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Noting its concern “that the growing emphasis on ESG investing may be prompting ERISA plan fiduciaries to make investment decisions for purposes distinct from providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan,” the Labor Department has...
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The IRS announced on June 23 that it is further extending some compliance deadlines for parts of the South that were affected by storms in April.
Specifically, the relief gives victims of tornadoes, severe storms and flooding that took place in April in parts of Mississippi, South Carolina and...
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For those who want to take advantage of the waiver provisions under the CARES Act, new guidance from the IRS extends the rollback period for required minimum distributions already taken in 2020.
The guidance also includes a series of FAQs and provides plans with transition relief and sample...
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Summer is here, and part of the heat this year is compliance-related. Here are some deadlines to keep in mind:
July 15, 2020
Date by which, under Notice 2020-23 and 2020-32, certain actions that were due to be performed on or after March 30, 2020, and before July 15, 2020 can be performed...
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Building a practice is always an important concern. But when a circumstance such as that with which retirement plan professionals must contend this year—namely, a pandemic—intervenes, that effort becomes more complicated.
In a June 17 webinar, NTSA Past President Tamara Indianer, CFP®, AIF®, CRES...
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Tech Talk addresses the types of contributions that can be made to 403(b) accounts.
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This Father’s Day, I’ve been thinking about my dad, the life he led, the choices he made, and the legacy he left behind.
I’m not talking about money. In fact, I didn’t learn anything about finance from my dad—he avoided big purchases with the fervor of Ebenezer Scrooge, though he’d spend that...
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In MarketBeat, Jack Towarnicky notes that most employees’ objectives in HSA participation focus on current year needs and spending, but that that risks severely underutilizing the HSA’s asset accumulation potential.
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The IRS has announced that it is extending relief to plan participants whose spouses are laid off and that take COVID-related distributions or loans from their retirement accounts, as well as new safe harbors for loan repayments.
In Notice 2020-50, issued on June 19, the IRS expands the categories...
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The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) should make improvements concerning the consumer price index (CPI), says the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In “RETIREMENT SECURITY: BLS Should Explore Ways to Improve the Accuracy, Timeliness, and Relevance of Its Cost-of-Living...
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Some employers are responding to pandemic-related economic stresses by suspending employer contributions to employees’ retirement plans and accounts. A recent blog entry notes that some employers are thinking about suspending required employee contributions and asks whether automatic enrollment may...
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Plan administration can be overwhelming to an employer. There are many moving parts to the day-to-day administration of a 403(b) plan. Here are some basic rules to follow:
Follow the terms of the plan. Employers must operate their 403(b) plans according to their written programs or the plans...
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In Part II of the 13th Series of the NTSA WOWcasts, NTSA Past President Randy Aranowitz interviews 2015 Elite Advisor Kathy Cawley, President of the Voyager Group, Ltd. They discuss Cawley’s business model operations, tax service and self-publishing.
In Part I, NTSA Past President Randy Aranowitz...
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Not all 403(b) plans must file the Form 5500—but 403(b) plans that are covered by ERISA do. The deadline for calendar year 403(b) plans that are covered by ERISA is July 31—visible on the horizon. And one of the statistics that must be reported on the Form 5500 is the number of participants.
There...
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Some Form 5500 filers received relief in April, but not all. And the July 31 Form 5500 deadline looms for calendar-year plans—pandemic or no pandemic. And that includes 403(b) plans covered by ERISA.
IRS Notice 2020-23 granted extensions to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, exempt...
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In the midst of historic market volatility, a new survey of retirement plan sponsors and retirement plan advisors reveals gaps in focus—and perception—about the role of fixed income investments in a fully diversified 401(k) menu.
The new survey—sponsored by Janus Henderson Investors, conducted...
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In a June 10 NTSA Webcast, “A Tech-Driven Approach to Advice,” Tom Lakatos, VP—Branch Development, Lincoln Investment, discussed how to integrate technology into a practice in such a way that increasing efficiency does not come at the expense of effectiveness.
Setting the Table
“There’s a...
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An annual fee study evaluating trends in the cost of U.S. open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finds that the asset-weighted average expense ratio dropped to 0.45% in 2019.
Morningstar’s 2019 U.S. Fund Fee Study released June 8 found that the asset-weighted average expense...
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How about a little good news? In MarketBeat, John Iekel discusses a recent analysis that offers insights on retirement savings since 1989 and prospects for the future that bode well.
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Tech Talk addresses whether distributions can be made from a 403(b) to cover expenses related to an adoption or the birth of a child.
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Recent Comments
Does the roth requirement for catch-up contributions for people who earned $145,000 apply to 457...
Hi Ed,
I really liked this article and I think you make a lot of sense. And I had no...
I believe there's a misstatement in that last quote - it should refer to governmental and...
Working with several medical providers as clients, I note that the high-end earners tend to push...
Congratulations to NTSAA for landing a good one. Nathan's breadth of experience and...