Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Communicating complicated employee benefit provisions is not easy. Explaining everything in a way that the average plan participant will understand just may not be possible. Different communication channels for different groups likely will have to be used; one size does not fit all. Let’s hope the DOL recognizes this.
Remaining informed and aware of investing trends is one of the many duties that come with being an employer plan sponsor or serving on a plan’s investment committee. As average fund fees continue their slide from investors seeking lower-cost funds and price wars among some providers, it’s useful to understand what’s behind this trend. At […]
The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) in 2012 created a participant and plan sponsor advocate for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) whose role is to “act as a liaison between the corporation, sponsors of defined benefit pension plans insured by the corporation, and participants in pension plans trusteed by the corporation.”
Federal government enforcement lawsuits brought by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)—including those centered on Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violations—continued at an aggressive pace in 2016 but were less effective in terms of number of filings and recoveries when compared with previous years, according to annual report on workplace class action litigation.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed to shift the definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) to employer-sponsored retirement plans to apply at account allocation, not at the initial plan contribution stage.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to expand its existing Missing Participants Program to cover terminated 401(k) plans and most other defined contribution plans, as well as certain defined benefit plans that aren’t currently covered by the program.
A recent survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Nationwide found that 29% of SMBs with less than 300 employees who offer 401(k) retirement plans and plan to increase contributions say that they are doing so because the ACA has made health benefits less attractive to employees. Additionally, 43% of SMBs who plan […]
After decades of job hopping—by necessity or design—some people have accumulated several retirement accounts, making it a confusing chore to keep track of what’s happening with their money.
By Arris Reddick Murphy, FedEx Corp. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) much-discussed final rule on overtime pay announced in May focuses primarily on updating the salary and compensation levels needed for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) workers to be classified as exempt. But it may have implications for some of these workers’ 401(k) retirement […]
Education is often the best antidote to negative news about 401(k) plans. With this in mind, several retirement industry spokesmen have provided statistics to defend retirement plan management practices after the recent airing of a TV documentary that may have concerned some 401(k) participants. The U.S. retirement investment community was quick to react to the […]