PLANSPONSOR - November - December 2023 - 7

framework, is, 'OK, well, states are stepping
up to fill the gap. The private sector
is doing more. But, more broadly, should
something else be done at the federal level
to achieve universality?' " Antonelli says.
While many plan sponsors have now
terminated or are planning to terminate
their defined benefit pension plans, and
very few are opening new DB plans,
Morse argued that an ERISA 2.0 should
enable employers to adopt a pension-like
plan whereby workers receive lifetime
income, but employers are responsible
only for the annual contribution, not a
lifetime liability.
He
argued that
these
retirement
plans would still be an effective, lowcost
vehicle for paying lifetime income,
in part by allowing participants to pool
their mortality risks at a lower cost than
possible with individual annuities or life
insurance. For this to work, Morse said,
benefits would have to be adjusted, up
or down, based on long-term investment
and mortality experience.
" I think employers would be willing
to do it if they didn't have any downside, "
Morse said. " Once they make the contribution,
they would be finished with it. "
Morse also said he believes " constant
fixes "
to ERISA have made pensions
toxic to employers. For example, he said,
in the late 1980s and 1990s, if a plan was
overfunded, an employer could recapture
the excess assets by pulling them out of
the plan-so long as the plan could still
meet its liability. But because this was
seen as an abuse, Congress passed the
Pension Protection Act of 2006 and instituted
high tax penalties, or reversions, if
a company took back excess assets.
" Employers were penalized if their
plan was underfunded because they could
get hit with a surprise liability if investment
markets didn't do as they were
expected to do. But, at the same time, if
things went better than expected, they
couldn't take advantage of it, " Morse said.
-Remy Samuels
More From Washington
And the Courts
IRS Annual Contribution
Limits for DC Plans and IRAs
The Internal Revenue Service, November
1, announced the annual contribution
limits for qualified defined contribution
plans and individual retirement accounts
for the 2024 tax year.
The annual contribution limit for
workers who participate in 401(k), 403(b)
and most 457 plans, as well as the federal
government's Thrift Savings Plan, will
increase to $23,000 from this year's
$22,500. The annual IRA contribution
will increase to $7,000.
Catch-up contributions for those
ages 50 and older in qualified DC plans
will remain at $7,500, adding up to a
total allowed annual contribution of
$30,500. The super catch-up contribution
provision in the SECURE [Setting
Every Community Up for Retirement
Enchancement] 2.0 Act of 2022 will not
take effect until 2025. When it does, it will
permit those 60 through 63 to contribute
the greater of $10,000 or half the ordinary
catch-up amount (currently $7,500),
both of which will be indexed to inflation
starting in 2026.
The $1,000 catch-up contribution for
IRAs remains unchanged, allowing those
50 or older to contribute up to $8,000
annually. The IRA catch-up was pegged
to inflation by SECURE 2.0 but was not
increased for 2024. The income eligibility
ranges for IRAs and the Saver's Credit
likewise increased for 2024.
The income limit for the Saver's
Credit-aka the Retirement Savings
Contributions Credit-for low- and
moderate-income workers will be $76,500
for married couples filing jointly, up from
$73,000; $57,375 for heads of household,
up from $54,750; and $38,250 for singles
and married individuals filing separately,
up from $36,500.
The amount individuals may
contribute to their SIMPLE [savings incentive
match plan for employees] retirement
account will be increased to $16,000, up
from $15,500. The minimum threshold
for employees to qualify as a highly
compensated employee will increase to
$155,000 in 2024, up from $150,000.
New House Speaker Mostly
Unknown to the Industry
Representative Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana,
is the new speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives. Johnson, first elected to
the House in 2016, has served as deputy
whip for House Republicans. He has had
very little legislative contact with the financial
and retirement industries, however.
Michael Kreps, a principal in Groom
Law Group and a former senior counsel
for
the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions, notes
" this is the first time in a while that we
have had a speaker without much of a
track record on retirement issues. "
In 2020, while chairman of the
Republican Study Committee, Johnson
supported guidance from the Labor
Department of then President Donald
Trump that allowed defined contribution
plans to invest in private equity if it was
bundled into managed funds and not " on
a standalone basis. "
Johnson served on House committees
on Armed Services and Judiciary;
his influence and experience beyond
those sectors has been minimal.
Perhaps the primary example of his
influence on financial legislation was
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