Newsletters 2019

January 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Largest public sector pension obligations likely for teachers, SOA mortality study finds Do Pension Cuts for Current Employees Increase Separation? Vallejo no longer bankrupt but budget gap grows Pension Buyout Participation Rate Higher Than Expected, Early Numbers Show State and Local Government Trends to Watch in 2019 House Democrats Unveil Social Security Expansion Bill With Unprecedented Support 4th Quarter Fallout: Mistakes 401k Participant Might Make After Reading Their Latest Statement Roth 401(k)s Are an Essential Employee Benefit Advance Informational Copies of 2018 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report Deferred Income Annuities Enhance Retirement Readiness

February 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE The California Rule on Public Employee Pensions Under Attack: Will We Still Call It The “California Rule” If It Is No Longer The Rule In California? Average funding ratio for public pension plans increases in 2018 —NCPERS survey Kentucky universities ask to be let out of pension plan as costs become unsustainable A first‐ever public pension funded by cryptocurrency Public plans surf wave of reforms in aftermath of crisis 2018 Pension Plan Report Card – C+ Year It’s Audit Time‐‐Do You Know What Your Recordkeeper is Doing? Lawmakers ask GAO to explore cybersecurity issues in defined contribution plans Washington Pulse: Familiar Retirement Reforms Already in Play in New Congress DOL Hot on the Trail of Missing ERISA Plan Participants

March 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE N.J. Governor Pushes for Higher Contribution to State Pension Fund New Pension‐Cut Ruling Begin with Little Change Texas Supreme Court Affirms Ruling that DROP Changes at Pension Fund are Constitutional Chicago Symphony Orchestra Musicians on Strike Over Pension Plan Trends in Employee Tenurs, 1983‐2018 IRS Notice 2019‐18 Allows for Lump Sum Risk Transferring Programs for Participants in Pay Status American Workers Stressed About Finances, Look to Congress for Help De‐risking in 2019 Payment of Defined Benefit Plan Benefits After Normal Retirement Age 404(a)(5) Participant Fee Disclosures: Rules & Requirements

April 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Morgan Stanley to pay $130 million to California pensions over bad investments How One Small Pension Fund Added $1 Billion in Value The Long Bull Market Has Failed to Fix Public Pensions New Jersey to Require Certain Employers to Participate in a State “Auto‐IRA” Retirement Savings Plan Program Rationality and Retirement: Mutually Exclusive? How the Target‐Date Fund Landscape Is Evolving IRS Reopens Determination Letter Program for Two Significant Groups of Plans Your Retirement Plan – An Awesome Recruiting Tool . . . and an Awesome Responsibility T. Rowe Price: 401(K) Loan Usage Reaches Nine‐Year Low Revenue Procedure 2019‐19: Enhancements to EPCRS are Great News for Plan Sponsors

May 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Rhode Island City’s COLA Freezes Upheld by State Supreme Court American’s Largest Musicians’ Union Announces Pension Cuts CalSTRS’s Plan to Reduce Fees Connecticut Police Department Reverses Course, Switches Back to DB Plan Four Challenges Pension Administrations Face Growing Number of Lawsuits Claim “Old”Mortality Tables Deprive Participants of Benefits – An Update Employers Help Workers Build Household Emergency Funds House Passes the Secure Act Which Moves to Senate, Would Affect 401(K) Plans in Big Ways Appellate Court Affirms Award of 401(k) Plan Benefits Under QDRO Issued After Participant’s Death Top 10 Areas of Focus in DOL Investigations of Retirement Plans

July 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE CalPERS Reports Preliminary 6.7 Percent Investment Return for Fiscal Year 2018-19 Why Public Pensions Are Taking More Risk Maryland Pension System’s Assumed Rate of Return Reduced Again Gov. Matt Bevin’s Pension-Relief Bill Passes In Kentucky House Houston Firefighters Loses Appeal on Actuarial Assumptions Court Decides Medical Center Plan is a Church Plan Under ERISA FLASHPOINT: The DOL Finalizes MEP Regulations Corporate Plans Hurt by Interest-rate Forecasting GSAM Says Plaintiffs Claim Victory in First Ruling Challenging DB Plan Actuarial Assumptions PBGC’s Missing Participants Program for Defined Contribution Plans

August 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Oregon Government Employees Sue to Overturn New State Pension Law What Is the Maximum Possible Social Security Benefit in 2019 Here’s How Much Your State Spends on Retirement California Court of Appeals Further Clarifies STRS’ Authority to Collect Overpayments Made to Retirees Enduring Challenges – Examining the Experiences of States that Closed Pension Plans Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Equivalence Litigation — A Formidable Threat or an Unfounded Theory? An Uncashed Check is Taxable 5 Ways the New ERISA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Standards Will Affect Your Plans Improving Your Retirement Plan Governance New U.S. Department of Labor Guidance Helps Employers Manage Pension Obligations for Uniformed Service Members Returning to Work

September 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE SEC Launches Investigation of Practices in Retirement Plans for Teachers, Government Employees Pension Obligation Bonds May Soon Have Their Moment San Diego Labor Unions File Suit to Invalidate Prop B Pension Measure How a Financial Wellness Expo Became the Hottest Ticket in Town $250,000,000,000 and Counting PBGC Premium Increases Continue – How Sponsors Can Fight Back Social Security Announces 1.6 Percent Benefit Increase for 2020 General Electric Freezing Pension Plan for 20,000 U.S. Employees Time-Limited IRS Determination Letter Program Open for Individually-Designed Cash Balance and Other Statutory Hybrid Plans Retirement Plan Cybersecurity the Issue in a New Lawsuit

October 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE How California Public Agencies Can Reform Pension Benefits 403(b) and 457(b) Plans Going Under the Regulatory Microscope Massachusetts Voters Would Support State Retirement Plan Public Pension Plans Continue to Shift Into U.S. Stocks Inequality and Retirement: A Conversation with Researcher Alicia Munnell DOL Attempts to Modernize Its Electronic Disclosure Rules with New Proposed Safe Harbor Pension Mortality Updates May Decrease Liabilities IRS Proposed New Life Expectancy Tables for RMDs FLASHPOINT: IRS Announces 2020 Cost Of Living Adjustments to Various Retirement Plan Limits (And Some Comments On The Hardship Regulations) What Employee Benefits Professionals Will Be Watching in 2020