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Defined Contribution Plans

What's in the episode? Defined contribution plans, and 401(k)s specifically, are increasingly under attack, criticized by think tanks and academics for perceived (yet easily refuted) flaws. What—and who—is behind the effort? Are the criticisms resonating and why are they happening now? Does the... READ MORE
The Illinois Senate may vote soon on a bill that would require school districts in the Land of Lincoln that offer their employees a 403(b) plan to enter into a contract with only one vendor in the plan. On Feb. 14, 2024, Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) introduced language for SB2568 stating... READ MORE
Harkening back to the early days of the administration, President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget, once again, proposes significant tax increases on corporations and upper-income taxpayers, including a proposal to limit how much taxpayers are allowed to accumulate in their retirement plans. ... READ MORE
I’m not sure how old I was when I first saw “Night of the Living Dead”—but I have long been intrigued by stories of a zombie apocalypse—where mindless beings inexplicably rise from the dead, with no memory of their past, just a relentless (and apparently insatiable) hunger for…well, “us.” That is... READ MORE
It wasn’t high costs or 401(k)s—necessarily—that ended the corporate pension plan’s reign, but rather ERISA itself. A recent paper from John Langbein, Yale Law School’s Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law and Legal History, argued that the 1974 landmark law’s structure made defined benefit (DB)... READ MORE
[Updated: On Friday morning, the House passed H.R. 2799, Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2023, the larger bill that included the CITs in 403(b)s amendment, on a party line vote of 212 - 205. The bill will now go to the Senate. A quote from ARA CEO Brian Graff is added below.] On March 7, the... READ MORE
The ink was barely dry on the denial of a motion to dismiss the suit, when American Airlines filed a motion of summary judgment, claiming that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the [movant] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Where We’ve Been Participant-plaintiff (... READ MORE
What's in the episode? ‘Retirement provocateur’ Kathleen Kennedy Townsend played an instrumental role in the debate over retirement issues, resulting in significant policy ideas. A founder of the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives, the 40-year political veteran and former... READ MORE
Familiar 401(k) critic Teresa Ghilarducci testified before Congress on Feb. 28, claiming America’s retirement system is “severely broken” and seniors must either “work or rely on the kindness of strangers to dodge the increasing risk of elder poverty." Ghilarducci, a professor at the New School... READ MORE
Just as Congress gets ready to debate whether there is a “retirement crisis,” new survey results from an organization supportive of restoring defined benefit plans finds that Americans are increasingly worried about retirement.  According to the survey results from the National Institute on... READ MORE
Congress’ watchdog agency apparently thinks so. That was one of the recommendations in a newly released report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  A “pension dashboard” could be useful in the United States to help participants track their retirement savings when they change jobs, but... READ MORE
Editor’s Note: This is part I of a two-part series. It’s not unusual for older generations to look askance at their younger counterparts and dismiss them with a harumph at the thought that one day they will come to the fore. But some recent data suggests that in the case of the youngest... READ MORE
Amid the recent attacks on the 401(k) savings system, the key Senate committee with jurisdiction over ERISA plans to hold a hearing next week to examine what it describes as “confronting the retirement crisis facing working class Americans.” The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP... READ MORE
Georgia may join sister states in establishing a state-run retirement plan to provide coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not, if a measure now before the Senate is enacted.  Sen. Chuck Hufstetler (R-52) introduced SB 477 on Feb. 9, 2024. It calls for the creation of the Peach... READ MORE
On Feb. 7, House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) introduced a bill to establish a federal auto-IRA for employers with more than 10 employees who do not currently sponsor a retirement plan.  The Automatic IRA Act of 2024 would require employees to be automatically... READ MORE
Recently, an article in an industry publication led with the title “401(k) experiment has failed, fueled U.S. retirement crisis, labor economist says.” In what I am sure generated a fair number of “clicks” that turned out to be the pronouncement of none other than Professor Teresa Ghilarducci,... READ MORE
The American Retirement Association (ARA) is calling on the IRS to revise several provisions contained in the proposed long-term, part-time employee (LTPTE) rules for 401(k) plans.  Chief among the ARA’s recommendations is for the IRS to revise the proposed rule regarding vesting service to... READ MORE
Loans to pay for an education: an investment in the future, but also a drag on it. Research and recent insights suggest that while loans help fund steps intended to improve one’s position, in some ways they can threaten future security by affecting retirement saving. It’s a debt whose effects... READ MORE
The IRS has made the 2023 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements for Defined Contribution Qualified Pre-Approved Plans available. The new list, contained in Notice 2024-3, provides updated listings of required modifications and information packages for DC plans.  The 2023... READ MORE
There have been significant changes to the IRS Pre-Approved Defined Contribution Plan Program, and two of the IRS officials involved in the thick of it recently provided a refresher on the program rules and recent developments.  Milo Atlas of the Retirement Plan Forms and Publications Office at... READ MORE

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