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Government Affairs
For the IRS, fiscal year (FY) 2023 “was a transitional year,” largely due to funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and application of technology, according to Commissioner of Internal Revenue Danny Werfel. His made his remarks in the agency’s most recent data book, an annual...
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Momentum is increasing in Congress to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
In March, Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) called on the House Ways and Means Committee to hold a markup on their bipartisan bill, H.R. 82, the...
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The Green Mountain State and the Centennial State are going to partner in establishing VT Saves, the state-run program that will provide retirement plan coverage for private-sector employees in Vermont whose employers do not.
On June 1, 2023, Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed into law a measure creating...
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The IRS on April 16 issued guidance on certain specified required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2024. It adds that the final regulations it plans to issue related to RMDs will apply for purposes of determining RMDs for calendar years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025.
The guidance is...
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A blue-ribbon panel of D.C. tax-policy wonks joined American Retirement Association (ARA) CEO Brian Graff at the recent NAPA 401(k) Summit in Nashville to discuss potential legislation impacting retirement plans.
Graff set the stage by noting that the industry will experience an inflection point...
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Collective investment trusts (CITs) are a greater focus of attention and activity in the wake of SECURE 2.0, as a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report highlights.
In “Pensions and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Investment Issues,” the CRS provides an overview of pension...
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Legislation that would put the interests of participants and their beneficiaries ahead of “nonpecuniary” interests when assets of publicly funded retirement plans are invested is closer to enactment in Georgia. And the ball has just begun rolling on a similar measure in Louisiana.
The Peachtree...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 8 that Central States is returning approximately $127 million in excess funds it received through the PBGC’s Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program.
The Central States pension plan, at the...
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“Democracy is messy, and it’s hard. It’s never easy.”
American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff quoted Robert Kennedy to describe the current political environment and its potential effect on retirement plan savers and advisors.
Graff, who kicked off the opening keynote general session at...
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Increasing private-sector retirement plan coverage in a shifting retirement landscape is a major factor behind legislation that would establish Rhode Island Secure Choice, says Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa. The measure would provide retirement plan coverage for private-sector...
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The digital edition of the Spring 2024 issue of Plan Consultant, ASPPA’s members-only magazine, has been posted online!
More than a quarter of the 90-odd SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 provisions are effective this year. Most are optional, but still…In this issue’s cover story, an expert panel—Shannon...
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Add private-sector employees in Alaska and Wisconsin to those covered by state-run plans if their employers do not offer a retirement plan. Maybe.
That is, if the governments of both states enact bills that would create state-run retirement savings plans for private-sector employees who do not...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) submitted a comment letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) on March 31, 2024, related to the proposed regulation to implement a prohibited transaction exemption for certain auto-portability transactions.
More specifically, the DOL had requested comments...
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The Social Security Administration (SSA) on March 29 announced that it is slashing the default overpayment withholding rate for Social Security beneficiaries from 100% to 10% or $10, whichever is greater.
The change went into effect on March 25, 2024. But it applies to new overpayments, not those...
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Washington is the latest state to run a retirement program that will provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not.
On March 27, Pat Sullivan, Executive Director of Legislative Affairs in Inslee’s office, issued an announcement that SB 6069 was among the bills the Gov. Jay...
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As the Department of Labor works in court to defend its rule allowing the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors by fiduciaries when selecting plan investments, legislation to restrict the use of ESG has been reintroduced in Congress, albeit with modifications.
Rep. Greg...
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The Georgia Senate may create a committee to study the creation of Peach State Saves, a retirement saving program.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) on March 20 introduced in the state senate SR 807, a resolution that would create the Senate Peach State Saves...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated a variety of interest rates used in determining the value of benefits, premiums, and penalties.
Variable Rate Premiums
The PBGC has adjusted the interest rates used in determining the value of vested benefits for purposes of variable...
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If bills before both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature are enacted, America’s Dairyland will have a retirement plan marketplace to connect individuals and small employers with retirement plans offered by private financial services firms.
Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) introduced SB 1035 in...
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The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a conservative caucus to which most House GOP members belong, released its fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget proposal, “Fiscal Sanity to Save America,” on March 20.
It said the budget would address the federal spending problem and pay down debt so that it would “...
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