DOL's Final ESG Rules Reflect Warmer Attitude Toward ESG
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Fiduciary and Plan Governance DOL's Final ESG Rules Reflect Warmer Attitude Toward ESG Although the final rules are warmer to ESG considerations than the 2020 Regulations, they retain ERISA's bedrock principle that an ERISA fiduciary cannot sacrifice investment returns or assume greater investment risk to promote collateral objectives. The final rules also retain the core principle that a fiduciary's responsibility concerning investment management includes the management of appurtenant shareholder rights, such as voting proxies. Source: Erisapracticecenter.com A Checklist for Your Retirement Plan Fiduciary Insurance Renewal In response to the continued proliferation of lawsuits against retirement plan fiduciaries, fiduciary liability insurers are raising rates, limiting coverage, and expanding their due diligence of fiduciary processes. This article provides a checklist that includes tips and best practices for policyholders to ensure they are in a strong position to obtain retirement plan fiduciary coverage when it comes time to review and avoid coverage denials when it comes time to pay benefits. Source: Bradley.com End-of-Year 2022 Tips for Retirement Plan Sponsors As a retirement plan sponsor, you have the fiduciary responsibility to look over your plan and part of looking over the plan is preparing for the future. This article is about what end-of-year planning you as a plan sponsor should be doing in maintaining and improving your retirement plan for the coming new year. Source: Jdsupra.com »» Click here for more Fiduciary and Plan Governance Material General Items Vanguard's Defection From Net-Zero Group Further Clouds ESG Investment Commitments The Vanguard Group has quit an asset manager climate alliance. Vanguard said it was leaving the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative due to "confusion about views of individual investment firms" and to ensure Vanguard's views on climate-related risks are their own, not grouped into the larger initiative. Source: Planadviser.com Insight: Studies, Research, and White Papers Work Retirement Study Shows Plan Sponsors Prioritizing 401k Plan Design Morgan Stanley released new research from its workplace retirement study that highlights retirement plan sponsors are prioritizing 401k plan design amid challenging economic and jobs environment. While the 401k plan continues to be an essential workplace benefit to attract and retain talent, plan sponsors emphasized the need for an attractive plan with a range of features to meet the evolving financial needs of a diverse workforce. Source: Businesswire.com Nearly 1 in 3 Gen Z Workers Are Not Actively Saving for Retirement A stunning 31 percent of Generation Z workers have saved nothing for retirement over the past two years or so, according to a recent Bankrate survey. The move could ultimately cost them hundreds of thousands in retirement savings and expose them to one of America's top financial regrets, not saving for retirement early enough. Source: Bankrate.com DC Solutions Look Beyond Yield for Retirement Income This paper explores how inflation and interest rates impact retirement plan investing when the goal is income generation, rather than asset growth. It examines the impact to current, prominent income-generating strategies and explores approaches to retirement income generation that have begun gaining the attention of fiduciaries and plan sponsors as new tools to help retirees. Source: Dciia.org »» Click here for More Studies, Research, and White Papers Items of Special Interest to Service Providers The Secret(s) to a Good TPA Partnership For years, one of the most persistent barriers to the smooth and efficient operation of many 401k plans has been the nature of the working relationship between the plan's advisor and its third-party administrator, or TPA. Source: Napa-net.org Court and Legal Class Dismissed: TIAA Dodges Massive Class Action Suit A participant suit targeting TIAA for its loan practices in retirement plans has come up short in identifying a potential class on whose behalf to bring suit. The suit, filed back in early 2017, was brought by one Melissa Haley, who filed suit to recover money that she claims the Teachers Investment and Annuity Association unlawfully took from her retirement account in the Washington University Retirement Savings Plan. Source: Napa-net.org District Court Dismisses Two ERISA Lawsuits Challenging BlackRock TDFs A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last week dismissed two lawsuits brought against two plan sponsors under ERISA. The suits had been brought against Capital One and Booz Allen Hamilton for using a BlackRock target-date fund series as their qualified default investment alternative. Source: Planadviser.com »» Click here for more Court and Other Legal Issues Legislative and Washington DC SECURE Act 2.0 and Your Company's Retirement Plan This legislation aims to fill the existing gaps in the current retirement system for workers. First, while many workers are saving, they realistically will outlive their savings without lifetime income, which leads to the so-called "guarantee gap." Second, workers are not saving enough to last multiple decades into retirement, which results in the "savings gap." Finally, the "access gap" arises from insufficient workers having access to employer-sponsored plans. Source: Hallbenefitslaw.com Bipartisan Retirement Savings Bill Foreshadows Post-Secure 2.0 Debate Senate and House members introduce a measure that would establish retirement accounts for low- and middle-income workers not covered by an employer plan. Source: Investmentnews.com »» Click here for more on Legislative and Washington Actions Cyber and Plan Security More Hackers Going After Retirement Savings, Experts Say Employer retirement accounts are facing increasingly sophisticated attacks by hackers looking to get a slice of worker savings, and cryptocurrency investing is particularly at risk for scams, according to two financial-focused cybersecurity experts. Source: Planadviser.com »» Click here for more on Cybersecurity Issues Compliance and Regulatory Your 7-Point Year-End Retirement Checklist Remember the late nights spent coupon hunting with family after Thanksgiving dinner, scouring the papers, and meticulously planning each store's purchases for Black Friday? Organizational year-end activity is no different, so here are seven financial to-do's that plan sponsors need to complete and remind participants about before December 31. Source: 401kspecialistmag.com Informal DOL Guidance Addresses PEP Bonding Requirements An information letter recently released by the Department of Labor addresses the application of ERISA's bonding requirements to a pooled employer plan established under the SECURE Act. Source: Napa-net.org 401k Plan Matching Contributions: To True Up or Not True Up? As a matter of plan design, for purposes of matching contributions, some 401k plans provide that a participant's compensation for the entire plan year is taken into account, while other 401k plans take into account a participant's compensation only for payroll periods for which the participant makes elective deferrals. The former design is commonly referred to as a "true up" feature. This article illustrates, through examples, each design, and addresses why a plan sponsor might choose one design over the other. Source: Verrill-law.com »» Click here for more Compliance and Regulatory Material Marketplace News New Plan-Design Summary Tool For Retirement Plan Sponsors, Service Providers
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