News Archive

The recent White House budget proposal sets aside $6.5 million in funding for the Department of Labor, along with waiver authority, to support state efforts to implement state-based automatic enrollment IRAs or 401(k)-type programs.Currently more than a dozen state legislatures are actively... READ MORE

Add Washington to the list of states that are considering legislation affecting the marketplace for private retirement plan products. Washington State Rep. Larry Springer (D-Kirkland) has introduced a bill to create a “small business retirement plan marketplace” with the goal of “removing barriers... READ MORE

Both houses of the New Jersey legislature have now approved a bill that forbids investing New Jersey public employee pension funds in firms with investment managers that make donations to national political groups.Contracts between the New Jersey Division of Investment and firms and investment... READ MORE

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) suffered a setback Feb. 23 in his plan to reduce the state’s contributions to the state pension system. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said that the plan is unconstitutional.Christie’s administration planned to slash cut $1.57 billion more from the... READ MORE

The National Tax-deferred Savings Association (NTSA) has issued a call for presentations and presenters at the 2015 NTSA 403(b) Summit.As part of the redefined 403(b) Summit experience, NTSA members voted on key topics on which they’d like to be part of the program agenda. Now you can be part of... READ MORE

If a client has a 403(b) account in which no contributions have been made since 2003, does it qualify as a grandfathered account? And can the client self-certify? In this week’s Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder gives us the answers, and also addresses what happens if the client breaks the self-certification... READ MORE

Employees of the Windy City face the same circumstances as their counterparts who work for the government of their state: a pension system with huge funding liabilities. Chicago is third among U.S. cities in population, but it may be first in pension fund shortfall.Two of Chicago’s pension funds... READ MORE

It may not be largest city in Ohio or even on the Ohio River, but Cincinnati can lay claim to something enormous — its unfunded pension liability, which amounts to more than $860 million. A deal to address it is close to being struck, but that could be months away.According to WCPO, the fund, which... READ MORE

A bill that would create a self-managed DC plan as alternative to the DB plan that currently serves Illinois public school teachers is before the Illinois House. Rep. Thomas Morrison (R-Palatine) introduced HB 0426 on Jan. 30.The bill would allow school districts to choose to enter the DC plan for... READ MORE