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A plan sponsor who had been sued for allegedly breaching its ERISA fiduciary duties in shifting allocations in a plan’s custom target-date portfolios to “risky and high-cost” investments will have to go back to court.
Suit ‘Able’
The original lawsuit, filed in November 2015 in the U.S. District...
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After a year-long investigation into MetLife for failing to make pension payments to retirees, Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has announced terms of a settlement with the firm.
According to Galvin, his office has entered into a consent order, requiring MetLife to pay a fine of $1...
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A few years back – when my kids were still “kids” – and believed in the reality of Santa Claus – we stumbled across an ingenious website.
This was a website that purported to offer a real-time assessment of one’s “naughty or nice” status.
Now, as Christmas approached, it was not uncommon for us...
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The mid-terms are over and the Democrats are taking back control of the House for the first time since 2010, while the GOP slightly expanded its hold on the Senate majority. Believe it or not, while the talk outside the Beltway has largely focused on the prospects for even more gridlock, the...
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When it comes to advice and support on how to achieve lifetime financial goals, a solid majority of respondents across all generations look to their 401(k) provider as their primary resource, new survey results show.
According to a T. Rowe Price study of current workers, 64% say they rely “a great...
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Amid volatile markets, participant trading picked up in November.
In what was described as a “more typical” month, there were three days (out of 21) of “above normal” trading during November, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index. That was down from the five the previous month, but well...
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After “more than two years of litigation, multiple motions and the review of more than 100,000 pages of documents exchanged in discovery,” the plaintiffs and defendants in an excessive fee suit have come to terms.
The settlement (Schultz v. Edward D. Jones & Co., LP, E.D. Mo., No. 4:16-cv-...
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While some may be dismissive of the notion, new research makes the case that employers should care about their employees’ stress levels if they aren’t already.
Personal finances are a significant cause of stress, which can lead to lost productivity, a diminished ability to save for retirement and...
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ASPPA Connect will not appear on Monday, Dec. 24, as the ASPPA office will be closed. We’ll be back on Wednesday, Dec. 26. We wish you happy holidays — and offer a few little-known facts concerning the holiday season:
The first Christmas card was sent in 1843 and was designed by John Horsley....
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In the waning days of the 115th Congress, the bipartisan duo of Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) unveiled one of the most comprehensive pieces of retirement security legislation proposed in this congressional session.
The 121-page “Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2018,” ...
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Wishing they had done more to prepare for retirement, new research finds that nearly 40% of U.S. retirees are spending more than they expected and are having to cut back on common expenses.
Additionally, slightly less than half (49%) of pre-retired consumers (ages 40+) believe planning for...
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The participant-plaintiffs in a stock drop case have won a rare victory in federal court.
The plaintiffs alleged that the IBM defendants (IBM itself, along with the Retirement Plans Committee of IBM; Richard Carroll, IBM’s Chief Accounting Officer; Martin Schroeter, IBM’s CFO; and Richard Weber,...
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced legislation that would permit 401(k), 403(b) and SIMPLE retirement plans to make matching contributions to workers as if their student loan payments were salary reduction contributions.
Earlier this year the IRS...
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“Cash is king” may not be fully true when it comes to finding the perfect job, as a newly published survey shows that Americans favor workplace benefits over extra salary.
An AICPA survey of 2,026 U.S. adults, among whom 1,115 were employed, suggests that employers need to be ready to show...
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The Garden State is one step closer to becoming the latest to create a state-run employment plan for private-sector employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan. The New Jersey Assembly on Dec. 17 passed a bill that would establish such a system.
In a 52-24 vote, the Assembly approved...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has made its Comprehensive Premium Filing Instructions for 2019 Plan Years available.
The new instructions reflect the 2019 premium rates, as well as minor changes to reflect the PBGC’s streamlined disaster relief policy. They also provide...
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The on-cycle filing deadline for third cycle pre-approved defined contribution plans ends Dec. 31, 2018. The IRS issued a reminder about the upcoming deadline on Dec. 14.
The IRS encourages filers to red line all changes made since the pre-approved second cycle plan document.
The IRS also reminds...
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There are many challenges facing plan sponsors, and in a recent blog entry Christopher Carosa has identified the top challenges of which they are not aware.
Understanding the Extent of Legal Liability
“The eye cannot be on two balls at once,” writes Carosa, noting that most plan sponsors “stay...
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Many argue that retirement plan participation is not where it should be. And some warn that not only is it far below what’s needed, it’s also getting worse. But the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Andrew Biggs is not one of them.
Biggs, a resident scholar at AEI and former principal deputy...
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For all the buzz around financial wellness, a new survey suggests there is a long way to go.
These days there’s not much argument against the premise behind pursuing financial wellness. The notion is that bad financial health contributes to (and/or causes) a bevy of workplace woes: stress, which...
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