Ray Harmon

On Sept. 21, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request for a stay in the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Dignity Health v. Rollins. The stay remains effective until the High Court either denies a hearing of the case or issues a final judgment this term.In the last few years, 403(b) plan participants... READ MORE

This year has proved to be a more civil one in the Pennsylvania legislature than 2015. The Republican-led General Assembly passed a final budget and Democratic Gov.Tom Wolf allowed it to become law rather than vetoing it like he did last July. However, pension reform legislation is now on hold... READ MORE

Last week, the Republican-led Pennsylvania legislature sent Gov. Tom Wolf (D) a budget bill that he refused to sign. But unlike the Republicans’ budget package Wolf historically vetoed last summer, this one automatically became law this week, and won’t include pension or liquor reform. The budget... READ MORE

Since January, new state retirement plan bills have poured into state legislatures around the country, some promising opportunity and some threatening confusion or worse for state plan participants. Obviously not every piece of legislation succeeds, but bills that die in one session often re-emerge... READ MORE

Have you ever attended a conference session about using social media and walked away thinking that when you got back to your office you weren't going to be allowed to do any of the stuff you just learned? Or worse, that you didn't really understand what any of it meant to begin with?This year’s 403... READ MORE

A recent panel discussion the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (IALC) held in Washington, D.C. titled, “The State of American Retirement: Navigating the Gender Imbalance,” made a strong case for more attention being paid to better enabling women to engage in financial planning.Cindy Levering of... READ MORE

The stalemate on the budget — and pension reform — in Pennsylvania continues. And things got tense recently in Harrisburg.First, Republicans offered Democratic Governor Tom Wolf a deal: $300 million for basic education funding in exchange for full liquor privatization and Senate Bill 3’s pension... READ MORE

A House appropriations bill was unveiled last week that included a provision designed to stop the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary proposal by defunding its implementation, but what are its chances?The fiduciary provision simply states, “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used... READ MORE

State legislatures continue to be active in considering ways to improve and enhance the retirement readiness of their citizens. The latest: North Carolina and Maine.North CarolinaLegislation is before the North Carolina House of Representatives that would call on the Department of the State... READ MORE