PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2018 - 27

25 YEARS OF RETIREMENT PLANS
2006
2005
Bankruptcy
Abuse Prevention
and Consumer
Protection Act
2006
Pension
Protection Act
Attorney Jerry
Schlichter begins
filing fee lawsuits
against major
corporations
2008
2007
IRS updates
403(b)
regulations
2006
Stock option
expensing
becomes
required
2008
Worker, Retiree
and Employer
Recovery Act
Heroes Earnings
Assistance and
Relief Tax Act
2010
Preservation of
Access to Care
for Medicare
Beneficiaries
and Pension
Relief Act
2014
IRS Notice
2014-66 allows
for expanded
use of income
annuities in
401(k) plans
2014
2011
2010
Small
Business
Jobs and
Credit Act
First pension
risk buy-in
transaction
takes place
in the U.S.
U.S. Supreme
Court decision
in Fifth Third
Bancorp et al.
v. Dudenhoeffer
2015
U.S. Supreme
Court decision
in Obergefell
v. Hodges
2016
Broadened
definition of
" investment
fiduciary "
is finalized,
becoming
effective
June 9, 2017
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
with retirement accounts to act in the
best interest of clients.
This year, politics surrounding the
rule proposal heat up. The financial
industry, Republican lawmakers and the
SEC commissioner attack the rule, and
proponents rally Democrats to stand
with the administration, as legislation
is introduced that will attempt to block
it. Ultimately, though, the revised definition
of fiduciary eliminates the five-part
test and, basically, makes anyone giving
advice about a retirement plan a fiduciary.
The rule requires a " best interest
standard " across a broad range of retirement
advice, expanding the types of
retirement-planing advice covered by
fiduciary protections.
By April, after much back and
forth, the rule is published in the
Federal Register, making it effective,
with phased implementation dates set
to begin in 2017. The final implementation
of the rule, requiring contracts and
disclosures, will subsequently be pushed
back to 2019, but the new definition will
remain intact. The SEC also announces
plans to release its own uniform fiduciary
standard.
2018 -
The Future of Retirement
SOME Americans-who were automatically
enrolled decades earlier and aided
by auto-escalation and having their
assets in default investments-will retire
when they want, with a nice nest egg. But
for others, the future of retirement looks
much like the past of retirement.
Those Americans will never have
been auto-enrolled, or will have been
for a much shorter time. They likely will
revert to the common practice of older
Americans before the era of defined
contribution plans and auto-enrollment:
working as long as possible and then
living frugally in retirement.
Many Americans remain far short of
having enough savings to live comfortably
throughout retirement, based
on how they responded to the 2017
PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey.
Thirty-six percent pegged their total
retirement savings at between $50,000
and $250,000, while 34% said they have
less than $50,000, and 26% have saved
more than $250,000.
Fifty-three percent of workers
surveyed expect to retire after age 65 or
not at all, according to a report released
this past December by the Transamerica
Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS).
Among that group, 83% cited financialrelated
reasons for continuing to work in
retirement. Just 18% of workers felt very
confident they could fully retire with a
comfortable lifestyle. " Many workers are
not saving enough to amass the financial
resources required to support their vision
of retirement, while others are at risk
of poverty, " TCRS President Catherine
Collinson said in a news release on the
survey findings. " Given increases in
longevity, working as long as possible is
a practical solution. However, it's unclear
whether employment opportunities will
be available. According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, only approximately one
in five Americans ages 65 and older were
employed in 2016. " -Judy Faust Hartnett,
Rebecca Moore and Judy Ward contributed
to the compilation and editing of this article.
PLANSPONSOR.com February-March 2018 27
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