Advertisement
COVID-19
In a year in which uncertainty and confusion reigned supreme, almost overnight our industry packed up and went home one night and opened up for business the next day from… what seemed a zillion different locations.
Most doubtless did so anticipating a short disruption—a couple of weeks, a month...
READ MORE
Traditional defined benefit plans ended 2020 modestly in the black, after spending most of the year underwater. The story has been a significant decline in interest rates (about 75 basis points) and an increase in liabilities (11%-15%, depending on duration), offset by an increase in asset values—...
READ MORE
Reactions to COVID-19 and the impact on consumer confidence is prompting many consumers to reassess their retirement and financial plans.
A majority of today’s workers and retirees range from feeling cautious to pessimistic about the economic outlook for 2021, according to the Principal Financial...
READ MORE
The pandemic has prompted a high number of Americans to take money out of their retirement accounts, according to a recent study.
How high? Kiplinger and Personal Capital report that they found in their recent study that 60% of Americans have borrowed or withdrawn funds from their 401(k) or IRA...
READ MORE
Sometimes it’s best not to pick a fight with Congress, because the lawmakers will likely have the final say. Such is the case with respect to the deductibility of eligible expenses under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The Treasury Department and the IRS on Jan. 6 issued guidance...
READ MORE
There is a lot to unpack in the recently passed COVID relief legislation, but the most significant element for plan sponsors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may well be the “temporary rule preventing partial plan termination.” Here’s what it means for you—and your plan sponsor clients.
What is a...
READ MORE
Division N – COVID-Related Tax Relief
Sec. 276. – Clarification of tax treatment of forgiveness of covered loans. The provision clarifies that gross income does not include any amount that would otherwise arise from the forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. This provision also...
READ MORE
It’s hard to find among the nearly 5,600 pages of text, but there is some important retirement plan relief in the $900 billion COVID stimulus package.
Perhaps the most significant element is a “temporary rule preventing partial plan termination.” The provision, for which the American Retirement...
READ MORE
The year 2020 provided unique circumstances. Among them are employers that are not paying bonuses this year but whose employees nonetheless have been logging overtime. A recent blog entry examines whether such a scenario has consequences for the employer’s retirement plan.
In “Overtime Is Up...
READ MORE
The chances that bipartisan retirement security legislation could be acted on next year got a boost, as the American Retirement Association and witnesses at a Senate hearing urged Congress to act to help Americans save more for retirement.
Expanding the start-up credit for small businesses,...
READ MORE
The IRS on Dec. 9 issued guidance that addresses certain provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE) Act Provisions that increase the automatic enrollment cap percentage and affect safe harbor plans, including safe harbor 401(k) plans and certain 403...
READ MORE
There have been numerous reports about companies suspending matching contributions—but how does that compare with the 2008-09 financial crisis?
As it turns out, in contrast to the response during the 2008-09 financial crisis, more than 90% of employers will still make their retirement plan...
READ MORE
Congress faces a government funding deadline, while a bipartisan group of lawmakers push for emergency COVID-19 relief, but it’s not clear whether there will be an opening for retirement relief.
Time is running short, as Congress is facing a Dec. 11 deadline to approve either a catch-all funding...
READ MORE
As the pandemic shifts caregiving responsibilities, Millennials and women are increasingly among those “sandwiched,” and will likely feel the financial ramifications for many years, according to a new paper.
Defined as those who care for both their children and aging parents, the Sandwich...
READ MORE
The importance of information technology, which had already been growing, is in even sharper relief with the challenges businesses face this year. In an ASPPA All Access session, industry experts offered ideas and insights concerning IT and how it figures in business operations and decision makers...
READ MORE
The sudden rise and spread of COVID-19 wreaked havoc with plan administration—including communication with plan participants concerning the plan and changes to it.
In “Communicating Retirement Plan Changes During COVID-19,” an entry in Cammack Retirement’s Insights blog, Joey Payne discusses the...
READ MORE
Thanksgiving has been called a “uniquely American” holiday—and so, even in a year in which there has been an unprecedented amount of disruption, stress, discomfort and loss—there remains so much for which to be thankful.
I’m thankful that so many employers (still) voluntarily choose to offer a...
READ MORE
The IRS has announced in Notice 2020-82 that it has extended the deadline by which contributions to a single-employer pension plan can be made under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. The IRS issued Notice 2020-82 on Nov. 16.
The deadline for contributions under...
READ MORE
In a Nov. 11 webinar, American Retirement Association Director of Legislative Affairs Andrew Remo took at look at where current legislative proposals stand in the wake of the elections.
Currently, Congress is in a “lame duck” session, the period between the election and the end of the 116th...
READ MORE
The current climate of sharply increased online and virtual activity courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic brings into sharper relief the need to be vigilant and put controls in place to head off fraud. An Oct. 27 session of ASPPA All Access took a look at the problem and what can be done.
“In some...
READ MORE