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Retirement Income

Beware the Ides of March, the adage goes. This year, at least, they were nothing to fear—private-sector pension plans had a good month, according to recent analyses.  Or rather, another good month, since their March performance is a continuation of the warm winter private-sector DB plans had.... READ MORE
A new study finds that Americans’ “magic number” for retirement has surged to an all-time high, jumping 15% in just a year and a whopping 53% since the onset of the pandemic.  As a result, Americans now believe they will need to save $1.46 million to retire comfortably, up from $1.27 million... READ MORE
A variety of factors slow some individuals’ retirement saving, if not impede it outright—and one of them is student loan debt. A recent NTSA webinar looked at a step some entities pursue that affects those with loans as well as retirement saving—student loan forgiveness.    In a March 27 NTSA... READ MORE
Increasing private-sector retirement plan coverage in a shifting retirement landscape is a major factor behind legislation that would establish Rhode Island Secure Choice, says Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa. The measure would provide retirement plan coverage for private-sector... READ MORE
The digital edition of the Spring 2024 issue of Plan Consultant, ASPPA’s members-only magazine, has been posted online! More than a quarter of the 90-odd SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 provisions are effective this year. Most are optional, but still…In this issue’s cover story, an expert panel—Shannon... READ MORE
Add private-sector employees in Alaska and Wisconsin to those covered by state-run plans if their employers do not offer a retirement plan. Maybe.  That is, if the governments of both states enact bills that would create state-run retirement savings plans for private-sector employees who do not... READ MORE
The Social Security Administration (SSA) on March 29 announced that it is slashing the default overpayment withholding rate for Social Security beneficiaries from 100% to 10% or $10, whichever is greater.  The change went into effect on March 25, 2024. But it applies to new overpayments, not those... READ MORE
Longevity and greater spending are "putting the U.S. retirement system under immense strain," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink wrote in his annual shareholder letter. In the letter, bluntly titled “Time to Rethink Retirement,” Fink argued that capital markets will be critical in addressing what he called... READ MORE
A recent “news” post about a blog post finds some curious “faults” with the 401(k). The news item carried the provocative title “‘Rich Dad’ Robert Kiyosaki Reveals Why the 401(k) Is a ‘Horrible’ Retirement Plan.” It originally ran on GoBankingRates.com, but was subsequently picked up in... READ MORE
It’s the latest iteration of the auto revolution (enrollment, escalation, portability). While not directly related to 401(k)s, an idea for automatic adjustments involves retirement income—specifically, Social Security. Alicia Munnell and William Arnone, two familiar names in retirement plan... READ MORE
Washington is the latest state to run a retirement program that will provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not. On March 27, Pat Sullivan, Executive Director of Legislative Affairs in Inslee’s office, issued an announcement that SB 6069 was among the bills the Gov. Jay... READ MORE
While collective investment trusts (CITs) almost caught mutual funds in 2023 as the most popular target-date vehicle, it appears likely they will overtake mutual funds by the end of 2024.   According to Morningstar’s annual Target-Date Strategy Landscape Report released March 26, CITs—which since... READ MORE
Editor’s Note: This is Part II of a two-part series highlighting some trends involving private-sector pension plans in the early part of 2024. Part I is here. According to the U.S. Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) report Aon released March 20, there was a surge in PRT activity in the fourth quarter of... READ MORE
The Georgia Senate may create a committee to study the creation of Peach State Saves, a retirement saving program.  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) on March 20 introduced in the state senate SR 807, a resolution that would create the Senate Peach State Saves... READ MORE
Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a two-part series highlighting some trends involving private-sector pension plans in the early part of 2024.  The winter doldrums were anything but this year, at least as far as pension funds are concerned. At the very least, regarding funding, shedding liabilities... READ MORE
The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is advocating for passage of a law that would make it more likely that the pension of a public employee continues to pay out until the surviving spouse dies. The association’s House of Delegates on Jan. 19 approved a recommendation from its Trusts and... READ MORE
A new report by a collaborative of industry stakeholders suggests that low-cost, plan-design solutions to nudge participants to avoid early withdrawals could make a significant dent in the racial and gender retirement savings gap. The report also observes, however, that more study is needed to... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated a variety of interest rates used in determining the value of benefits, premiums, and penalties.  Variable Rate Premiums  The PBGC has adjusted the interest rates used in determining the value of vested benefits for purposes of variable... READ MORE
If bills before both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature are enacted, America’s Dairyland will have a retirement plan marketplace to connect individuals and small employers with retirement plans offered by private financial services firms. ​ Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) introduced SB 1035 in... READ MORE
An interesting—and somewhat counterintuitive—report came out last week, one that cast doubt on the “common wisdom” regarding Roth versus traditional pre-tax savings. The assumption underlying the research[1] was that those who had not yet paid taxes on their savings (the traditional pre-tax... READ MORE

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