Advertisement
News Archive
The American Retirement Association (ARA) on Feb. 4 submitted a comment letter to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on the agency’s proposed form and instructions that would enable it to obtain information it needs in order to make coverage determinations.
The PBGC had announced Dec...
READ MORE
At the first hearing on retirement security issues in the 116th Congress on Feb. 6, enactment of the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) again took center stage as a vital step in expanding access and addressing the coverage gap.
Featuring a single panel of witnesses, the four-hour...
READ MORE
The Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) has been reintroduced in the new Congress.
The bill introduced on Feb. 6 is bipartisan – sponsored by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Mike Kelly (R-PA) – as was the one introduced nearly a year ago by the same duo.
The bill, which is a replica of last...
READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued proposed amendments to its regulations on allocating unfunded vested benefits to withdrawing employers and notice, collection, and redetermination of withdrawal liability.
The PBGC says that these amendments are needed in order to...
READ MORE
Retirement security has received some much-needed attention in bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate.
The Retirement Security Act of 2019 was introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), with a goal of helping small...
READ MORE
Two key senators reintroduced legislation to provide greater flexibility for small businesses interested in offering SIMPLE plans as an option for saving for retirement.
Introduced Feb. 4 by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA), the SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act (S. 322) would, among...
READ MORE
The Senate Special Committee on Aging in a Feb. 6 hearing, “Financial Security in Retirement: Innovations and Best Practices to Promote Savings,” listened to ideas from a panel of experts on how to increase retirement savings and enhance Americans’ financial readiness to retire.
“As Americans live...
READ MORE
Bills before the Oregon Senate would create a statutory responsibility for employers to indicate that they are exempt from participating in OregonSaves, and a penalty for not participating if they are eligible to do so.
SB 165 would direct employers to indicate on annual state tax withholding...
READ MORE
Much attention rightfully has been placed on the gap between what Americans need in order to finance their retirements, and what they have and/or are projected to amass. But recent studies uncover another gap relevant to retirement security — that between what they should know and what they...
READ MORE
The Oregon State Treasury reports that OregonSaves, the state-run auto-IRA program for private-sector employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan, continues to grow in registrations and assets.
According to the Treasury, the number of employers registered with OregonSaves and the...
READ MORE
Fourth quarter volatility pushed average 401(k) account balances down from earlier record highs, but investors apparently didn’t panic, data from Fidelity Investment indicates.
The firm notes in its quarterly analysis of retirement savings trends that the average 401(k) balance experienced a 10%...
READ MORE
Five years ago, employers were just starting to provide workers with financial benefits beyond their retirement plan, but now financial wellness appears to be firmly entrenched in the benefits space, according to a recent report.
Nearly two-thirds of employers say they are very likely to take...
READ MORE
We have more access — and easier access — to information than at any time in human history. And a good fiduciary can identify which of it will most affect clients and their accounts, argues a recent blog entry.
In “A Fiduciary Must Separate the Wheat from the Hype,” Christopher Carosa argues that...
READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated its Staff Responses to Practitioner Questions webpage to include additional information about guaranteed benefits, reportable events and standard terminations. The page provides a useful look at the PBGC’s take on particular situations...
READ MORE
The “January effect” looks to be in full force for the average 401(k) balance.
That effect is a seasonal increase in stock prices during the month of January, which has been attributed to a number of things, generally a rebound from tax-loss related stock sales in December.
And if December’s...
READ MORE
It’s been said that Millennials, whose influence grows daily, generally don’t like the name their generation has been given. And while much has been written about them, Millennials do share undeniable characteristics — some of which have important implications for the retirement industry.
Speaking...
READ MORE
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richie Neal (D-MA) announced Jan. 30 that the committee will hold a hearing on Feb. 6 on improving retirement security for America’s workers.
It is anticipated that the hearing will be the first of many focusing on retirement security issues, eventually...
READ MORE
The political climate has changed and this necessitates some new approaches, American Retirement Association (ARA) CEO Brian Graff indicated in remarks at a Jan. 28 session at the 2019 30th Anniversary NTSA Summit held in Tampa, FL.
Graff attributed the results of the November 2018 elections not...
READ MORE
A managed account provider and a recordkeeper platform have been sued for conspiring to direct participant savings to expensive, affiliated funds.
Plaintiff Kimberly Davis worked for Palace Entertainment in Greensboro, NC and Riverhead, NY, and participated in its 401(k) retirement plan that...
READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has announced that its mediation program is now permanent. In addition, it reports, it has expanded the program. The PBGC launched a pilot mediation program in October 2017.
The program originally offered mediation with certain termination liability...
READ MORE