At a recent event in Washington, SEC Commissioner Kara Stein provided her take on retirement readiness in the United States and what she thinks can be done to improve it.In a conversation with the Brookings Institution, Stein painted a sobering picture. “Although everyone’s ideal retirement might... READ MORE

The Oregon State Treasury has announced that OregonSaves, the state-run auto-IRA program for private-sector workers, has been expanded to allow individual Oregonians, such as self-employed or gig economy workers, to join the program.Under the expansion, certain individuals can choose from a simple... READ MORE

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should — a premise at the heart of an Oct. 24 session at the 2018 ASPPA Annual Conference that argued for caution in plan design changes, including student loan assistance programs.Plan designs can cause difficulties for administrators, employers and third... READ MORE

Regulatory and legislative changes in the coming months will be spurred by President Trump’s Aug. 31 executive order and several retirement reform bills in Congress, in the view of the American Retirement Association’s Government Affairs staff.In the regulatory realm, in fact, the action will begin... READ MORE

In his most recent blog post about best practices, ERISA attorney Fred Reish explores retirement income projections as a way to better serve plan participants.Reish explains why he includes retirement income projections among the best practices he suggests for plan sponsors. “Best practices are not... READ MORE

The IRS announced Oct. 12 that it has granted tax relief to certain victims of Hurricane Michael in Florida. The IRS action includes relief from penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after Oct. 7, 2018, and before Oct. 22, 2018, which it says will be abated as long as the deposits... READ MORE

On Oct. 5, 2018, the American Retirement Association (ARA) filed a comment letter with Carol Weiser, Acting Benefits Tax Counsel at the Treasury Department, with recommendations on the implementation of updates to life expectancy and distribution period tables for purposes of the required minimum... READ MORE

The IRS has granted a variety of forms of relief for victims of Hurricane Florence. The relief is for individuals as well as businesses, and includes requirements related to compensation.As of Sept. 17, individuals who reside or have a business may qualify for tax relief in the following North... READ MORE

The Keystone State’s two largest public pension systems — the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and the School Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) — are under scrutiny concerning their finances.Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced Aug. 23 that he will review PERS and... READ MORE