Most employees who work for large and mid-sized employers have the opportunity to defer money from their paychecks into a savings-based retirement plan. That is not the case with many small employers, though, where large...more
The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included SECURE Act 2.0, on December 29, 2022.
SECURE Act 2.0 has over 90 provisions, some major and some minor; some mandatory and some optional; some...more
The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included SECURE Act 2.0, on December 29, 2022.
SECURE Act 2.0 has over 90 provisions, some major and some minor; some mandatory and some optional; some...more
5/8/2023
/ 401k ,
Biden Administration ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits
Starting with tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, a small employer can take advantage of significant tax credits under SECURE Act 2.0 (the “Act”) for establishing a new retirement plan. Under the Act, the tax...more
The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included SECURE Act 2.0, on December 29, 2022.
SECURE Act 2.0 has over 90 provisions, some major and some minor; some mandatory and some optional; some...more
Prior to the SECURE Act 2.0 the only financial incentive for a participant to make a deferral was a matching contribution.
However, the new law permits “de minimus” non-cash incentives for beginning participation or...more
The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included SECURE Act 2.0, on December 29, 2022—the “enactment date”.
SECURE Act 2.0 has over 90 provisions, some major and some minor. One of the most...more
The Department of Labor considers a rollover recommendation to be a recommendation to liquidate the investments in a participant’s 401(k) account or to transfer (and change) securities.
In addition, as explained in...more
The Department of Labor’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption and Its Impact on Recommendations to Plans, Participants and IRAs (Part 6) -
On February 16, 2021, the DOL’s prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2020-02 became...more
3/17/2021
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Late last year, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 (SECURE 2.0), a bipartisan legislative proposal that...more
The CARES Act includes a provision that can help participants who are affected by the coronavirus (qualified individuals*) by permitting them to take a special coronavirus-related distribution (CRD) this year. As a financial...more
On June 15, SEC Chairman Clayton issued a statement partially entitled: “Need for Increased Care when Recommending 401(k)/IRA Rollovers and Withdrawals . . .”. As that title suggests, the Chairman’s statement covers areas...more
6/18/2020
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Withdrawal
This post outlines CARES Act provisions that affect your plan sponsor clients, plan participants and IRA clients, so you can help them navigate the new rules. This post addresses the rules on required minimum distributions...more
Waiver of Required Minimum Distributions -
This is the third in our series of articles on special CARES Act provisions designed to help your 401(k) participants. In our prior articles, we discussed the temporary loan...more
Our first article discussed CARES Act provisions designed to help your 401(k) participants with temporary loan enhancements. Here we discuss a second provision of the Act that can help participants who are affected by the...more
The Enhanced Loan Provision for Qualified Participants -
With the spread of the coronavirus and the resulting closures and cutbacks, many 401(k) participants are working reduced hours, but are not considered to be...more
The Coronavirus pandemic is disrupting everyone’s personal and financial lives. While our health, and that of our families and friends, is paramount, we realize that the sudden and large investment losses in the 401(k) plans...more
The introduction to my last two posts, SECURE Act Part 1 and SECURE Act Part 2, explained:
There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on my clients: plan sponsors and plan service...more
1/24/2020
/ 401k ,
Financial Guarantee Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Products ,
Plan Administrators ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
The introduction to my last post, SECURE Act Part 1, explained:
There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on my clients: plan sponsors and plan service providers. The first includes...more
1/15/2020
/ 401k ,
Annuities ,
Guaranteed Payments ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
There are two parts of the SECURE Act that I believe will have the greatest impact on plan sponsors and service providers.
• The first part includes the provisions on retirement income, including the safe harbor for...more
1/8/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
New Legislation ,
Pooled Registration Pension Plans ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
The SEC has issued its final Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), Form CRS Rule, RIA Interpretation and Solely Incidental Interpretation. I am discussing the SEC’s guidance in a series of articles entitled “Best Interest...more
10/30/2019
/ 401k ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Care
Lessons Learned from Litigation (#4)—The Johns Hopkins Case -
This is the twelfth in a series of articles about Best Practices for Plan Sponsors. To be clear, “best practices” are not the same as legal requirements....more
This is the tenth in a series of articles about Best Practices for Plan Sponsors.
To be clear, “best practices” are not the same as legal requirements. Instead, they are about better ways to manage retirement plans. In...more
By now you have probably seen a number of articles about the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019) and its safe harbor for guaranteed retirement income in 401(k) plans. Some have...more
The DOL’s newly released final regulation on “Association Retirement Plans” (ARPs) will make it easier for groups and associations of employers to jointly sponsor a combined 401(k) or other defined contribution plan. (These...more