"Among other responsibilities, pension plan fiduciaries must manage plan assets that involve shares of corporate stock and, thus, may be required to make and monitor decisions about voting proxies and exercising shareholder rights. The [DOL] has published guidance over the past few decades outlining these responsibilities." [IF12362 Mar. 27, 2023]   MORE >>

"Prior to the SECURE Act 2.0 the only financial incentive for a participant to make a deferral was a matching contribution. However, the new law permits 'de minimus' non-cash incentives for beginning participation or increasing deferrals, so long as the incentives are not paid for by the plan. This change will allow plan sponsors to use gamification to encourage eligible employees to defer into a plan or to increase deferrals."   MORE >>

"The Seventh Circuit held that the Northwestern excess recordkeeping and investment fee claims were plausible ... But the case involves an obsolete fee arrangement that even the Northwestern plan has replaced. Read correctly, the case only finds plausibility for fiduciary imprudence claims against plans with uncapped revenue sharing and retail share class investments without rebating the higher fees back to plan participants. Virtually no large plan today has this obsolete fee arrangement." [ Hughes v. Northwestern Univ. , No. 18-2569 (7th Cir. Mar. 23, 2023)]   MORE >>

"Another court has found that actuaries who set discount rates for withdrawal liability purposes that are not based upon their 'best estimate of anticipated experience' for investments under the plan -- in this case, basing the rate assumption only on estimated returns for 40% of the Plan's assets in low risk fixed income investments -- cannot withstand judicial scrutiny." [ Employees' Retirement Plan of the National Education Assoc. v. Clark County Education Assoc. , Case No. 20-3443 (D.D.C. Feb. 27, 2023)]   MORE >>

"For calendar year plans with a 1-year stability period, 2023 lump sums for this participant are 33%-47% lower than 2022 lump sums. That is an unprecedented decline in the cost of paying lump sums. For plans contemplating a 2023 lump sum window that have latitude with respect to lookback month and stability period, ... different lookback months produce very different 2023 lump sum values (the October lookback month produces a lump sum 22% lower than the August lookback month)."   MORE >>

"Mistakes can and do happen in retirement plan administration.... These mistakes can result in penalties, liability and, in some situations, disqualification of the retirement plan.... [H]ere are a baker's dozen [common mistakes] and best practices for stopping problems before they occur."   MORE >>

"Since 1982, the Social Security taxable earnings base has risen at the same rate as average wages in the economy. By law, the base is raised whenever an automatic benefit increase -- a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) -- is payable to Social Security beneficiaries, assuming wages have risen.... The taxable earnings base serves as a cap on both contributions and benefits."   MORE >>

"Section 603 requires the enhanced catch-up contributions for participants ages 60 through 63 to be made using after-tax dollars to a Roth account if the participant is a highly compensated employee, starting in 2024.... [A]pproximately 20% of government plans do not have a Roth feature and would need state law and collective bargaining agreements to be updated in order to add one.... [M]any government retirement plans are planning to suspend catch-up contributions entirely as a temporary solution until they are able to come into compliance with Section 603."   MORE >>

"Investment consultants to pension funds with political members on their boards can do double duty: provide crucial advisory services and be a convenient scapegoat for poor performance.... [The research] found that political board members at pension funds typically have strong financial education and expertise backgrounds, which suggests that their reliance on consultants is not due to a lack of skills."   MORE >>

"Participants in TDFs receive the standard time-weighted returns (TWRs) that are designed to eliminate the effects of savings. Contributions have no effect on TWRs.... Dollar-weighted returns (DWRs) combine the effects of investment performance with the impacts of the amounts and timing of contributions ... DWRs are a more informative performance measure for TDFs because they help participants recognize the efficacy of savings."   MORE >>

"Victims of severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in Mississippi from March 24, 2023, to March 25, 2023, now have until July 31, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.... [I]ndividuals and households affected by severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes that reside or have a business in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties qualify for tax relief."   MORE >>