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Government Affairs
[Updated: On Friday morning, the House passed H.R. 2799, Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2023, the larger bill that included the CITs in 403(b)s amendment, on a party line vote of 212 - 205. The bill will now go to the Senate. A quote from ARA CEO Brian Graff is added below.]
On March 7, the...
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Home and community-based services employees would be able to participate in Minnesota Secure Choice if a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives is enacted.
Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-40A) introduced HF 4248 on Feb. 26. The legislation would amend the law creating the Minnesota Secure...
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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued information about the updated thresholds for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) for 2024.
The updated information is contained in an annual report the CRS issues concerning the WEP and the GPO. Both...
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The solvency of Social Security is not a new concern. It’s been on a slow—or, at times, high—burn for more than 40 years. Proposals to address the problem are almost as numerous as the warnings about it; in a recent report, the Congressional Research Service takes a look at the potential impact of...
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A hearing that was billed as “taking a serious look at the retirement crisis in America” with a focus on improving the defined benefit system ended with witnesses agreeing that some reforms are needed, but calling for drastically different measures.
The Feb. 28 hearing was held by the Senate...
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A bill currently before the Georgia legislature would affect the exercise of fiduciary duty regarding the investment of retirement plan assets. The legislation includes a provision that would require a fiduciary to put the interests of participants and their beneficiaries ahead of “nonpecuniary...
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Familiar 401(k) critic Teresa Ghilarducci testified before Congress on Feb. 28, claiming America’s retirement system is “severely broken” and seniors must either “work or rely on the kindness of strangers to dodge the increasing risk of elder poverty."
Ghilarducci, a professor at the New School...
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The states that offer a retirement program for private-sector employees whose employers do not have a new prospective member: Michigan. Legislation has been entered in the state House of Representatives that would create such a program in the Wolverine State.
The Retirement Savings Program Act, HB...
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On Feb. 20, the American Retirement Association (ARA) sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that addressed technical issues affecting certain SECURE 2.0 provisions. It noted a few that are of particular relevance to retirement plan sponsors and advisors.
More specifically, the ARA...
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Amid the recent attacks on the 401(k) savings system, the key Senate committee with jurisdiction over ERISA plans to hold a hearing next week to examine what it describes as “confronting the retirement crisis facing working class Americans.”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP...
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The New Mexico Senate is considering a request for a study regarding equalization of teachers’ pensions with those of public employees.
Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo), President Pro Tempore of the New Mexico Senate, on Jan. 18 introduced SM 4, a bill requesting that the Legislative Finance...
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While the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recovered $1.435 billion in direct payment to plans, participants and beneficiaries in fiscal year 2023, that number has been trending downward for the past few years.
According to a fact sheet released by EBSA,...
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Coming slightly more than a month after its first hearing on the Department of Labor’s proposed investment advice fiduciary rule, a second subcommittee of the House of Representatives debated the merits of the proposal, with the battle lines drawn between the two parties.
The Feb. 15 hearing by...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated its Pension Insurance Data Tables concerning its Single-Employer and Multiemployer Programs. Overall, there is good news in the new figures.
The tables summarize information on PBGC’s Single-Employer and Multiemployer Insurance Programs...
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OregonSaves, the first state-run program to provide retirement plan coverage to employees whose private-sector employers do not, is devoting $5 million to coverage for childcare providers. The Oregon Retirement Savings Board and State Treasurer Tobias Read made the announcement on Feb. 12.
In...
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Georgia may join sister states in establishing a state-run retirement plan to provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not, if a measure now before the Senate is enacted.
Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-52) introduced SB 477 on Feb. 9, 2024. It calls for the creation of the Peach...
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On Feb. 7, House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced a bill to establish a federal auto-IRA for employers with more than 10 employees who do not currently sponsor a retirement plan.
The Automatic IRA Act of 2024 would require employees to be automatically...
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The scope of New York Secure Choice, the program through which the Empire State provides coverage to private-sector employees whose employers do not, has been expanded to include single proprietors.
New York Gov. Kathy Holchul (D) signed S 2399 into law on Jan. 26, 2024. Sen. Andrew Gounard (D-...
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A powerful group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to help children start saving early for retirement by establishing a savings account for every child in America.
The bicameral 401Kids Savings Act was introduced Jan. 31 in the Senate (S. 3716) by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), along with Senate...
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Minnesota Democratic Representative Angie Craig has reintroduced legislation that would eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits for seniors. The bill would extend full benefits for two decades and reduce the federal debt by a substantial amount, according to the analysis it cited....
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