"[P]lan sponsors will be best served by amending their plans this year ... [M]ost retirement plans have been operated in accordance with some or all of the required and optional provisions of these laws since 2020. Further delay in the adoption of formal plan amendments will simply compound the opportunity for errors ... [C]onfusion and uncertainty may result if a plan sponsor maintains a retirement plan in misalignment with disclosure materials for an extended period."   MORE >>

"Plaintiffs agree to settle for $267 million in a class action suit that alleged that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP undercalculated lump-sum payments made to pension participants.... PwC used a 30-year Treasury return as the interest rate, and calculated the normal retirement age as either 65 years old or 5 years of service, whichever came sooner. Both of these methods were found to be in violation of ERISA in previous hearings[.]" [Laurent v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, No. 06-2280 (S.D.N.Y. motion for approval of proposed settlement filed Sep. 19, 2022)]   MORE >>

"This case gives plan sponsors and fiduciaries some breathing room, as it makes it clear that participants will not automatically prevail in a claim for fiduciary breach based on fees that are higher than those under comparable plans -- the participant must also determine the quality and types of services provided in those plans. This effectively limits participants' ability to cherry-pick scenarios where similarly named fees are lower in other plans to prove that the fiduciary violated the duty of prudence." [ Albert v. Oshkosh Corp. , No. 21-2789 (7th Cir. Aug. 29, 2022)]   MORE >>

"[C]osts under the two most common pathways taken by Medicare-eligible retirees: ... [1] Original Medicare plus Medigap (Plan G) plus Part D (standard benefit): A healthy 65-year-old male retiring in 2022 is projected to spend approximately $264,000 on healthcare expenses during his retirement.... [2] Medicare Advantage plus Part D: A healthy 65-year-old male retiring in 2022 is projected to spend approximately $137,000 on healthcare expenses during his retirement."   MORE >>

"During August, the Milliman 100 PPFI funded ratio declined from 77.3% at the end of July to 75.0% as of August 31. Public plans saw, in aggregate, investment losses of 2.6% for the month, which erased much of the short-term recovery experienced in July. Individual plans' estimated returns ranged from -4.1% to -0.9% for the period. The combined plans lost market value of approximately $118 billion, on top of a net negative cash flow of approximately $8 billion."   MORE >>

"One provision in the [SECURE Act] provides extra assurance and protection to retirement plan sponsors that follow certain rules to select annuities as in-plan offerings.... [ThinkAdvisor] asked two professors and authors of ALM's Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about whether retirement plans should default 401(k) participants into annuity options."   MORE >>

"The economic climate today mirrors many conditions of the 1980s when Social Security had its last sweeping changes, experts say, and while that could help to spark a new round of reform, the current political climate may make change difficult any time soon."   MORE >>

"It is important to address the disclosure earlier in the 2023 proxy process ... Focus on an Integrated Presentation in the Proxy Statement ... Consider using graphs and tables to make it easy.... Plan ahead, and work with consultants and accountants."   MORE >>