Legislation

Appropriations subcommittees on Capitol Hill — in the House and now in the Senate — have taken a shot at blocking the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal by denying funding for the measure.House BillOn June 24, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2016... READ MORE

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives June 4 would allow pension plan participants to be automatically opted in to electronic delivery of documents. And a recent study suggests that the sponsors of the bill have good timing.  Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) introduced... READ MORE

In a bid to expand availability of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in S corporations and enhance retirement savings, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) on May 6 introduced legislation that he hopes will accomplish both.The Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2015, S. 1212, would... READ MORE

A new legislative proposal wouldn’t just require employers to offer a retirement plan — it would mandate employer contributions too.The proposal, unveiled by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, would direct employers with 10 or more employees to open individualized... READ MORE

Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez used his first appearances before the 114th Congress to deliver a full-throated defense of the DOL’s controversial effort to expand the fiduciary standard of care to financial service providers under the jurisdiction of the department.Perez appeared at two... READ MORE

Legislative phoenixes that would codify the president’s auto IRA proposal and change the qualified plan loan rules have arisen in both chambers of Congress.Auto IRALegislation has been reintroduced in both the House and the Senate that would formally enact President Obama’s federal automatic IRA... READ MORE

Proposals in New England neighbors Connecticut and Rhode Island would give their respective residents breaks from state taxes imposed on their pensions. Bills have been introduced in the legislatures of both states that would provide different degrees of relief: some would phase in a tax break;... READ MORE

In addition to proposals for a retirement savings cap, double-taxing contributions of those above the 28% tax bracket, and encouraging automatic enrollment, President Obama’s budget blueprint for fiscal year 2016 contains proposals that would change the tax treatment of IRAs and qualified... READ MORE

One of my favorite movies — and perhaps my favorite “holiday” movie — is Groundhog Day, the 1993 film starring Bill Murray as an arrogant weatherman who finds himself stuck in Punxsutawney, Penn. by a blizzard, who then discovers that he is also “stuck” reliving Feb. 2 — over and over and over. A... READ MORE