decade ago. A March 31 NTSA webcast took a look at the rule and current developments involving it.
In “How the Fiduciary Rule Affects Advisors and Other Retirement...
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By John Iekel 4/9/2021
The season and the clocks are not the only things that advanced in March, according to recent reports that show that private-sector pension plan funding warmed.
Pension plan funding ratios and funded status improved for the month as well as for the first quarter, according to actuarial firm...
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By John Iekel 4/6/2021
The IRS Tax-Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Office has updated its compliance program. That includes compliance strategy initiatives that affect some retirement plans.
In their fiscal year 2021 program letter, TE/GE Commissioner Tammy Ripperda and Deputy Commissioner Edward Killen write...
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By John Iekel 4/6/2021
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has announced that it will be holding online events concerning the DOL’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP).
EBSA’s New York Regional Office will conducting Webex events concerning the VFCP on the following dates...
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By John Iekel 4/6/2021
The IRS’ Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) provides a means by which filers can correct errors before they are told to do so, but the good intentions entailed in using it do not guarantee that there will not be errors in the filings intended to correct mistakes. The IRS has outlined the top...
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By John Iekel 4/1/2021
Institutions of higher learning face many challenges—among them the impact of the pandemic—in helping employees to prepare financially for retirement. A recent white paper looks at what those schools are doing.
In “Lessons Learned on the Management of Higher Education Retirement Plans in...
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By John Iekel 3/31/2021
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) wants to make changes to its quarterly survey of nonparticipating single premium group annuity rates. The agency announced on March 31 that is seeking the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval of the proposed changes.
The PBGC’s...
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By John Iekel 3/30/2021
The IRS on March 29 in Notice 2021-21 announced that it is delaying the deadline by which 2020 contributions to IRAs and Roth IRAs must be made until May 17, 2021.
The IRS took the action in light of the March 13, 2020 emergency declaration issued by President Trump that said the COVID-19...
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By John Iekel 3/29/2021
The ink on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), signed on March 11, is barely dry—but its effects are, and will be, far-reaching. Two recent blog entries zero in on some of the ways it will affect private-sector defined benefit plans, including funding relief.
Discount Rates
Pre-ARPA,...
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By John Iekel 3/25/2021
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has outlined impending changes related to premium filings involving software developed in the private sector. The changes will be implemented when the new version of the My Plan Administration Account (My PAA) premium filing application is launched on...
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By John Iekel 3/24/2021
Mistakes involving eligible compensation are often at the center of compliance problems. A recent blog entry offers suggestions on ways to avoid such errors.
So common are mistakes concerning eligible compensation, reports Cassell Plan Audits, that they saw no other kind of error as often in the...
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By John Iekel 3/23/2021
Many proposals have been floated to address the long-term solvency of the Social Security system, among them raising the full retirement age (FRA) so that benefits are claimed later in life. But while that may help the system, Social Security recipients may not consider it as great a boon, says a...
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By John Iekel 3/22/2021
Proliferation of technological applications and the need to increase retirement plan participation and savings. Seems like a match made in heaven. A panel of experts recently discussed how that pairing is faring and how it can function better.
In “Better Technology, Better Retirement Savings:...
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By John Iekel 3/19/2021
There is strong support for all workers having access to a pension plan, a recent study has found.
Dan Doonan and Kelly Kenneally, who respectively serve as National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) Executive Director and communications counsel, report in the new NIRS issue brief on...
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By John Iekel 3/19/2021
The pandemic’s ill effects go beyond the obvious and literal, and include its impact on employment—which can affect retirement readiness. A recent study finds that the pandemic is pushing many faculty members at institutions of higher learning to consider retiring early, which would have an effect...
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By John Iekel 3/17/2021
Remember the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules and the recent changes that have been made to them, the IRS reminds. It issued the reminder in a March 16 news release that highlights those changes.
SECURE Act
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act changed...
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By John Iekel 3/16/2021
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has added its voice to those that highlight the critical importance of cybersecurity, but they go one better. In a new report, they call on the Department of Labor (DOL) to set minimum standards for mitigating cybersecurity risks and to formally state...
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By John Iekel 3/11/2021
Plan administrators and sponsors have some work to do in educating plan participants, a recent study indicates. Researchers add awareness of fees to the curriculum.
One-quarter of those surveyed do not know how much they pay in fees, found investment firm Rebalance.
But that’s just the tip of...
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By John Iekel 3/9/2021
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend its approval of the PBGC’s collection of information to enable it to find participants and beneficiaries and pay benefits to them.
The PBGC had sought OMB approval in August 2020 for...
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By John Iekel 3/9/2021
Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted six more weeks of cold at the outset of February, but he was dead wrong regarding the fortunes of the 100 largest private-sector pension plans, according to a recent report. They had a good month, much like the hypothetical plans monitored regularly in two other...
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