"The Program involves ... a commitment by Citi ... to pay all or some portion of the investment management fees for diverse managers retained by Citi-sponsored defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans and welfare benefit plans that hold investment assets.... [ Advisory Opinion 2023-01A ] addresses ... three specific ERISA issues ... [1] Program establishment and fee obligation a settlor function.... [2] Investment committee members may take Citi fee commitment into consideration.... [3] Information about the program may be included in participant disclosure materials."   MORE >>

"This article covers the short list of amendments due by Dec. 31, 2023, and looks ahead to 2025, when many employers will need to amend their plans to comply with several significant law changes enacted in recent years."   MORE >>

"The 2022 Rule was understood to significantly relax restrictions on ESG investing, eliminating special restrictions on ESG investments in defined contribution default investments, making the 'tiebreaker' rule ... more flexible, and eliminating recordkeeping and disclosure requirements with respect to the tiebreaker rule. The court's decision in effect ... puts a judicial stamp of approval on the 2022 Rule, removing whatever doubt there may have been about its legal viability." [ Utah v. Walsh , No. 23-0016 (N.D. Tex. Sep. 21, 2023)]   MORE >>

"Public employee pension funds are prime targets for cyberattacks. Very few other enterprises have the combination of large amounts of personally identifiable information (PII), lots of money and relatively small staffs.... The first thing is to accept the potential danger and to train employees as to what they can do -- and not do -- to make their systems safer. Equally, boards should be educated as to the magnitude of the threat in their systems so that they can allocate adequate resources to prevent and detect cyberattacks and to build resilience should an attack occur."   MORE >>

"The funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plans increased by $4 billion during September ... An increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities led to a decrease in plan liabilities, which outweighed plan asset losses due to declining markets during the month. As of September 30, the funded ratio inched upward to 103.6%, from 103.1% at the end of August, and the funded status surplus increased to $44 billion."   MORE >>

"Pension finances were mixed during September, as falling stock markets were largely offset by still higher interest rates. Both model plans ... were close to even last month: [the] traditional Plan A was flat and remains up 8% for the year, while the more conservative Plan B lost a fraction of 1%, but is still 1% ahead through the first three quarters of 2023."   MORE >>