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John Iekel
By John Iekel | 1/10/2022
The New Mexico State Treasurer’s Office has announced that it is developing protocols by which financial service providers will be approved to offer retirement savings plans to individuals, small businesses and employees through the Work and $ave Retirement Plan Marketplace.
It is doing so on...
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By John Iekel | 12/30/2021
The Department of Labor, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Dec. 29 released information copies of the Form 5500, Form 5500-SF and Form 5500-EZ for use in reporting about the 2021 plan year, as well as their accompanying instructions.
Information copies are not to be used for...
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By John Iekel | 12/29/2021
A new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides an illustration of the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans that has taken place in the last 40 years.
“One of the notable trends in the U.S. retirement system over the past five decades is that private-...
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By John Iekel | 12/29/2021
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on Dec. 29 unveiled final revisions to the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF. The revised forms are to be used for reporting concerning the 2021 plan year, and include changes that apply to pooled employer plans (PEPs).
The DOL,...
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By John Iekel | 12/22/2021
An important retirement-related concern is whether savings will be adequate for the lifespan of a retiree. Annuities are one way some seek to provide a source of lifetime income; however, as a recent study notes, there is reluctance to use them. That study suggests that one answer may be a Social...
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By John Iekel | 12/17/2021
The IRS on Dec. 17 announced the standard mileage rates—optional rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes—for 2022.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car—as well as vans, pickups...
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By John Iekel | 12/6/2021
In a private letter ruling (PLR), the IRS has issued a waiver of the 60-day rollover deadline for Roth amounts erroneously deposited in traditional IRA. It issued PLR 202147015 on Sept. 1, 2021, but only recently released it.
The Scenario
In the circumstance about which the IRS issued the PLR, a...
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By John Iekel | 11/24/2021
The Department of Labor announced on Nov. 23 that in FY 2021, the Employee Benefits Security Administration recovered more than $2.4 billion in direct payments to retirement plans, participants and beneficiaries.
That recoveries resulted from 1,072 civil investigations, 741 of which resulted in...
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By John Iekel | 11/23/2021
Americans give state-facilitated retirement programs an enthusiastic nod, a recent study has found.
In the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) study “Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs,” NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan and Kelly Kenneally, who has provided...
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By John Iekel | 11/19/2021
The recent past and the challenging present have had a variety of consequences for retirement plans and participants. A panel of experts in a recent webinar discussed where we are and what can be done to improve retirement saving.
The experts, all from T. Rowe Price, included Joshua Dietch, Vice...
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By John Iekel | 11/11/2021
Colorado and neighboring New Mexico plan to form a partnership regarding the state-run retirement saving programs each operates.
The Colorado Department of the Treasury announced Nov. 9 that the Colorado Secure Savings Program and the New Mexico Work and $ave programs signed a Memorandum of...
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By John Iekel | 11/4/2021
The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2022. The 2022 limits are contained in Notice 2021-61, released Nov. 4. Most rates have increased; a few are unchanged.
The limits for 2022 are as...
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By John Iekel | 10/28/2021
The CalSavers Retirement Savings Board has issued a Notification of Proposed Emergency Regulation Action to readopt regulations that took effect earlier in 2021.
The Board adopted those emergency regulations to:
amend the default investment option;
reduce the minimum contribution amounts for...
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By John Iekel | 10/27/2021
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has released a report showing that retirement plans are growing by all measures: number of plans, participants, assets, contributions and distributions.
The data are drawn from Form 5500 Series reports for plan years...
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By John Iekel | 10/25/2021
The IRS has updated its frequently asked questions about COVID-related relief for retirement plans and IRAs under the CARES Act.
Specifically, on Oct. 22 the IRS added to its May 2020 FAQs two questions and answers related to rehires following bona fide retirement and in-service distributions:
Q...
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By John Iekel | 10/18/2021
The retirement industry currently faces challenges—but there is opportunity and good news as well, ARA CEO Brian Graff pointed out in the Oct. 17 Washington Update session at the 2021 ASPPA Annual conference.
Work to Do
There is plenty of work to do, Graff suggested. He noted that retirement...
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By John Iekel | 10/15/2021
A paucity of financial assets among members of the middle class and some saving behaviors threaten many with retirement instability, two recent studies warn.
The National Institute for Retirement Security (NIRS) analyzed data from the Federal Reserve’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances on the...
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By John Iekel | 10/13/2021
Employer involvement looms large in the overall retirement readiness picture. And current trends regarding financial preparation for retirement buttress the importance of employers acting on how influential they are.
How large? According to the Secure Retirement Institute® (SRI), actions by...
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By John Iekel | 10/8/2021
Retirement plans are in cyber criminals’ sights, and it takes positive action to head off the threat, said experts in an Oct. 7 Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) webinar.
“The retirement plan community is a very attractive target” for cyber criminals, warned Tom Briggs, Divisional Sales...
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By John Iekel | 10/4/2021
The American Retirement Association (ARA) has called on the IRS to make its temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for spousal consents permanent.
In a Sept. 30 letter, the ARA and 15 other organizations tell the IRS that they “appreciate the relief and extensions the Service...
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