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News Archive
QOTW: Employer Contributions as Roth
One of the optional provisions of SECURE 2.0 would allow participants to elect employer contributions as Roth after-tax contributions (rather than only employee contributions if the plan currently offers Roth). Some PSCA members are considering this – have had participants request this provision – and wanted to know if other sponsors are likely to... Read More >>
QOTW: Student Loan Matching
Starting January 1, 2024, employers will be able to make contributions to the 401(k) plan based on a participant’s student loan payments. This provision is optional so this week we asked companies if it is something they are likely to adopt. As we’ve seen before when this was just a possibility, some companies are very excited about being able to... Read More >>
QOTW: Catch-ups as Roth
One of the revenue raising provisions of SECURE 2.0 is to require catch-up contributions to be Roth contributions for employees making $145k per year or more (the HCE definition). Though most plans allow catchup contributions, not all plans allow Roth (especially 403(b) plans). In this week’s QOTW we asked plan sponsors if they will need to make... Read More >>
QOTW: SECURE 2.0 Emergency Savings Provisions
In the recently passed SECURE 2.0, there are two optional provisions geared towards helping participants create an emergency savings account. One option is to provide a side-car account where the employer matches money deferred into an emergency savings account with a matching contribution to the 401(k) account. The other option is a penalty-free... Read More >>
Major SECURE 2.0 Error Puts Catch-Ups in Jeopardy: ARA’s Graff
The American Retirement Association (ARA) recently identified what it calls a “significant technical error” in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 regarding catch-up contributions. Specifically, according to wording in the current legislation, beginning in 2024, no participants will be able to make catch-up contributions (pre-tax or Roth). That’s the... Read More >>
Your Health Plan is the Latest Fiduciary Ticking Time bomb
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) is the most significant compliance challenge employers have faced since the Affordable Care Act. New requirements are in effect now, including: Required review of plan contracts and removal of all “gag clauses,” Required determination of “reasonableness” of vendor fees and services, Required... Read More >>
QOTW: Beneficiary Forms
A PSCA member reached out stating that they struggle to get more than 2/3 of participants to complete a beneficiary designation form and wondered if other companies have strategies to increase that rate. This appears to be a very common dilemma among members as only a quarter of respondents indicated that most of their participant have valid... Read More >>
QOTW: Plan Documents
For our last QOTW in 2022, we asked members about their plan documents. We have heard that plan documents can be a challenge to read and understand, especially if they have been updated and amended repeatedly. PSCA’s National Conference Committee is planning a session at next year’s National Conference to help plan sponsors understand these... Read More >>
QOTW: 2023 Plan Priorities
As we look ahead to next year, we asked plan sponsors what retirement plan items they are prioritizing for 2023. The top priority, somewhat surprisingly, is providing financial wellness tools cited as the number one priority by 21.1 percent of respondents and cited in the top three by more than half of respondents. The second most cited plan... Read More >>
QOTW: Plan Audits
New rules went into effect regarding plan audits effective Dec. 15, 2021 (ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C)). We have heard from a few plan sponsors that the audit process was more time consuming and comprehensive this year to meet the new standards. Last week we asked members what their 2021 plan audit experience was and if it was more complex than in... Read More >>