"This article lays out the particulars of IRS interim guidance on using SCP under SECURE 2.0, conditions that must be met to permit correction under SCP, which failures still are uncorrectable through SCP, and other topics addressed in the guidance."   MORE >>

"[1] Treatment of student loan repayments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions ... [2] Employers allowed to replace SIMPLE retirement accounts with safe harbor 401(k) plans during a plan year ... [3] Exemption for certain automatic portability transactions occurring 12 months after the SECURE 2.0 enactment date ... [4] Safe harbor for plan corrections of employee elective deferral failures."   MORE >>

"In both cases, the plans permitted the use of forfeitures for multiple purposes ... The plaintiffs allege that the plan fiduciaries violated their duties under ERISA by using the forfeitures to offset the employers' contribution obligation rather than some other purpose. They claim this decision amounts to a decision to use the forfeitures for the benefit of the employer rather than solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries." [Dimou v. Thermo Fisher Scientific, No. 23-1732 (S.D. Calif. complaint filed Sep. 19, 2023); Rodriguez v. Intuit, Inc., No. 23-5053 (N.D. Calif. complaint filed Oct. 2, 2023)]   MORE >>

"The lawsuit said FedEx uses a mortality table containing data that is more than 50 years old 'resulting in monthly payments that are materially lower than they would be if defendants used conversion factors based on up-to-date, reasonable actuarial assumptions' ... Plaintiffs pointed out that FedEx uses more recent mortality table data when filing reports with the [SEC] to identify 'the present value of its benefit obligations under the plan for financial reporting purposes'[.]" [Watt vs. FedEx Corp., No. 23-2593 (W.D. Tenn. complaint filed Sep. 19, 2023)]   MORE >>

13 pages. "[F]iduciary status under ERISA does not hinge on the exercise of discretion in some cases because, under ERISA Section 3(21)(A), an entity that exercises any authority or control over the disposition of plan assets becomes a fiduciary."   MORE >>

"The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. corporate pension plans increased by an estimated 0.7 percentage points in September, ending the month at 105.3% ... This month's change in funded ratio can be attributed to a 5.4% decrease in liability value, partially offset by a 4.8% decrease in asset value."   MORE >>

"This retirement readiness calculator is intended to provide a rough idea of how long your retirement savings and income will last. The estimate is based on your inputs and ... assumptions [including] an average inflation rate of 4%, a tax rate of 24% on income and the presumption that retirement withdrawals will be taxable events."   MORE >>

"After striking out eight previous times ... Miller Shah finally succeeded in getting past the pleading stage by adding two types of 'evidence' of what it claims was a flawed fiduciary process: [1] that the 'sparse minutes' of the Genworth fiduciary committee did not mention monitoring the performance of the BlackRock investments and thus the committee did not monitor the investments; and [2] the Genworth IPS instructed plan fiduciaries to compare S&P 500 investments to the BlackRock investment results." [ Trauernicht v. Genworth Financial Inc. , No. 22-0532 (E.D. Va. Sep. 13, 2023)]   MORE >>

13 pages. "[W]hile [electronic recordkeeping] has made many of the quotidian aspects of ERISA plan administration quicker and less expensive, it has created new issues and sometimes compounded old unresolved ones.... [This] statement will [1] explore and make recommendations for record retention and participant record access; [2] discuss the potential fiduciary status of recordkeepers under Title I of ERISA and the responsibilities of a plan's named fiduciary where the recordkeeper is providing only ministerial services; and [3] and suggest the need to revisit the Department's notice and access regulations to increase the number of participants likely to create their own permanent benefits archive."   MORE >>

"We know for a fact that ESOPs boost people's savings. That is because ESOPs provide an opportunity for everyday Americans to own a piece of their employer.... [E]mployees at private, ESOP-owned companies have more than twice the average total retirement savings than Americans who work at non-ESOP companies."   MORE >>