John Sullivan
By John Sullivan 11/9/2023
In an Oct. 24 presentation titled “Charting a New Course: Navigating Roth Changes in the Post SECURE 2.0 World,” Shannon Edwards with TriStar Pension Consulting and Michelle Ueding, an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney with Kutak Rock, focused on all one needs to know about...
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By John Sullivan 10/31/2023
As anticipated, the Department of Labor (DOL) has released a proposed rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The proposed rule, announced during a White House ceremony attended by President Biden on the afternoon of...
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By John Sullivan 10/30/2023
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M&A expert Peter Campagna, Managing Partner at Wise Rhino Group, has a list of common emotions that advisors face when they decide to sell their business.
“Fully 80% of M&A is managing emotions,” Campagna says. “The...
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By John Sullivan 10/30/2023
After months of anticipation, the Department of Labor (DOL) will release a new version of its proposed fiduciary rule for public comment on Oct. 31.
The announcement will be made during a ceremony at the White House scheduled for 3:30 that afternoon. The President will attend, an indication of...
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By John Sullivan 10/20/2023
[This article has been updated to reflect that Dan Gilbert is not one of EIG's co-founders, he is a member of the Founders Circle, an advisory board with no governance responsibilities. Additionally, Steve Glickman is not a tech entrepreneur, but rather former Senior Economic Advisor at the...
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By John Sullivan 10/2/2023
October is cybersecurity month, “something that pairs nicely with Oktoberfest,” American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff joked during a panel called “Fulfilling Cybersecurity Oversight Requirements” at the ERISA 403(b) Conference in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2.
It was a moment of levity in...
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By John Sullivan 10/2/2023
“403(b)s are not 401(k)s, and damage is done by not understanding the difference,” PenServ Plan Services President Sue Diehl emphasized at the outset of a session dedicated to a comparison of the two at the ERISA 403(b) Advisor Conference in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2.
She then listed several...
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By John Sullivan 10/2/2023
Concerns about increasing partisanship in traditionally bipartisan retirement policy and legislation was the theme of a conversation between Brian Graff and Preston Rutledge at the ERISA 403(b) Conference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2.
Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association, and...
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By John Sullivan 9/28/2023
Analysis of the first state-sponsored retirement plan for uncovered workers—OregonSaves—supports earlier findings that auto-IRAs do, in fact, close the coverage gap.
More specifically, a new paper examined Oregon’s program, started in 2017, which requires employers who did not offer any workplace...
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By John Sullivan 8/29/2023
Almost 26,000 New York Life customers had their names and Social Security numbers exposed to a data breach, the latest in a massive hack that affected hundreds of companies and millions of Americans.
The hack occurred in late May and involved Progress Software, the provider of MOVEit transfer...
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By John Sullivan 8/25/2023
The IRS released guidance on Aug. 25 that addressed Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act concerning Roth catch-up contributions.
The guidance grants a two-year delay in the provision's effective date that mandates that catch-up contributions must be Roth for those earning more than $145,000. More...
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By John Sullivan 8/10/2023
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 403(b) plan oversight efforts and concluded better educational material is needed to inform plan sponsors and participants.
“The DOL’s website does not contain targeted educational materials that could...
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By John Sullivan 8/3/2023
The biggest surprise of Missy Matrangola’s tenure as 2023 President of the American Retirement Association’s Board of Directors?
“The variety that comes with it—we talk about legislation, conferences, budget, etc.,” she said. “And also, the fact that being the president of the American...
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By John Sullivan 7/20/2023
Fifty retirement-related organizations sent a letter to the Treasury Department and specifically the IRS on July 19 requesting “transition relief” for Section 603 under the SECURE 2.0 Act.
The signers—representing advocacy organizations (including the American Retirement Association), large...
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By John Sullivan 6/30/2023
The American Retirement Association joined over 100 organizations—including major corporations, law firms, and advocacy organizations—in sending a letter June 29 to the House Ways & Means Committee seeking a two-year delay of the Roth catch-up requirement in SECURE 2.0 that requires anyone who...
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By John Sullivan 6/27/2023
A major cybersecurity breach involves one of the world’s largest pension funds.
CalPERS announced last week that approximately 769,000 retired members and their families had personal information exposed in a “worldwide data security incident” that affected one of its contracted third-party vendors...
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By John Sullivan 6/21/2023
The Senate Banking Committee passed the Recovering Executive Compensation Obtained from Unaccountable Practices (RECOUP) Act on June 21.
Spearheaded by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Tim Scott (R-SC), the bill would “hold senior executives of failed banks accountable by clawing back their...
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By John Sullivan 5/24/2023
On May 23, Congress sent a letter to the Treasury Department informing Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel that it will introduce legislation to fix several technical errors contained in SECURE 2.0.
Signed by four prominent SECURE 2.0 figures—House Ways and Means Committee...
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By John Sullivan 5/17/2023
Almost 70% of near-retirees either failed or barely passed MassMutual’s latest Social Security retirement benefits quiz. Over one-third failed (35%), and another one-third received a D (34%).
More than a quarter of near-retiree respondents did not know that if they have a spouse, the other...
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By John Sullivan 5/5/2023
A new report finds a decline in retirement confidence to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
The report, from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), also finds both employees and retirees are very concerned about inflation and its impact on their savings and spending....
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