The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 eased the process for conversion of defined contribution plan balances into after-tax Roth accounts. This week’s Feature from CCH Daily Document Update reports on a recent study by Aon Hewitt showing that employers plan to add both Roth contribution and in-plan conversion features to their defined contribution plans in 2013.

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As of September 2009, almost two thirds (65 percent) of current workers say that the current economic crisis will delay their retirement plans by one year or more, according to the Sun Life Financial Unretirement™ Index. Read more

Despite recent events in the economy, a majority of workers are satisfied with their current employer-sponsored retirement benefits, with many placing a high value on plans that offer security and flexibility, according to a newly released Watson Wyatt survey.

The Watson Wyatt survey finds that 54 percent of employees are sat Read more

About a third (34 percent) of all workers have increased their planned retirement age in the last 12 months, and for older workers, 44 percent of those aged 50 and over plan to delay their retirement, compared with only 25 percent of those under 40, according to Watson Wyatt.

Based on a survey of 2,200 full-time workers in Febru Read more

Employers are divided on whether 401(k) plans, which have become more common than traditional pension plans, are meeting employees’ retirement savings needs, according to a recent Mercer survey.

Mercer surveyed 180 employers who sponsor a 401(k) plan. Read more

Health savings accounts, which allow individuals to make tax-deductible contributions to an account that can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses, have current statutory contribution limits that are too low to be a significant part in savings for retirement health care costs, says a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute< Read more

The Social Security Administration proposes to revise the definition of persons ‘‘closely approaching retirement age’’ from ‘‘60–64’’ to ‘‘60 or older” for its rules on age used in determining disability under the Social Security Act. Read more

Employees who contribute to their 401(k) plan and who are willing to make small improvements to their saving and investing habits can make a significant impact in maintaining their standard of living after retirement and increasing their future income potential, according to new r Read more

The Employee Benefit Research Institute reports that growth in the number of 401(k)-type plans and the number of participants in those plans has slowed in recent years compared to the 1990s.
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Workers without health insurance options are more likely to defer retirement to stay covered under their company’s plan, according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
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Small employers can download the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s new online video aimed at helping them understand the various options for providing a retirement plan for their employees.
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If your company offers retirement planning as a benefit, or wants to help employees prepare for a financially secure retirement, the U.S. Dept. of Labor has unveiled an online version of its publication, Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning. Read more

The Department of Labor, Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently launched an online toolkit to help workers navigate through various retirement issues. Read more

On May 5, 2010, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) published an interim final rule providing guidance on the requirements for employers seeking federal reimbursement for health insurance costs attributable to early retirees and their covered dependents. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) which became effective on March 23, 2010, Congress set aside $5 billion to fund a program to provide reimbursements for the cost of health coverage for early retirees aged 55 and above, but not eligible for Medicare, under employer-sponsored group health plans. Read more