Compliance February 26, 2025

House Financial Services Committee Seeks Feedback on 403(b) Access to CITs

After a hearing on Wednesday, the committee seeks feedback on several legislative proposals, including one that would allow 403(b) plans to invest in collective investment trusts.

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Following a hearing Wednesday by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee on capital markets, the full committee is requesting feedback on various legislative proposals to increase investor access to private markets and facilitate capital formation, including a proposal that would allow 403(b) plans to invest in collective investment trusts.

In addition to asking about 403(b) plans’ use of CITs, the lawmakers requested comments on whether private asset classes should be more available to defined contribution plan investors.

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The hearing, “The Future of American Capital,” was led by Subcommittee Chair Ann Wagner, R-Missouri, and examined the role of capital formation in driving economic growth.

One of the bills being examined by the committee is the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act, which would amend the Exchange Act to allow 403(b) plans to invest in unregistered insurance contracts and CITs that many 401(k) plans already use in their investment menus.

Identical versions of the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act were reintroduced in the House and Senate earlier this month. The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 amended Internal Revenue Code Section 403(b) to allow 403(b) plans with custodial accounts to invest in CITs. However, for CITs to be a permissible investment for 403(b) plans, securities laws need to be amended as well.

Chris Spence, managing director of federal government relations at TIAA, issued a statement to the committee, urging the members to increase nonprofit employees’ access to CIT investments.

“Public servants and those working for non-profit organizations have the right to a secure retirement and the same access to low-cost retirement savings investments as those employed in the for-profit sector,” Spence stated. “The bipartisan Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act will remove outdated regulatory barriers, allowing 403(b) plan participants to benefit from collective investment trusts.

The committee’s request for feedback also asks members of the public to consider several questions regarding investor access to private markets and participation. The questions address retirement investment options, asking, “Should 401(k)s and other retirement vehicles have greater access to private markets, and what safe guards would be necessary?”

In addition to the discussion of access to private markets in defined contribution plans, Wagner also addressed the challenges associated with the “restrictive” definition of accredited investors, individuals earning at least $200,000 per year, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Expanding investment opportunities beyond the limited few who qualify under this narrow definition will unlock new sources of capital, benefiting both businesses and investors,” she said.

Anyone interested in providing feedback may send comments and responses to the questions outlined in the committee’s press release fsc119@mail.house.gov by March 31.

The full hearing can be viewed here.

Administration February 26, 2025

Expedited Payments From Social Security Fairness Act Coming Soon

Starting this week, the Social Security Administration is making retroactive payments because of changes to the WEP and GPO, with increases to monthly payments up next.

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The Social Security Administration announced Tuesday that is “immediately” beginning to pay retroactive benefits, and it will increase monthly payments in April to public sector workers whose benefits have been affected by the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset.

Former President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act in early January, eliminating the WEP and GPO provisions that had reduced Social Security benefits for workers and spouses if they were covered by an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes.

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As a result of the law, Social Security benefits are projected to increase for more than 3 million public employees and beneficiaries. Workers expected to benefit from the new law include teachers, firefighters and police officers in many states, as well as employees covered by the federal Civil Service Retirement System and people whose work has been covered by a foreign social security system.

The SSA had announced in an FAQ in January that under its current budget, the agency expected it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits. However, the SSA announced Tuesday that most workers can expect the benefits payments to occur sooner rather than later.

“Social Security’s aggressive schedule to start issuing retroactive payments in February and increase monthly benefit payments beginning in April supports President [Donald] Trump’s priority to implement the Social Security Fairness Act as quickly as possible,” said Lee Dudek, acting Social Security commissioner, in a statement. “The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation. The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible.”

According to the SSA, most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into the bank account they have on record with Social Security.

Many of these people will also receive higher monthly benefits, which will first be reflected in the benefit payment they receive in April, the SSA stated. Depending on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the worker’s pension, the change in payment amount will vary from person to person.

Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted or who will receive a retroactive payment will receive a mailed notice from the SSA explaining the change or retroactive payment. According to the SSA, most people will receive their retroactive payment two or three weeks before they receive their notice in the mail.

“Social Security urges beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment, since these payments will process incrementally into March,” the SSA wrote in its announcement. “Since the new monthly payment amount will begin with the April payment, beneficiaries should wait until after receiving their April payment, before contacting Social Security with questions about their monthly benefit amount.”

The SSA wrote in its previous FAQ that more than 7,000 people each day were calling the SSA’s national toll-free number to ask about the Social Security Fairness Act.

The agency’s Social Security Fairness Act webpage includes more information on the progress of implementing the new law.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency Service Temporary Organization, led by Elon Musk, has initiated the closing of at least 10 Social Security offices throughout the country, and at least 200 SSA employees have been terminated so far amid the effort to drastically downsize the federal government.

Congress also faces a March 14 deadline to extend funding for the federal government to avoid a shutdown, and because Social Security accounts for 21% of the budget, there are concerns that cuts will be made to the program. Social Security’s trust funds are projected to be depleted by 2035.

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