John Iekel

PBGC Extends Opinion Letter Pilot Program

By John Iekel 10/5/2020

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has announced that it has extended until Sept. 30, 2021 its pilot program for employers considering establishing a plan. While the PBGC cannot provide coverage determinations for plans that do not yet exist, through the program employers may submit a... READ MORE

PBGC Updates 2018 Pension Insurance Data Tables

By John Iekel 10/2/2020

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated its Pension Insurance Data Tables by providing the third installment of 2018 data concerning its Single-Employer and Multiemployer Programs and the private defined benefit pension system. Highlights of information from this installment... READ MORE

DOL Following PRO Good Guidance Rule

By John Iekel 10/2/2020

Effective Sept. 28, the Department of Labor (DOL) began following the Promoting Regulatory Openness through Good Guidance Rule, a measure that requires that it use guidance appropriately, transparently and in a manner that is accessible to the public. The rule implements Executive Order 13891, “... READ MORE

Opportunity Ripe to Increase Retirement Income Literacy

By John Iekel 9/30/2020

There is much to be done about retirement income literacy, says a recent study that found great lack of understanding about successful planning for a financially secure retirement. In its 2020 Retirement Literacy Survey, says The American College of Financial Services, respondents got an average... READ MORE

IRS Issues Final Rules on Section 3405 Withholding

By John Iekel 9/29/2020

The IRS on Sept. 28 issued final regulations updating the federal income tax withholding rules for certain periodic retirement and annuity payments made after Dec. 31, 2020. TD 9920 affects payors of certain periodic payments, plan administrators that are required to withhold on such payments, and... READ MORE

Washington Update Highlights Proposals, Wins and Likely Waits

By John Iekel 9/28/2020

What does the rest of 2020 portend for retirement plans? The election? American Retirement Association Retirement Education Counsel Robert Richter provided a look ahead, as well as a retrospective of recent months, in a Sept. 23 ASPPA Washington Update webcast. Not Taking Wing Richter said he is... READ MORE

CalSavers Registration Deadline for Large Employers Looms

By John Iekel 9/24/2020

The deadline by which large employers in California are to register with CalSavers—the state-sponsored retirement plan for employees whose employers do not offer a plan—is fast approaching. Employers in the Golden State with 100 or more employees have until Sept. 30 to register. The original... READ MORE

PBGC Issues Guidance on Relief for Variable-Rate Premium Filers

By John Iekel 9/24/2020

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Sept. 23 issued a Technical Update providing guidance on contribution receipts and variable rate premiums due in 2020. Technical Update 20-02 concerns the timing of contribution receipts includable in the asset value used to determine variable-... READ MORE

PBGC Announces Expanded Flexibility for Variable-Rate Premium Filers

By John Iekel 9/23/2020

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has announced that it intends to provide new flexibility for variable-rate premium filers. “This relief will support the Administration’s efforts to continue driving economic recovery and helping those in need,” said PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis... READ MORE

An Auditor’s Perspective on 401(k) Plan Issues

By John Iekel 9/21/2020

Few professionals have a bird’s eye view of 401(k) plans like that of an auditor. One such professional offers his observations regarding issues and concerns 401(k) plans face and need to address. In “401(k) Plan Concerns—from the Auditor Perspective,” Bradley Bartels, a partner at Mann, Urrutia... READ MORE

Where IRAs Stand in Retirement Saving

By John Iekel 9/17/2020

More than one-third of U.S. households had an IRA in mid-2019, says a recent report that looks at the prevalence and nature of IRA ownership in the United States. By the middle of 2019, write Sarah Holden and Daniel Schrass in the recently issued Investment Company Institute (ICI) report, “The... READ MORE

IRS Seeks Comments on Form 5330

By John Iekel 9/17/2020

The IRS has announced that it is seeking comments on the Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans. It is seeking comments from the public and also from federal agencies. Internal Revenue Code Sections 4971, 4972, 4973(a)(3), 4975, 4976, 4977, 4978, 4978A, 4978B, 4979,... READ MORE

PBGC Issues Projections on Multi- and Single-Employer Programs’ Solvency

By John Iekel 9/17/2020

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has good news and bad news. The good news: It projects that its single-employer program will be solvent throughout the entire decade. The bad news: Its multiemployer program could be insolvent by 2026. In its recently released “FY 2019 PBGC... READ MORE

Decline in the Social Security Special Minimum PIA, CRS Says

By John Iekel 9/16/2020

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has updated its report on Social Security minimum benefits, with a focus on the special minimum primary insurance amount (PIA), an alternative benefit formula that increases benefits paid to workers who had low earnings for many years and paid to their... READ MORE

Retirement ‘a Daunting Challenge,’ Report Says

By John Iekel 9/14/2020

In recent years, preparing for retirement has been an increasing burden—and one exacerbated by higher costs, says a recent report. It joins the chorus of those warning that it is hard and harder for people to save, and outlines factors explaining the more difficult climate for preparing for, and... READ MORE

PBGC Amends its Regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans

By John Iekel 9/14/2020

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final rule that amends its regulations on benefits payable in terminated single-employer plans and allocation of assets in single-employer plans. The PBGC has amended the regulations to prescribe certain interest assumptions under the... READ MORE

Aggregate Pension Plan Funding Up in August

By John Iekel 9/11/2020

Estimated aggregate funding of pension plans that Standard & Poors (S&P) 1500 companies sponsor increased by 4% in August, according to a new study. Mercer reports that aggregate funding for those plans rose to 83% in August. They attribute the improvement to an increase in discount... READ MORE

IRS Postpones Excise Tax Due Dates for Minimum Required Contributions Delayed Under the CARES

By John Iekel 9/11/2020

The IRS in Announcement 2020-17 has said that it is postponing until Jan. 15, 2021 the due date for reporting and payment of excise taxes relating to minimum required contributions delayed under Section 3608(a) of the CARES Act. The IRS issued Announcement 2020-17 on Sept. 10. The Jan. 15, 2021... READ MORE

Missed the Restatement Deadline? Remember VCP

By John Iekel 9/10/2020

July 31, 2020 is in the rearview mirror. And for preapproved pension plans and 403(b) plans that was a big day—the date by which those plans were to make their restatements. Jerry Kalish, founder and President of National Benefit Services, Inc., in a recent entry in the Retirement Plan Blog,... READ MORE

CRS Outlines Proposals to Fix Social Security by Raising or Eliminating the Wage Cap

By John Iekel 9/8/2020

Raising or eliminating the cap on wages subject to taxes could reduce the long-range deficit in the Social Security trust funds, says the Congressional Research Service (CRS), in a report it issued on Sept. 2 that outlines proposals that would use those approaches. The report, “Social Security... READ MORE

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