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John Iekel
By John Iekel | 5/4/2021
Technology serves, and it also drives change. A recent webinar by NAPA sister organization the National Tax-deferred Savings Association (NTSA) focused on the ways technology is changing the industry and the new environment it is creating for financial professionals.
“We’re told that this is a...
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By John Iekel | 4/26/2021
A session at last week’s Plan Sponsor Council of America 2021 National Conference addressed engaging with clients in an increasingly virtual world.
The session featured the insights of Sheri Fitts, CEO and founder of Sheri Fitts & Co., and Marita Yancey, Senior Benefits Director of...
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By John Iekel | 4/23/2021
Panelists at an April 19 session of the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s 2021 National Conference took a look at the pandemic’s impact on retirement plans and participants.
The panel included Bradley Bonno, Director of Financial and Retirement Education Services for PNC Institutional Asset...
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By John Iekel | 4/14/2021
The DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration issued guidance April 14 on cybersecurity best practices for recordkeepers, plan sponsors and fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries.
EBSA has issued regulations on electronic records and disclosures to plan participants and beneficiaries in...
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By John Iekel | 4/7/2021
The IRS Tax-Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Office has updated its compliance program. That includes compliance strategy initiatives that affect some retirement plans.
In their fiscal year 2021 program letter, TE/GE Commissioner Tammy Ripperda and Deputy Commissioner Edward Killen write...
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By John Iekel | 3/30/2021
The IRS is delaying the deadline by which 2020 contributions to IRAs and Roth IRAs must be made until May 17, 2021. The terms of the delay are specified in IRS Notice 2021-21, issued March 29.
The IRS took the action in light of the March 13, 2020 emergency declaration issued by President Trump...
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By John Iekel | 3/24/2021
Proliferation of technological applications and the need to increase retirement plan participation and savings. Seems like a match made in heaven. A panel of experts recently discussed how that pairing is faring and how it can function better.
In Better Technology, Better Retirement Savings: Why...
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By John Iekel | 3/16/2021
The Government Accountability Office has added its voice to those that highlight the critical importance of cybersecurity, but they go one better. In a new report, they call on the Department of Labor to set minimum standards for mitigating cybersecurity risks and to formally state whether it is a...
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By John Iekel | 3/9/2021
The pandemic’s ill effects go beyond the obvious and literal, and include its impact on employment—which can affect retirement readiness. A recent study finds that the pandemic is pushing many faculty members at institutions of higher learning to consider retiring early, which would have an effect...
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By John Iekel | 3/3/2021
Three states have programs up and running to make retirement plan coverage available to those whose employers do not offer it. So where do they stand? A recent report provides a look.
The Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in a Monthly...
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By John Iekel | 3/2/2021
Virginia appears to be poised to become the next state to offer a state-run retirement plan for employees whose employers do not offer one. Legislation that would create one in the Old Dominion is headed for the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has indicated that he will sign it into law.
The...
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By John Iekel | 3/2/2021
Nine independent TPAs have formed a new partnership, the Cerrado Group. The 501(c)6 consortium made the announcement on March 1.
According to the partnership’s website, the Cerrado Group was established to offer “a new approach” to retirement plan design, reporting, compliance and administration...
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By John Iekel | 3/1/2021
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on Feb. 26 issued guidance on the duration of the COVID-19-related relief provided by Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 and a joint notice, the Notice of Extension of Certain Timeframes for Employee Benefit Plans,...
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By John Iekel | 2/19/2021
The Oklahoma legislature is considering a measure that would make the Sooner State one of the next to provide a state-run retirement plan for employees whose employers do not offer a plan.
The Oklahoma Prosperity Act was introduced in both chambers on Feb. 1. The House of Representatives version...
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By John Iekel | 2/17/2021
The IRS has confirmed that no action is needed on recent 2019 Form 5500 extension letters. The confirmation came in the Feb. 17 edition of the IRS newsletter, Employee Plans News.
This confirmation is consistent with the Feb. 11 report by Kelsey Mayo, American Retirement Association’s Director of...
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By John Iekel | 2/12/2021
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration has confirmed that the Trump administration’s “Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees” Prohibited Transaction Exemption for investment advice fiduciaries will go into effect as scheduled on Feb. 16, 2021. ...
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By John Iekel | 2/3/2021
How do third party administrators and pooled employer plans interact? A recent webcast took a deep dive into the question.
In the ASPPA-produced “TPAs and PEPs: Structure and Service Options,” the American Retirement Association’s Jake Linney addressed the services a TPA can provide to a PEP, the...
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By John Iekel | 1/21/2021
As 2020 ended, Illinois Secure Choice—the state-run retirement program for private-sector employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan—had growing assets and an opt-out rate that was roughly steady. These results are similar to those the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board reported ...
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By John Iekel | 1/11/2021
CalSavers, the state-run retirement program for employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan, grew in the fourth quarter of 2020 while and the opt-out rate held steady, according to the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board.
Growth
The board reports growth in registrations, accounts and...
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By John Iekel | 12/14/2020
Employee opt-outs from the CalSavers and Illinois Secure Choice retirement programs for employees whose employers do not offer a retirement plan were down as of the end of November.
Both plans allow employees to opt out of participating if they choose to do so. In both states, the opt-out rates...
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