John Iekel

President Trump on Oct. 22 issued a memorandum directing the heads of three departments to review pension plans the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) holds in trusteeship.  The impetus for the memo was the pension plan serving retirees of the Delphi Corporation, but also concerns... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on Oct. 16 that the guarantee limits for single-employer plans that fail in 2021 will be 3.81% higher than the limits that applied for 2020.  The maximum guarantee for participants in single-employer plans is determined using a formula... READ MORE

The costs of offering a pension plan will increase next year. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has determined the premium rates applicable for 2021 plan years in accordance with the indexing rules provided in Section 4006 of ERISA. The rates are higher than those set for 2020; most... READ MORE

Confidence is alive and well among Baby Boomers regarding their retirement, impervious even to pandemic and economic turbulence, says a recent study.  A strong majority—84% of those who are close to retiring or who have already—in Charles Schwab’s 2020 Modern Retirement Survey said they believe... READ MORE

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to amend its regulation on the disclosure and public inspection of its records under the Freedom of Information Act. The proposed rule would modify the regulation to reflect statutory changes and current PBGC procedures and update the fee... READ MORE

It’s common practice to put some kind of grandfathering in place when a change is made to a retirement plan. But that may not always be ideal, a recent analysis suggests.  In “Why Grandfathering Can Backfire,” an entry in the Cammack Retirement Top of Mind blog, Michael Webb observes that... READ MORE

How do we raise our bar through collaboration? At a session of the ASPPA TPA Summit, panelists discussed collaboration, especially in light of the circumstances facing TPAs and other professionals in 2020.  Angie Grissom, owner and Chief Relationship Officer of The Rainmaker Companies, led a panel... READ MORE

A proposed financial transaction tax has not been enacted yet, and a recent study suggests that could save retirement plans in the Garden State billions of dollars. “A Case Study on the Effects of a Financial Transaction Tax on Savers in New Jersey,” an October 2020 study by Gourprabh, University... READ MORE

Active management is not new to retirement plans; however, the circumstances and context ala COVID-19 are. A recent blog entry discusses what active management means and entails in an environment affected by the global pandemic.  In “Back to Reality: The Role of Active Management in Defined... READ MORE