"For 401(a) pre-approved plans ... July 31, 2022 is when the Cycle 3 restatement period ends, and also is the deadline for Form 5307 filings.... The Cycle 4 submission date may be in mid-2024, with a possible restatement period of Aug. 1, 2026-July 31, 2028.... [Rev. Proc. 2021-37 ] set pre-approved 403(b) plan procedures, ... modeled after the defined contribution pre-approved plan procedures."   MORE >>

"Before the IRS implemented this pilot program, self-correction was only available to plans under audit in limited circumstances. Plans under audit were not eligible to correct under the VCP program. Thus, the program gives employers an additional chance to identify operational errors and self-correct them after the plan has been targeted for audit."   MORE >>

"The plaintiffs filed a class-action suit in March 2021 alleging that the defendants failed to reduce plan expenses and failed to assess the prudence of each investment option in the plan's lineup. They also maintained that the defendants didn't control administrative and record-keeping expenses." [Loomis v. Nextep, No. 21-0199 (W.D. Okla. motion for approval of settlement agreement filed Jul. 8, 2022)]   MORE >>

"[G]iven the heightened risk environment ... the fiduciary insurance market remains robust, with a broad scope of coverage available for most plans, except ESOPs and multiple employer plans, and some healthcare- and university-sponsored plans. And contrary to market perceptions, fiduciary insurance premiums for large plan sponsors remain very reasonable relative to the continued heightened risk environment."   MORE >>

"The proposal would also add new terms and conditions on an exemption applicant concerning the necessary 'independence' of an independent fiduciary or an independent appraiser hired to support the application, and would require the applicant to apply those terms for the first time to accountants, and to service providers not directly involved in the transaction for which an exemption is sought.... Another proposal would also impose the impartial conduct standards ... as a requirement on every applicant for an exemption."   MORE >>

"[U]nfunded liabilities of the 118 state public pension plans are expected to again exceed $1 trillion in 2022. After a record-breaking year of investment returns in 2021, which helped reduce a lot of longstanding pension debt, the experience of public pension assets has swung drastically in the other direction over the last 12 months. Early indicators point to investment returns averaging around -6% for the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2022, for many public pension systems."   MORE >>

"The First Responder Fair RETIRE Act ( HR 521 ) ... would allow federal first responders who, due to a workplace injury, are forced to pursue employment elsewhere in the federal government to continue paying into the accelerated retirement system and retire after they have served 20 years and reached age 50."   MORE >>

"Like the House bill, the EARN Act would primarily benefit people with higher incomes whose retirements are already financially secure, rely on timing gimmicks to offset the bill's cost, and provide only modest help to households with low and moderate incomes."   MORE >>

" The court reasoned that the deadlines were inapplicable to the cases at issue because the entity's final denial letters to the participants did not contain notice of the deadlines.... Since the court determined that the plan-imposed filing deadlines did not apply in these cases, the court looked to the most closely related statute of limitations under state law, which was six years." [ E.F. v. United Healthcare Ins. Co. , No. 21-190 (D. Utah Mar. 30, 2022); Anne A. v. United Healthcare Ins. Co. , No. 20-814 (D. Utah Mar. 30, 2022)]   MORE >>