Retirement Regulation

The high cost of health care drove the vast majority of strategies in the benefits space, as pharmacy benefit managers found themselves in the headlines far too often this year, as the high costs of drugs (and weight loss drugs, in particular) were a hot topic.

Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser Company employees filed a class action lawsuit over the transfer of plan assets to Athene Annuity & Life Assurance, alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, according to law firm Schlichter Bogard.

The Council issued recommendations to the DOL to create a “tips document” to help fiduciaries in choosing QDIAs with lifetime income options, improve QDIA guidance, and provide for QDIAs in IRAs.

So far, 17 states have passed laws to limit environmental, social and governance investing, and there have been over 150 bills on ESG investing in 37 states.

The lawsuit alleged UnitedHealth CFO John Rex interfered with the company's decision to drop "one of the worst-performing target date options in the entire market.”

Most employers understand the basics of annuities but need help getting conversational about them with employees, similarly to when target-date portfolios were first offered in 1994, according to TIAA’s report.