President Trump on Friday issued an executive order requiring the Treasury and Labor Departments to consider amendments to rules affecting retirement accounts, including employer plans and individual retirement accounts. Specifically, the order directs DOL and Treasury to consider changes to required retirement plan disclosures that would make them more understandable and useful for participants and beneficiaries while reducing the costs and burdens on employers and others responsible for their production and distribution.
The order also directs Treasury to review the required minimum distribution tables for retirement plans and determine whether and how often updates should be made to reflect current mortality data. Finally, it asks Treasury to consider liberalizing regulations and guidance governing multiple employer plans to expand access to this type of arrangement, especially for smaller employers.
Pentegra — endorsed by the American Bankers Association for retirement plan services — issued a statement welcoming the initiative and anticipated growing interest in multiple employer plans. These plans “have a structural advantage over other forms of retirement programs,” said Pentegra President and CEO John Pinto. “They allow employers to be relieved of plan administrator responsibilities to a greater extent than is possible under a single employer plan structure, making them one of the simplest arrangements for employers who wish to offer retirement benefits.” ABA will monitor the activities of the DOL and Treasury and respond to any guidance that affects banks that provide services to retirement plans.
