There’s been a flurry of recent government regulation of company retirement plans. Here’s a quick summary:
Electronic Disclosure of Retirement Plan Documents
On May 27, 2020, the Department of Labor published a final regulation making it easier for employers to issue retirement plan notices to participants electronically. Notices can be posted on a website or mobile app or delivered via email. Employees who prefer hard copies can opt out of electronic delivery and receive paper disclosures instead.
It now appears that the new fiduciary rules proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) back in June of 2016 are all but dead. Late last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a last-minute appeal of its March 15th decision to toss the DOL rules. The appeal was filed by the AARP and three states (New York, California, and Oregon), not the DOL.
Here is a preview of what might come if Hurricane Irma hits the U.S.
On April 13, President Trump signed into law legislation that blocked Obama-era Department of Labor (DOL) regulations encouraging the establishment of IRA plans run by cities and municipalities. On May 17, he signed similar legislation applying to state-run IRAs. While these new developments may make the road ahead for both city and state run IRA plans more difficult, these plans are not going away.
The long-running saga of the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule took another turn on May 22 when Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta confirmed that there would be no delay in the June 9, 2017, implementation date. Mr. Acosta said that after careful consideration, there was no legal basis to extend the deadline.
As 2016 draws to a close, and we get ready to ring in the new year, it’s a great time to look back. Here is a roundup of six of the big stories in the world of retirement accounts for 2016.
