Collective investment trusts (CITs) are a greater focus of attention and activity in the wake of SECURE 2.0, as a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report highlights.  In “Pensions and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Investment Issues,” the CRS provides an overview of pension... READ MORE

The Treasury Department, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have announced that they are extending the period during which they will accept comments on the effectiveness of existing reporting and disclosure... READ MORE

If bills before both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature are enacted, America’s Dairyland will have a retirement plan marketplace to connect individuals and small employers with retirement plans offered by private financial services firms. ​ Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) introduced SB 1035 in... READ MORE

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Director Gordon Hartogensis defended PBGC actions and said that it is “providing crucial pension relief” in a March 20 appearance before the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. The subcommittee, part of the House Education and... READ MORE

Add the Evergreen State to those that provide retirement plan coverage for private-sector employees whose employers do not. Well, soon.  Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) introduced SB 6069, the measure creating Washington Saves, on Jan. 9, 2024. The Senate passed it on Feb. 12; the House initially... READ MORE

It is now possible to offer plan participants in 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans the option to treat employer contributions as Roth contributions, under the SECURE 2.0 Act.  More precisely, it is Section 604 of the SECURE 2.0 Act that allows plan participants to elect to have any fully vested... READ MORE

A bill currently before the Georgia legislature would affect the exercise of fiduciary duty regarding the investment of retirement plan assets. The legislation includes a provision that would require a fiduciary to put the interests of participants and their beneficiaries ahead of “nonpecuniary... READ MORE

Greater longevity than in the past is a good thing, as is concurrent big-picture improvement in finances. But periodic economic challenges do take place, which can spell trouble—especially for retirees who did not save enough.  A substantial majority of retirees in a study by Clever Real Estate—68... 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