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Retirement Income
The most powerful force in the Universe is compound interest. - Albert Einstein
In 1984, the Portland Trailblazers selected Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan as their draft pick—and as the saying goes, the rest is history. Although Sam Bowie was a terrific 7’3” center, his name has long been forgotten...
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In a storied decision, a judge once wrote that he couldn’t define a certain topic, but he knew it when he saw it. So, too, financial wellness—an expert panel recently suggested its meaning is “amorphous” and “evolving.”
“Financial wellness” can mean different things to different people and...
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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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A bill before the Mississippi House of Representatives would establish a state-run retirement plan to provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not offer one.
Rep. Orlando Paden (D-Bolivar) on Jan. 24, 2024 introduced House Bill 599, the Mississippi Secure Choice Savings...
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Those who make filings with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) now must use the agency’s new e-Filing portal. It became operational on Feb. 1, 2024.
The PBGC had announced on Jan. 8 that it would launch a new and improved e-filing portal at the start of the next month. The launch of...
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Employees would no longer be required to opt in to participate in the Hawaii Retirement Savings Program but rather would be automatically enrolled under legislation now before the Hawaii House and Senate.
Sen. Sharon Moriwaki (D-Waikiki) introduced SB2553 on Jan. 19, 2024; Rep. Andrew Garrett (D-...
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One of the optional provisions in the SECURE 2.0 Act that some employers were very excited about is the provision to allow a 401(k) match based on a participant’s student loan payment rather than deferrals.
This was seen by many as a way to help young (or not so young) employees start saving for...
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Two headlines caught my eye recently—provocative “what if”-type questions.
I’m talking about “Will Retirement Income Solutions Finally Break Through in 2024?” and “Will Managed Accounts (Finally) Take Hold as QDIAs?” Both, of course, included the word “finally” in the title(s)—no doubt because the...
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Loans to pay for an education: an investment in the future, but also a drag on it. Research and recent insights suggest that while loans help fund steps intended to improve one’s position, in some ways they can threaten future security by affecting retirement saving. It’s a debt whose effects...
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The IRS has made the 2023 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Defined Contribution Qualified Pre-Approved Plans available. The new list, contained in Notice 2024-3, provides updated listings of required modifications and information packages for DC plans.
The 2023...
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One provision in particular in the SECURE 2.0 Act is receiving the lion’s share of attention from retirement plan sponsors and participants. Section 110 allows student loan payments to be treated as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions.
Yet guidance on how it will happen is...
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There have been significant changes to the IRS Pre-Approved Defined Contribution Plan Program, and two of the IRS officials involved in the thick of it recently provided a refresher on the program rules and recent developments.
Milo Atlas of the Retirement Plan Forms and Publications Office at...
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Washington—the state, not the city—is considering legislation that would establish a state-run retirement plan to cover those whose employers do not offer one.
If the legislation is enacted, the Evergreen State would join its Pacific Coast neighbors in providing such a plan. California was the...
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The benefits of delaying Social Security benefits are by now generally accepted. While not appropriate for everyone, waiting to age 70 (the maximum age allowed) means a 24% increase in benefits versus claiming at age 67 (full retirement age).
Add in the fact that benefits are inflation-linked and...
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The government should limit contributions or accumulations in tax-advantaged retirement plans—or tax the earnings each year—to address Social Security’s shortfall, a trio of high-profile industry academics argue in a new paper. It’s the latest in a string of controversial ideas that 401(k)...
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December’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) didn’t keep pace with inflation, but a new report says that Social Security beneficiaries could be riding an inflation rollercoaster this year, courtesy of 2023’s 8.7% COLA—alongside static income thresholds for taxation of benefits....
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Jan. 19 announced that it has chosen the firms that will participate in its Smaller Asset Managers Program (SAMP).
SAMP is intended to reduce barriers to competition and create opportunities for smaller asset investment management firms. SAMP...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) announced Jan. 18 that its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released a proposed regulation on automatic portability transactions under SECURE 2.0.
The DOL said automatic portability transactions aim to help workers keep track of their retirement...
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The IRS has issued final regulations updating the minimum present value requirements for pension plan distributions. The IRS issued the final regulations on Jan. 19.
The IRS had issued proposed regulations in 2016 that updated the minimum present value requirements for defined benefit plan...
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Plan professionals may find it useful to know that plan sponsors continue to make participants’ retirement security a priority, and are boosting their work to enhance it.
JP Morgan, in its fifth Defined Contribution Plan Sponsor Survey, which provides the results of an online survey of 788...
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