"This guidance addresses changes related to provisions in [SECURE 1.0, enacted in 2019]. The Agencies' third phase of final forms revisions are effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. The DOL simultaneously published a final rule with an effective date of April 25, 2023, which is required to implement the Agencies' third phase of final forms."   MORE >>

"In addition to making the hardship distribution rules more flexible, SECURE 2.0 expands on the ability of defined contribution plan sponsors to make penalty-free distributions to participants who have personal emergencies. In some cases, the permanent SECURE 2.0 provisions are modeled on temporary relief granted for specific federal disasters or under the CARES Act."   MORE >>

"What happens when a Tax-exempt Employer discovers that non-qualified plan (or severance-related agreement) violates 457(f) by providing for the vesting of benefits before the year in which payments occur? ... [T]here may be more than one reasonable tax position that draws from [published] IRS advice[.]"   MORE >>

"New federal data for 2021 shows that implementation of state-facilitated retirement savings plans for private sector workers without workplace plans may be having a positive impact on the creation and retention of private plans. Businesses in California, Illinois, and Oregon, three of the first states to launch programs to help private sector workers without workplace plans save for retirement, continued to create new plans in 2021 at rates similar to or exceeding those in states without such programs."   MORE >>

"Returns from growth-oriented assets fueled increases in the funded status of most U.S. corporate pension plans in the first quarter of 2023.... Estimated plan liability discount rates, based on long-duration fixed-income yields, were lower in the first quarter and contributed to higher liabilities.... The funded status of a total return plan rose 2.8%, and the LDI-focused plan experienced a funded status increase of 3.7%."   MORE >>

80 pages. "When viewing a 26-year period from 1993 to 2019, education funding grew at three times the annual rate of pension spending. The growth of pension funding averaged 0.82 percent annually during this period, while education funding grew at 2.48 percent annually, or triple the rate of pension funding.... Those who argue that pension expenditures are outpacing education funding fail to look at the impact of volatility in pension funding."   MORE >>

33 pages. "While [this] guidance request covers a broad range of issues, in terms of immediate SECURE 2.0 guidance needs, SPARK's top priorities are: [1] relief from the last-minute increase of the required minimum distribution (RMD) age; and [2] relief and guidance for SECURE 2.0's Roth catch-up contribution requirement."   MORE >>

"[S]ome financial advisors and academics encourage use of 'safe' alternatives ... where future retirement plan adjustments are generally not anticipated. This type of planning is referred to as 'one-and-done' (or static) retirement planning.... [It] is very difficult to predict the future accurately and, as a result, it is very easy to either overspend or underspend relative to your spending goals when using these static approaches."   MORE >>

"Create one simple place for your employees to access all their benefits information.... Provide decision support tools to your employees during benefits enrollment.... Get personal with your digital tools during open enrollment."   MORE >>