Technical Competence

What section of the Internal Revenue Code provides that governmental and church plans are not covered by ERISA and therefore are not required to be fiduciaries? In Tech Talk, Susan Diehl tells us. READ MORE

There’s an old regulation that has new meaning under the new fiduciary regulation — and it could catch new fiduciaries, as well as broker-dealers — by surprise.That “old” regulation is the 408(b)(2) regulation which, beginning in 2012, required that service providers to ERISA-governed retirement... READ MORE

The Oregon Retirement Savings Program (ORSP, or OregonSaves) on June 22 filed a temporary amendment to its program rules with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office. The amendment modifies language related to enrollment in the program. It comes a little more than a week before the July 1 launch of... READ MORE

On June 16, the Texas Teachers Retirement System (TRS) Board of Trustees published a proposed rule in the Texas Register that could eliminate virtually all of the existing registered 403(b) products in the state from being actively marketed under new salary reduction agreements.The TRS is required... READ MORE

With little fanfare and precious little notice, come July 1, 2017, broker-dealers and advisors doing business in Nevada will be subjected to a new fiduciary standard. Senate Bill 383, signed into law by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) on June 2, revises the Nevada Securities Act to mandate that any... READ MORE

The Carolinas share a border, half of their names, and a need to address problems with their state pension plans. But while both must act, their problems are as different as north is from south.The Tar Heel StateNorth Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell (R) is still new, having taken office just this... READ MORE

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on June 12 signed into law Senate Bill 1, a measure that provides new state employees hired after Jan. 1, 2019, including teachers, with three retirement benefits from which they can choose. The state senate had passed the bill on June 5; three days later the... READ MORE

Most of the debate about the fiduciary regulation has been focused on the cost of bad advice. But there’s another side to the issue, writes Nevin Adams in MarketBeat, who discusses the value of advisors and what they do. READ MORE

Concerns about retirement and health care loom large for American workers and the U.S. Senate is reportedly close to its version of a health care reform bill. We need your help ASAP to tell Congress to make it easier for workers to manage their health and retirement savings.What’s the Issue?The tax... READ MORE