Newsletters 2018

January 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Baltimore judge rules city violated contracts by cutting police and fire pension benefits Chris Christie signs bill requiring stress tests, fee transparency at state pension funds California’s Brown Raises Prospect of Pension Cuts in Downturn Public Pensions Are Delivering on Promises to Retirees, Annual NCPERS Study Shows U.S. POPULATION MORTALITY OBSERVATIONS UPDATED WITH 2016 EXPERIENCE Washington Pulse: RETIRE Act Promotes Electronic Delivery of Retirement Plan Information Hunting for Retirement Plan Participants? New IRS Guidance and the Expanded PBGC Missing Participants Program Should Help DB Sponsors: Consider Accelerating Contributions For 2017 Plan Year Amid Tax Reform Text of Instructions for 2017 IRS Form 8955-SSA: Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits PBGC- What’s New for Employers & Practitioners

February 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Kentucky pension reform bill would move future teachers into cash balance plan Half of Retirees Retired Earlier Than Planned, But Not Necessarily by Choice California Cities’ Pension Bills May Rise With Calpers Move Participation in Retirement Plans Increases Focus on Financial Future WHAT RAISING SOCIAL SECURITY’S RETIREMENT AGE REALLY MEANS IRS Announces 2018 Pension Plan Limitations Not Affected by Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Longevity and technology are transforming the way people retire Tax and Budget Bills Include Tax Qualified Retirement Plan Provisions DC participants with 401(k)s and HSAs have higher savings rates for 401(k) and overall Should pensions care about corporate bond supply?

March 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE W. Va. Bill Would Criminalize Failure to Make Public Pension System Contributions Oregon Passes Law to Boost Public Pensions A Worrying Shift for Pensions: Retirees Will Soon Outnumber Kids Kentucky budget director sues state pension coalition to keep actuarial analysis under wraps Del. Lisanti: Full State Tax Exemption for Military Retiree Pensions Clears the Maryland House of Delegates Bill Seeks to Help Individuals Find Unclaimed Retirement Benefits & Provide Relief to Employers with Benefits Due Missing Participants The Mobile Workforce’s Missing Participant Problem A Study by Boston Research Technologies and Retirement Clearinghouse Target, Microsoft Lead Move Away From 401(k) Stock Investments What You Should Know About Your Plan’s ERISA Fidelity Bond Coverage DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS HAVE COME A LONG WAY!

April 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Puerto Rico gov defies board, rejects reform, pension cuts Kentucky attorney general sues to stop pension bill Court strikes down Chicago Park District pension plan San Diego County sues pension fund to implement new benefit formula WHEN A CITY GOES BROKE; PENSIONS, RETIREES AND MUNICIPAL BANKRUPTCIES Defined benefit plans are showing new signs of life DOL increases fines, conducts fewer retirement plan audits What to Do with Missing Participants and Required Minimum Distributions PBGC Pays Out $5.6 Billion to Retirees of Failed Plans in 2017 Court Affirms DB Plan Sponsor Owes Excise Taxes on Non-Deductible Contributions

May 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Phil Murphy takes action on bill giving police, firefighters control over pensions Colorado passes pension reform, increasing contributions and retirement age Snapshot: Average American Predicts Retirement Age of 66 Puerto Rico oversight board rejects bondholder agreement PENSION REFORM HURTS PUBLIC SECTOR COMPETITIVENESS Legislation Would Establish Retirement Benefits Commission Millennials Better Prepared for Retirement than Their Parents HSAs: Untapped for Retirement What Expenses Can We Pay from Plan Assets? A Brief Review of the Legal Principles and Some Common Questions Incentives to Delay Retirement Benefit Both Employers and Employees

June 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Social Security Combined Trust Fund Reserves Depletion Year Remains 2034 Says Board of Trustees Moody’s downgrades New Mexico on ‘large pension liabilities’ Retired California employees must pay back pension overpayment, court rules Judge strikes down Kentucky’s new pension reform as unconstitutional Could an Early Retirement Help You Live Longer? Corporate and public DB assets increase, while DC falls in first quarter Most Retirees Only Withdrawing Required Minimum Distribution Groom Urges IRS to Expand Determination Letter Program Companies Race to Top Off Pension Plans to Capitalize on Tax Break Central States Pension Fund: Investment Policy Decisions and Challenges Facing the Plan

July 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Public Pensions Are Earning More Than 8%-That’s Unlikely to Go On Much Longer How public sector employers are reducing their pension liabilities Phil Murphy gives police and firefighter unions control of their pensions Be in the know: Fiduciary standards for state and local government retirement plans WHAT EXPLAINS DIFFERENCES IN PUBLIC PENSION RETURNS SINCE 2001? Retirement savings proposals introduced in Senate, under discussion in the House Bill would create private-sector version of Thrift Savings Plan What’s New for Employers & Practitioners ERIC Offers Guidance on Missing Plan Participants Three Reasons Cryptocurrency Is Making Its Way Into Retirement Plans

August 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Public pension plans top quarterly, annual returns in Wilshire TUCS, Investor Force universes Never Retire: Why People Are Still Working in Their 70s and 80s Report: Shortfalls in employee benefits strain district finances States Flex Their Muscles on Coverage 10 states with the worst retirement funding UPS Retirees Sue Feds Over Law That OKs Pension Cuts PBGC Staff Suggests Plan Spinoffs Made to Reduce Premiums ‘Should Be Disregarded’ Retirees Struggle To Locate Billions In Lost Pensions As Government Looks For Solutions Almost a Third of Defined Benefit Plans Have 95% Funding, Making Buyouts, Risk Transfers ‘Feasible,’ Study Finds Cash Balance Plans Top $1 Trillion

September 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Wilshire Consulting Report Shows Retirement System Funding Levels Increased in Cities and Counties in Fiscal Year 2017 Federal court orders Baltimore County to pay back workers who overpaid for pensions Connecticut’s State‐Run Plan on Hold as State Seeks Director DOL Clarifies Guidance on Socially Responsible Investing Governor Murphy Marks 10 Year Anniversary of 2008 Financial Crisis by Announcing Plan to Require NJ Financial Industry to Put Customers’ Interests First Abbott 401(k) program to help employees who have student debt could become national model Legal Alert: IRS issues updated guidance on safe harbor notices for eligible rollover distributions NYU v. Sacerdote – Thoughts for Plan Fiduciaries Bill Beefing Up Retirement Protections for Women Introduced House Passes Bill With Many Savings Arrangement Enhancements

October 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Has Connecticut Found A Solution To Underfunded Public Pensions? NASRA ISSUE BRIEF: EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLIC PENSION PLANS PENNSYLVANIA COMMISSION REPORT FINDS STATE PENSION PLANS FAILED TO REPORT BILLIONS IN FEES Top Third of Public Pension Plans Have 90 Percent Funded Ratio While Bottom Third at 55 Percent U.S. equities, alts power strongest returns for plans SSA Announces 2.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2019 ‘Red Zone’ Multiemployer Pension Plans May Never Recover A Sears bankruptcy could cause one of the biggest pension defaults ever, but the government would protect 90,000 retirees Pension Benefit Guarantee (PBGC) Information ASB Announces Changes to DB Plan Disclosure Requirements

November 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Unions sue Puerto Rico gov’t over worker retirement accounts Public pensions look abroad for returns Americans are retiring at an increasing pace Most Retirement Risk Concerns Decrease With Age PUBLIC PENSION RETURN ASSUMPTIONS FALL TO ALLTIME LOW Hatch, Brown Commit to Continued Work on Pension Crisis Past Nov. 30 New Hardship Rules, Other Statutory Changes Reflected in Newly Proposed 401(k) Regulations U.S. Department of Labor Releases Advance Copies of Form 5500 Annual Return/Report for 2018 House Tax Bill Would Make Several Changes to IRAs and Retirement Plans Struggling multiemployer plans see help ahead at expense of healthy funds

December 2018 INSIDE THIS ISSUE NJ Assembly Passes Secure Choice Bill Most Retirees Say Employers Did Nothing to Help With Retirement Transition Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down pension reform law States Boost Access to Retirement Plans, Seeking to Close Savings Gap Chicago mayor proposes $10 billion in bonds to improve pension funding Making Sure Your Plan Language Matches What You Are Doing – New Class Action Lawsuit Examines How a Common Definition of “Compensation” Was Applied New ERISA Class Actions Claim Underpayment of Pensions Due to Unreasonable Actuarial Factors Help people work longer by phasing retirement End of Year IRS Checklist for Plan Providers View From Groom: Top Five Post‐Election Retirement Policy Observations