John Iekel
By John Iekel 6/10/2021
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) should strengthen its acquisition planning in order to better support its actuarial support services, says the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in a recent report. The PBGC’s Actuarial Services and Technology Department (ASTD) relies on actuarial...
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By John Iekel 6/9/2021
Private-sector defined benefit plans captured the beauty of spring in May, suggests a recent report.
The investment consulting firm NEPC, which measures the performance of two hypothetical plans—a total-return plan and an LDI-focused plan—reported “modest improvement in funded status” in May....
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By John Iekel 6/8/2021
The next deadline for registration with CalSavers, the state-run retirement plan for employees whose employers don’t offer one, is coming soon. Employers with 51-100 employers that do not offer a plan have until June 30 to register.
CalSavers was launched on July 1, 2019. Employers in California...
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By John Iekel 6/7/2021
Traditional approaches to finance and investment have had their day, said experts in a recent PSCA webinar, arguing that behavioral finance has changed the equation.
In “Investment Menu Design that Improves Retirement Readiness,” Matthew Gnabasik, Connie Mulligan and Neal Smith suggest that new...
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By John Iekel 6/2/2021
The Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SSRA)—a.k.a. SECURE 2.0—is wending its way through Capitol Hill. The measure contains a wide range of provisions that would affect retirement saving, plans and participants. A recent Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) webinar zeroed in on some key...
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By John Iekel 6/2/2021
A measure that would expand the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program, the state-run retirement plan for workers whose employers do not offer one, awaits the signature of Gov. J. B. Pritzker (D).
Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) introduced H.B. 0117 in the House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021...
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By John Iekel 6/1/2021
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series about the guidance the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued on April 14 concerning cybersecurity. The first is here; the second is here; the third is here; the fourth is here.
The Department of Labor’s Employee...
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By John Iekel 5/27/2021
Benchmarking investment fees is an important function. In fact, it’s more than that—it’s critical to fulfilling fiduciary duty. But “essential” does not translate to “easy,” and there are some common pitfalls in performing that function.
In the CAPTRUST blog entry “Understanding and Evaluating...
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By John Iekel 5/26/2021
Sometimes too much of a good thing is…too much. And that’s the case when a participant is overpaid. A recent blog entry discusses the importance of having a process for recovering those overpayments.
In “Recovering Retirement Plan Overpayments: Process Is Key,” Eric Gregory, an Employee Benefits...
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By John Iekel 5/26/2021
The IRS has issued an updated version of Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). The new version is to be used in preparing 2020 returns.
There are many new features for 2020 reporting.
Coronavirus-Related Distributions. Recent legislation contains...
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By John Iekel 5/24/2021
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a four-part series concerning a recent ASPPA webinar by Kelsey Mayo, ASEA Director of Regulatory Policy and Partner at Poyner & Spruill LLP, in which she took a look at the basics about plan freezes and terminations in the context of current circumstances and...
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By John Iekel 5/24/2021
An increasing number of workers are at least considering changing the timing of retirement, and concern among younger workers over retirement risks in also up, says a recent study.
Delays, Delays
In “Financial Perspectives on Aging and Retirement Across the Generations” the Society of Actuaries...
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By John Iekel 5/20/2021
Decumulation—spending down retirement savings—is, of course, ultimately the end result of a lifetime of saving for retirement. But how that is done can be an issue; a recent blog entry argues that education and how automatic features are used are key to responsible withdrawals.
In “Withdrawing...
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By John Iekel 5/19/2021
Mistakes in complying with reporting requirements happen; they may even be all but inevitable. And when they do take place, corrective amendments are a way to fix those errors. A recent ASPPA webinar took a look at some of them.
“Plan document failures are always considered significant,”...
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By John Iekel 5/19/2021
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series about the guidance the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued on April 14 concerning cybersecurity. The first is here; the second is here; the third is here.
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security...
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By John Iekel 5/14/2021
April showered growth on private-sector pension funding, according to two recent reports.
Willis Towers Watson, in its Pension Index that gauges the performance of a hypothetical benchmark pension plan, says that its index rose in April, continuing a now nine-month trend, including the previous...
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By John Iekel 5/10/2021
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, enacted on March 11, is a comprehensive measure touching many sectors of the economy—including the retirement sector. A recent ASEA webcast took a look at some of the provisions of the new law that affect defined benefit plans.
Karen Smith, MSPA, President of...
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By John Iekel 5/10/2021
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series about the guidance the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued on April 14 concerning cybersecurity. The first is here; the second is here.
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA...
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By John Iekel 5/10/2021
Technology serves, and it also drives change. A recent NTSA webinar focused on the ways technology is changing the industry and the new environment it is creating for financial professionals.
“We’re told that this is a contact sport,” said presenter Toni E. Whaley, a financial planner with...
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By John Iekel 5/10/2021
The IRS has announced the health savings account (HSA) limits for 2022. The announcement came in IRS Revenue Procedure 2021-25.
HSA Limits
For calendar year 2022, the annual limitation on deductions under Internal Revenue Code Section 223(b)(2)(A) for an individual with self-only coverage under...
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