IRS Proposes Rule Changes To 403(b) Retirement Accounts

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is proposing rule changes to Section 403(b) retirement plans that might change required minimum distributions (RMD), how to start accessing the funds, and the accounting methods for plan administrators. The adjustments are due to changes in various laws updated in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). Among the adjustments made by sections of the SECURE Act apply to an employee who dies on or after Jan. 1, 2020, with a later effective date for certain collectively bargained plans or governmental plans. READ MORE

Washington State to Require Employers to Provide Salary Ranges and Other Compensation Information in Job Postings

On March 30, 2022, Washington Governor Inslee signed into law a bill that will require employers to include a salary or pay range, as well as information about other compensation and benefits, in each job posting. The bill revises the existing state law that requires only that employers provide the minimum wage or salary for a position to an applicant after an offer of employment has been made. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2023. READ MORE

Cost of Labor, Not Living, Driving Wage Increases

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revealed that inflation reached a new 40-year peak in February, buoyed by supply problems and strong consumer demand in the United States. 

Powell’s revelation that the personal-consumption-expenditure (PCE) price index climbed 6.4% in February from a year ago further stokes ongoing speculation around the economy and what it means for employee wages, which have mostly grown alongside inflation.  READ MORE

Young women are closing the gender wage gap in some U.S. cities, research shows

Though nationally women still earn 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, new data indicates younger women are now making strides in closing the gender wage gap in select cities across the country.

Pew Research published an analysis of Census Bureau data that found the gender wage gap is narrower among younger workers nationally and that the gap varies across geographical areas. In 22 of 250 U.S. metropolitan areas, women under the age of 30 earn the same amount as or more than their male counterparts.  READ MORE

CEO Salaries Tick People Off. So Why Isn't Executive Pay a Marketing Liability?

Those of us old enough to remember the financial meltdown of 2008 might also recall the final, disgraceful chapter of it. It wasn’t just that 9 million people lost their jobs; it was that the financial institutions that had traded all those securities based on subprime mortgages—and then been bailed out by the federal government—proceeded to dole out $20 billion in bonuses to their senior executives.

“That is the height of irresponsibility,” President Obama said early in 2009 in a rare moment of public choler. “It is shameful.” READ MORE

The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Fleeting and Lasting Impact on Executive Compensation

The 2021 proxy season was dominated by COVID-19. Close to half of Standard & Poor (S&P) 500 companies took some type of COVID-19-related action in 2020, including base salary reductions, modifications to incentive plan targets, and the grant of special awards.

Despite the significant upheaval in compensation, financial results, and stock price performance during 2020, shareholders supported 97.3% of Say on Pay votes among Russell 3000 companies through November 30, 2021, with strong average support of 92.2%. Sixty-two companies—or 2.7%—failed Say on Pay, including some large, “name-brand” companies. The reasons for these high-profile failures can be primarily attributed to several factors including the use of positive discretion in determining annual incentive payouts, modifications to in-flight long-term incentive (LTI) awards, grants of “out-sized” stock awards without a compelling rationale, and a disconnect between pay and performance. READ MORE