"Qualified plan distributions of $10 or more in 2022 must be reported to the IRS on this version of Form 1099-R. The deadline for providing the 2022 Form 1099-R to plan participants and beneficiaries is January 31, 2023. Copy A must be filed with the IRS by February 28, 2023, for scannable paper filings, and by March 31, 2023, for electronic filings. The 2022 Form 5498 generally must be filed and provided by May 31, 2023, but some information ... must be furnished by January 31, 2023."   MORE >>

"A key principle in loss prevention is that 'big frauds start small.' ... In recent years, there's been a very well-documented explosion of both small-balance 401k accounts and small-balance IRAs, which can present tempting targets, as system controls and monitoring can often be lax."   MORE >>

"Open discussions with all of your service providers about encryption, user authentication, privacy protection and other procedures they are implementing to ensure your retirement plan client's data is safe. Here are some great conversation starters."   MORE >>

"Forty-six percent of near retirees do not expect income from a defined benefit pension compared to only 23 percent of retirees.... Sixty-five percent of retirees believe their Social Security benefits and pension provide adequate income. Only 40 percent of near retirees believe this will be the case. Eight in ten near-retirees fear that costs related to retirement medical care will be overwhelming, prompting concern about the adequacy of their retirement income."   MORE >>

"Small businesses represent most U.S. companies, and they employ about half of the country's workforce -- yet half or more do not offer retirement plans. It's an opportunity the financial services industry has long snubbed, as cost-competitive 401(k) services for small plans have lacked the profit potential of much larger ones. But that is changing quickly, and retirement plan coverage could increase dramatically."   MORE >>

"A few lower court decisions issued after Northwestern refused to dismiss the claims, which could mean that in the future fiduciaries might find it more difficult to have cases dismissed at an early stage and avoid trials. Just offering a broad selection of investment choices won't protect fiduciaries from being sued. In fact, if a menu has a very large number of funds, it is likely that one or more funds in the mix could be cited as imprudent." [ Hughes v. Northwestern Univ. , No. 19-1401 (S. Ct. Jan. 24, 2022)]   MORE >>

"The Auto Reenroll Act would require a plan to impose a 3-year auto-reenrollment rule on 401(k) plans in three circumstances: [1] To qualify for the automatic contribution testing safe harbor ... [2] To allow 'permissible withdrawals' ... [3] To assert that certain state wage withholding laws are preempted.... [T]his bill does not have bipartisan sponsorship. There is, however, some bipartisan sentiment in favor of reenrollment programs generally[.]"   MORE >>

"[Some states], including Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Alaska, are attempting to make positive changes to pension benefits for firefighters, correctional officers, state employees, and teachers. In Oklahoma and Alaska, lawmakers are examining whether to re-open pension systems for public employees who have been denied a defined-benefit pension for years.... Several state and local governments have ... gone back to offering a defined-benefit pension again. "   MORE >>

"For CalPERS members, those who retired between 2006 and 2014 will receive the biggest increase at 4.7%. This will be the largest cost-of-living increase for beneficiaries in the past 32 years, dating to 1990."   MORE >>

"The African Methodist Episcopal Church, among the largest U.S. Protestant denominations, has suspended retirement payments and discussed steep cuts to the savings of its ministers amid an investigation into missing funds ... The church said federal law enforcement and an outside law firm are investigating 'a possible financial crime' involving funds managed by its retirement-services department covering about 5,000 participants, including ministers and bishops."   MORE >>