PLANSPONSOR - July - August 2023 - 14

CONFERENCE COVERAGE
PLANSPONSOR 2023
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
PLANSPONSOR 2023
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The 2023 PLANSPONSOR National Conference, held in Orlando, Florida,
June 21 through 23, kicked off with a presentation from Lisa M. Gomez,
assistant secretary of Labor for the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits
Security Administration. Over the two-and-a-half days of sessions, informal
discussion and downtime to enjoy the Marriott Orlando Grand Lakes venue,
retirement plan sponsors gained insights into the latest trends in plan design,
investments, administration and compliance. We also celebrated Plan Sponsor
of the Year winners and finalists at our annual Excellence in Retirement awards
dinner. Here are excerpts from four of the conference's panel sessions. For
more conference coverage, please visit plansponsor.com.
EBSA Head Lisa Gomez
Talks DOL Priorities
Assistant Secretary of Labor Lisa Gomez,
head
of the Department of Labor's
Employee Benefit Security Administration,
discussed the department's priorities
in helping more Americans prepare for
retirement. Topping the list, Gomez said,
is the DOL's focus on retirement equity.
" The majority of people don't have
access to retirement savings and an opportunity
to save for retirement through
their employment, " Gomez said. " This is
really scary, particularly for underserved
communities, for women, for caregivers. "
She said the DOL is also working on
ways to provide education and compliance
assistance so plan sponsors that would like
14 PLANSPONSOR.COM July - August 2023
to offer retirement benefits but are unsure
how can get help. To increase access to such
benefits, Gomez said one of her goals is to
raise awareness about EBSA itself, which
has regional benefit advisers that participants
and sponsors can call for assistance.
Included in the SECURE-for Setting
Every Community Up for Retirement
Enhancement-2.0 Act, Gomez said, were
provisions for the DOL to study reporting
and disclosure requirements; the agency is
determining how to get feedback from the
retirement community, she said.
SECURE 2.0 mandates that the DOL
create a national, online " lost and found "
database for Americans to track their retirement
accounts. Gomez said the department
is
considering how best to collect
information to populate the database.
Photography by Matt Kalinowski
Employees'
financial security:
It's never been
more important
Employees'
financial security:
It's never been
more important
She said it is also working on guidance,
at various stages, for items such as
automatic portability, emergency savings
accounts, the valuation of employer stock
ownership plans and the selection of
annuity providers. She said to expect
guidance on annuity providers in the
forthcoming months.
Final
rules
regarding
transaction
exemption procedures and qualified asset
managers should, respectively, appear on
the regulatory agenda soon, she said.
An ongoing action item is increasing
cybersecurity protection for retirement
plans. " It seems like not a day goes by where
we aren't hearing about a different breach
... it's a continuing struggle, " Gomez said.
Environmental, social and governance
is an issue that remains " in flux, "
according to Gomez. The DOL's final rule
on prudence and loyalty in plan investments
at the end of 2022 evoked both
support and opposition, as 25 states filed a
lawsuit to stop the rule, in January.
Gomez said the DOL is continuing
to " support plan sponsors and fiduciaries
interested in having [ESG as an] option "
and is, at the same time, letting the " work
its way through the courts. "
In terms of promoting diversity,
equity and inclusion, Gomez said she is
part of a retirement equity group with
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PLANSPONSOR - July - August 2023

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