John Iekel
By John Iekel 10/23/2023
Justin Bonestroo, MSEA, EA, CPC, QPA, QKA®, CPFA®, 2023 ASPPA President, in remarks at the Oct. 22 opening of the 2023 ASPPA Annual Conference at National Harbor, MD, noted the role the organization has played in the last year.
ASPPA has a positive influence, he said, and noted its work with...
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By John Iekel 10/23/2023
Adam C. Pozek, QPA®, QKC®, QKA®, CPFA® was announced as the recipient of the 2023 Thomas J. Finnegan III Educator of the Year Award. The announcement was made on Oct. 23 at the ASPPA Annual Conference at National Harbor, MD.
Pozek “dedicates a great amount of time to educating not only staff in...
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By John Iekel 10/23/2023
A panel at the Oct. 22 opening session of the 2023 ASPPA Annual Conference expressed agreement with the notion of closing the coverage gap but also evinced great concern over the effect legislation that would create a federal retirement savings program could have on the private-sector retirement...
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By John Iekel 10/20/2023
The IRS on Oct. 19 issued updated mortality improvement rates and static mortality tables for defined benefit plans for 2024. The update is contained in Notice 2023-73.
Notice 2023-73 provides a mortality table for use in determining minimum present value under Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC...
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By John Iekel 10/18/2023
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on Oct. 17 that the guarantee limits for single-employer plans that fail in 2024 will be 5.30% higher than the limits that applied for 2023.
The increase in the guarantee limit is almost 3.5 percentage points less than that announced in...
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By John Iekel 10/18/2023
A hearing has been set concerning legislation that would make Massachusetts the next state to institute a state-run retirement program that would provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not.
The Joint Committee on Financial Services of the Massachusetts legislature will...
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By John Iekel 10/16/2023
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Oct. 13 issued the premium rates for 2024.
2024 Premium Rates
The PBGC determined the premium rates applicable for 2024 plan years in accordance with the indexing rules provided in Section 4006 of ERISA, as amended by The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022...
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By John Iekel 10/16/2023
The recently announced increase in the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2024 is much more modest than the one announced just a year ago. But milder or not, it has meaning. So what does it mean?
The milder-than-last-year hike in the Social Security COLA is due to the...
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By John Iekel 10/16/2023
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series about service providers’ audits of clients and their plans. The first installment is here.
Audits may be a frightening and painful experience from the perspective of plan administrators and plan sponsors. But what does it look like from the...
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By John Iekel 10/16/2023
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a report concerning the proposals for a new proportional formula for use with the windfall elimination provision (WEP).
Specifically, in “The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in Social Security: Proposals for a New Proportional Formula”...
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By John Iekel 10/16/2023
For the next 10 years, the Social Security trust funds will have a positive balance. But balance sheet solvency after that will be another matter, says the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
In its latest Social Security Primer, updated Oct. 2, 2023, the drumbeat the CRS hits is little...
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By John Iekel 10/13/2023
Having a formal retirement plan can be an asset in a variety of ways, but its value is underappreciated, says a recent study.
A strong majority of retirement investors with an informal retirement plan, and an even bigger majority of those with a formal written retirement plan, express confidence...
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By John Iekel 10/12/2023
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Oct. 12 that the monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase 3.2% in 2024. The change will affect more than 71 million Americans and translates to an increase in Social Security benefits of more than $50...
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By John Iekel 10/11/2023
Service providers take care of the nuts and bolts and fine details of running a retirement plan. So what are plan sponsors looking for in a third party administrator? A recent blog entry offers a look.
In “10 Things to Look for in Retirement Plan Administration,” Kushner & Company suggests...
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By John Iekel 10/11/2023
Summer—also known as the third quarter—brought some sunshine for private-sector pension plans in 2023.
Funded Status
By three measures, private-sector defied benefit plans gained ground in their funded status in the third quarter. Two gauges report slight drops; however, those decreases were...
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By John Iekel 10/9/2023
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series about service providers’ audits of clients and their plans.
That’s what a first financial audit can feel like, says an industry expert. But it doesn’t have to.
“Death by a thousand cuts. That’s what initial 401(k) and 403(b) audit clients...
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By John Iekel 10/6/2023
The IRS has updated the content it provides through an issue snapshot on the deductibility of employer contributions to a 401(k) plan made after the end of the tax year. The refresh accounts for application of the SECURE 2.0 Act.
The Issue Snapshot discusses the timing rules of the Internal...
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By John Iekel 10/6/2023
Like trees whose green leaves are mixed with the first ones brushed by Autumn’s paintbox, the results for private-sector pension plans were mixed in September.
By a variety of measures, September was a pushmi-pullyu for DB plans, according to several analyses. Liabilities down, funded status up,...
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By John Iekel 10/4/2023
For the next 10 years, the Social Security trust funds will have a positive balance. But balance sheet solvency after that will be another matter, says the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
In its latest Social Security Primer, updated Oct. 2, 2023, the drumbeat the CRS hits is little...
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By John Iekel 10/3/2023
The IRS has updated the information it makes available concerning its voluntary compliance program (VCP). It issued the reminders in the Sept. 29 edition of Employee Plans News.
Check Status
The IRS reminds taxpayers that they can check the status of any submissions they have made under the VCP...
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