State Sponsored Plans
The New Jersey Senate Budget Committee has approved a bill creating a mandatory retirement program for private-sector workers without employer-sponsored plans in the Garden State.The Secure Choice Savings Act (S2831) would require companies with at least 25 employees that don’t already offer...
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Following President Obama’s directive at the 2015 White House Conference on Aging in July, the Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed regulations Nov. 16 that create a new state payroll deduction savings program safe harbor so that those programs are not subject to ERISA.The safe harbor only...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) on Nov. 16 unveiled a proposed rule to clarify ERISA's application to state-run IRA programs, creating an unfair advantage for those programs over those offered by the private sector. The proposal includes a rule modifying the payroll deduction safe harbor to allow...
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The Windy City played host in the first week of November to a gathering focused on developing ideas to address America’s retirement savings challenge — but government-run solutions dominated the conversation.At the conference, “Saving — America’s Challenge and Opportunity in the Twenty-First...
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Did you know that some states currently sponsor 403(b) plans? In MarketBeat, Michael Webb takes a closer look at such often-overlooked plans and their impacts on the advisor community.
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Like everyone else from sea to shining sea, voters in the Golden State will be helping select a new president and representatives in Congress in 2016. But they’ll have more than that to consider — the ballot-initiative-prone state also may include a proposal concerning public pensions.A bipartisan...
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The pressure is mounting on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) to compromise on budget and pensions proposals. The state is now 105 days late passing a budget, the longest budget impasse in the state’s history, besting 2009’s stalemate of 101 days under then-Gov. Ed Rendell (D).In June, Wolf vetoed...
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While many in the retirement industry are solely focused on the impending fiduciary rule, the Department of Labor is proceeding on another potentially far-reaching regulatory project at the direction of President Obama.In July 2015, Obama tasked the Department of Labor to issue new regulations and...
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Wealth does not always equal solvency — at least as far as states’ per capita income versus how well-funded their pension obligations is concerned, according to a recent report. A Wall Street Journal report shows that simply having a surfeit of high-income residents does not necessarily translate...
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Not that it needed the encouragement, but the Obama Administration got some backing for its recent initiative on state-based retirement plans from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).At the request of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray...
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Maryland legislative leaders have breathed new life into the effort to craft a state-sponsored retirement plan. Senate President Mike Miller (D-Clinton) and Speaker of the House Michael Busch (D-Annapolis) have named members of their respective chambers to the newly created Commission on Maryland...
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State-based auto-IRA programs continue to pick up steam, and may soon become prominent features of the retirement security landscape. In MarketBeat, Bob Toth discusses participant protections under these programs, and argues that while states impose sanctions on employers that don’t make timely...
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State pension plan funds’ median annualized returns for the period July 1, 2004-June 30, 2014 were stronger than those of defined contribution plan target date funds. They also outperformed portfolios that were invested 60% in equities and 40% in bonds, but did not perform as well as endowments,...
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The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is considering adopting new risk-mitigating strategies — investing a portion of its holdings in more stable funds not subject to the vagaries of a volatile stock market. The plan could shift up to $20 billion of CalSTRS’ $191 billion into...
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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...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) is moving ahead with its effort to make it easier for states to offer retirement initiatives without running afoul of federal law, sending a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review Sept. 1.The action, noted in an OMB website posting, could...
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More than half the states have refreshed their cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to public-sector pension plans in the last six years. A recent report by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, “NASRA Issue Brief: Cost-of-Living Adjustments,” outlines the changes those states...
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Retirement plan participation is far from uniform in the Tar Heel State, especially when it comes to 403(b) plans, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).A new NBER study, “Supplemental Plan Offerings and Retirement Saving Choices: An Analysis of North Carolina School...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) stands ready to assist state governments when they work to establish public retirement plans for private-sector workers, regardless of whether those plans are covered by ERISA, according to EBSA chief Phyllis Borzi.The White House set the tone with President Obama’s...
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Proposals to reform Pennsylvania’s pension system have come from both sides of the aisle, but neither has made much traction with the opposite side.H.B. 1499, which State Rep. Mike Tobash (R-Schuylkill Haven) introduced earlier in August, has generated opposition. Ray Harmon, Government Affairs...
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