Description: This article provides a basic introduction to the taxation of qualified annuities held in qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The article has been updated for the SECURE Act and the SECURE 2.0 Act. The article describes the basic types of employer-based plans, provides of overview of the taxation of contributions and benefits when annuities are held in connection with plans and IRAs, explains the required minimum distribution rules, and offers a brief introduction to recent legislation impacting qualified annuities.

Description: This issue wraps up the publication of essays to explore solutions available to address risks in retirement and focus on risks in a DC environment.

Description: The article describes the factors that should determine the asset allocation of an employer's QDIA, especially Target Date Funds, and suggests that in general QDIAs have insufficient equity in retirement asset allocations.

Description: An “eligible combined plan”allows the promise, funding and delivery of both pension benefits funded by the employer and salary deferrals funded by the employees

Description: The Successful Employee Retirement Income Outcomes in the United States (SERIOUS) is a comprehensive model for the delivery of employment-based retirement income.

Description: This article, another in the popular series devoted to tax basics, provides an overview of how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the law governing employment-based retirement and health plans, impacts the use of annuities in pension and 401(k) plans. The article explains which types of plans are subject to ERISA, and which are not; why the concept of "plan assets" is critical; what duties an insurance company or distributor might take on when an annuity is placed with a retirement plan; and finally what disclosures may be required. The article also includes a brief introduction to terminal funding annuities. This article is intended for those with no prior experience in ERISA. Because the vast majority of retirement assets are saved originally in employment based plans like pension and 401(k) plans, understanding the basics of ERISA is important for anyone who will have a career in annuities and life insurance.

Description: Read the September 2016 issue of Pension Section News published by the The Pension Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: This paper comments on the Successful Employee Retirement Income Outcomes in the United States (SERIOUS), a comprehensive model for the delivery of employment-based retirement income.

Description: This paper is intended to help plan sponsor fiduciaries understand existing options and carry out their due diligence when studying retirement income solutions for DC retirement plans. It educates human resources and financial professionals at plan sponsors about the potential issues, solutions, and processes involved with implementing, administering, and communicating a retirement income program for their plan participants.

Description: First in a series of articles for Retirement Section News focusing on Defined Contribution issues