"As the end of 2023 approaches, it's again time for plan sponsors to review their plan documents and plan operations to ensure compliance with increasingly complex qualification requirements and moving deadlines. While there are no mandatory plan amendments due this year, plan sponsors must remain diligent about discretionary amendment deadlines, operational compliance with changes in law, and ensuring later-adopted plan amendments accurately reflect plan operations."   MORE >>

"Unless/until the IRS says otherwise, these new rules suggest sponsors can accept a self-certification that they know is straight-up incorrect.... Note that this self-certification only applies to plans that limit hardships to one of the seven listed ' safe harbor' reasons. ... [It] appears plan sponsors can take advantage of this simplification without even having to amend their plans. "   MORE >>

"[The authors] break down what you need to know to better understand expense ratios, including: [1] How expense ratios work; [2] How expense ratios can impact your investment decision; [3] What a reasonable expense ratio looks like; [4] What a good expense ratio is for a 401(k)."   MORE >>

"The dollar award is the biggest for a case centering on a plan's use of in-house funds, court records state. If the settlement is approved by the court, it will end six years of litigation against GE, which plaintiffs alleged breached its fiduciary duties by putting its own investment options on the $30.3 billion plan's menu and retaining them for more than a decade. The class includes participants who were in the plan as far back as Sept. 26, 2011." [Haskins v. General Electric, No. 17-12123 (D. Mass. proposed settlement agreement filed Oct. 6, 2023)]   MORE >>

"Saving for retirement is no longer the top financial issue causing American workers stress ... Having enough savings to pay for an emergency has moved up to the top stress-causing financial issue among employees ... [N]early half of respondents said they would have to dip into their savings or investment portfolios to pay for an unexpected expense of $5,000 or more."   MORE >>

"[T]he Mixed Martial Arts Retirement Benefit Fund ... will be managed by the California State Athletic Commission and won't be paid for using tax payer dollars. Instead, it will be funded from $1 on every ticket sale, as well as sports merchandising and souvenirs. The commission will start creating the fund in January 2024."   MORE >>