Nationwide is 13th life insurer nabbed by New York
To date, New York's industry-wide investigation has led to settlements with thirteen life insurance companies, totaling about $29 million in restitution and penalties.
Regulations/Legal
Desperately Seeking Alpha (and Getting Caught)
Low rates, demand for yield, financial alchemy, gaudy incentives and a black swan event provided the ingredients for the cataclysm at AGI US. Pictured: SEC chief Gary Gensler.
How to Interpret the Proposed RMD Regs: Wagner Law
Without special 'see-through' trust provisions, a retirement asset with a trust as beneficiary may need to be distributed by the end of the 5th year following the year the participant...
‘SECURE 2.0’ Passes House, Moves to Senate
Retirement industry stakeholders and their representatives praised the passage of the bill, HR 2954, which loosens the rules on RMDs and QLACs and clears the way for ETFs in...
Lawsuits against DOL won’t change client strategy: Reish
On February 2, the Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice sued the DOL in Texas federal court. In a second suit, the American Securities Association sued the DOL in...
It’s Back: The Norcross-Walberg Bill to Make Annuities a 401(k) Default
Under the bill, participants who are defaulted into an annuity must have 180 days before their premium becomes illiquid, and the participant must receive 30 days notice before the...
Retirement reforms cut from Build Back Better Act
The 'back door' Roth IRA will not be closed, and limits won't be placed on contributions by higher-income individuals with large account balances, NAPA Net reported.
Advisers, Beware of PTE 2020-02: Wagner Law
ERISA expert Kimberly Elliott of the Wagner Law Group tells wealth managers how to avoid running afoul of the Department of Labor's Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 when counseling plan...
Tax hike looms for top earners
The House Ways & Means Committee's budget reconciliation recommendations include, among other measures, increases in income taxes on individuals earning over $400,000.
Progress for retirement provision in ‘Build Back Better’ bill
'Among other things, the legislation would require employers without employer-sponsored retirement plans to automatically enroll their employees in IRAs or 401(k)-type plans,' according to a report today in the...
SEC hires Barbara Roper, aggressive consumer advocate
Roper will focus on issues relating to retail investor protection, including broker-dealer oversight, investment adviser oversight, and examinations, an SEC release said.
TIAA Broker-Dealer Settles SEC Allegations for $96 Million
TIAA-CREF Individual and Institutional Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America is alleged to have failed to adequately disclose conflicts of interest and to...
Not Yet Legal in the US: CRITs
Collective Retirement Income Trusts resemble variable income annuities, but without explicit guarantees. These group arrangements could help retirees turn part of their 401(k) or IRA savings into rising income...
If the DOL Investigates You…
Here are five FAQs about Department of Labor investigations of retirement plan advisers, and answers from attorneys at the prominent ERISA law firm Faegre Drinker. (Photo: Labor Secretary Marty...
Secure 2.0: A Booster Shot for Qualified Savings Industry
The proposed bill would allow ETFs in variable annuities and remove the 25% limit on the share of IRA money that can be used to buy a Qualified Longevity...
A Surprise from IRS about Inherited IRA Distributions
IRS Pub 590-B presents a conundrum. It appears to deprive owners of inherited IRAs (already deprived by SECURE Act of the 'stretch IRA') to take distributors annually, rather than...
DOL releases guidance on fiduciary investment advice
The Biden Department of Labor evidently wants retirement plan participants to be ready with questions to ask advisers who invite them to roll their plan assets to a brokerage...
At the Supreme Court, a stress test of ‘best interest’ promises
'To protect its sterling image, and its share price, Goldman made false statements that it always acted in its clients’ best interest and carefully managed its conflicts,' said...
Will Biden tinker with tax deferral?
'Biden will equalize benefits across the income scale, so working families also receive substantial tax benefits' when they save, a former official told the Financial Services Institute.
What’s up with the ‘ESG’ rule: Wagner Law Group
'Given that the slimmer Final Rule is no longer the stranglehold on ESG investing that the original proposal had been, the Biden Administration could decide not to expend its...
