"These rules become effective for most 401(k) plans on January 1, 2024 -- a mere 25 working days after the proposed regulations were issued.... ... Safe harbor plans with a service-based eligibility condition have a number of administrative and design issues to consider.... [P]lan amendments to reflect the changes in the eligibility requirements to comply with SECURE 1.0 and SECURE 2.0 ... do not need to be made until the plan must be updated for other changes for these laws,"   MORE >>

"We already allow employees who work fewer than 500 hours per year to defer. Does this new rule impact us? That is a definite 'no'  ... Similarly, if you use the elapsed time method of determining eligibility for all of your employees, you also don't have to worry about this rule.... Our plan excludes certain classifications of employees. Do we now have to allow those employees to join the plan if they meet the LTPT requirements? As long as that exclusion is otherwise allowable, you can continue to apply it to those who would otherwise join as LTPT employees."   MORE >>

"[It] is not possible to unduly limit LTPT deferral rates in a way that would preclude them from receiving other plan benefits.... [It] is possible to allow 'regular' employees who are at least age 50 to make additional catch-up contributions while precluding LTPT employees from doing so. However, you would also have to elect to exclude the LTPT employees from nondiscrimination testing ... [T]he LTPT rules do not blow up your plan's safe harbor status at all."   MORE >>

"For calendar-year defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans, these retirement plan compliance calendars list key IRS, [PBGC] and [DOL] reporting and disclosure deadlines."   MORE >>

"[T]he Second Circuit held that in order to plead a prohibited transaction claim between a plan fiduciary and party in interest, a complaint must plausibly allege that the fiduciary caused the plan to engage in a transaction that constituted furnishing of services between the plan and party in interest, where that transaction was unnecessary or involved unreasonable compensation, thereby supporting an inference of disloyalty." [ Cunningham v. Cornell Univ. , No. 21-0088 (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2023)]   MORE >>

"Decisions regarding ERISA prohibited transactions in cases heard in the 8th and 9th Circuits set different standards than the one set by the 2nd Circuit's decision, increasing the likelihood of the Supreme Court hearing an appeal to set nationwide precedent." [ Cunningham v. Cornell Univ. , No. 21-0088 (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2023)]   MORE >>

"AFFT and other conservative activists could deploy the same model to launch litigations challenging the use of ESG investing more generally on the same fiduciary duty theory. Just as AFFT apparently solicited a handful of NYC plan participants to stand as plaintiffs, such organizations could presumably identify participants in any number of public and private retirement plans willing to play the same role." [Wong v. NYCERS, TRS and BERS No. 652297/2023 (NY Cty. Sup. Ct. complaint filed May 11, 2023)]   MORE >>

"The McCullough, Campbell & Lane LLP retirement savings plan [allegedly] owes an average of more than $200,000 to 25 participants.... The [DOL] sued the retirement plan of [the now] defunct law firm ... and four of the firm's capital partners ... for allegedly failing to terminate the company retirement plan, which holds $5.4 million in assets." [Su v. Turner, No. 23-16121 (N.D. Ill. complaint filed Nov. 20, 2023)]   MORE >>

"Women, in particular, face distinct challenges in retirement planning  ... Factors such as longer life expectancy, career interruptions, and the gender pay gap contribute to these challenges. This article explores the specific retirement planning needs of women and offers insights into how they can navigate these challenges to achieve financial security in their later years."   MORE >>

"Ramsey doesn't appear to grasp the differences between geometric returns (what you earn in an investment) and arithmetic returns (the simple average). He also doesn't appreciate how a 100% stock portfolio increases sequence of return risk. A retiree who listened to Ramsey and followed an 8% withdrawal rule while holding a four-fund stock portfolio in the 2000s would have run out of money in as little as 13 years."   MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses affected by severe storms and flooding in parts of Illinois ... now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... [I]ndividuals and households affected by severe storms and flooding that reside or have a business in Cook County qualify for tax relief."   MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses affected by elevated levels of lead and copper in the water supply in the Island of St. Croix ... now have until Feb. 29, 2024, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments."   MORE >>