[Official Guidance]
DOL Fall 2010 Semi-Annual Agenda for Rulemaking and Regulations The EBSA Unified Agenda is published twice a year.
(U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Provision of Relief for Retirement Plan Providers from New Tax Return Preparer Requirements (PDF) Excerpt: "This relief also addresses the concerns of insurance companies and service providers that prepare or provide information for Schedule A or C of Form 5500. The list of exempted forms is not comprehensive, however; for example, the Form 990 series, including Form 990-T, is not exempted."
(Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Participant Fee Disclosure Regulations: Annual and Quarterly Disclosures of Individual and Administrative Expenses Excerpt: "Administrative expenses are fees and expenses for general administrative services (e.g., recordkeeping, legal, 5500 preparation, testing, etc.) that may be charged against the participants' individual accounts and are not reflected in the total annual operating expenses (e.g., 12b-1 fee) of any designed investment alternative (e.g., mutual fund option)."
(SunGard Relius)

[Guidance Overview]
PBGC Says It Will Forgo Rulemaking Related to the Timing of Annuity Purchases Excerpt: "In lieu of rulemaking or issuing new guidance, 'PBGC will continue monitoring industry practices to determine whether further regulatory action or specific guidance is needed in the future,' the notice said. 'PBGC will also continue to audit all plans that make a final distribution of plan assets before or without filing a standard termination notice and take enforcement action where appropriate,' it said."
(Keightley & Ashner LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS List of Retirement Plan Changes for Cycle A Qualification Requests Excerpt: "Retirement plans seeking determination letters in Cycle A should incorporate the necessary plan updates outlined in the 2010 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements issued by the Internal Revenue Service in Notice 2010-90."
(Wolters Kluwer)

Call for Proposals: Improving Lives of Vulnerable Americans Through Social Security
Excerpt: "With support from the Ford Foundation, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is awarding funds to projects designed to educate Americans most reliant on Social Security about its role in their economic security. The purpose of the project is to support constituency building, education outside of the beltway, and the development of user-friendly, research-based information on the adequacy of Social Security benefits and how these could be strengthened for vulnerable groups, including communities of color, women, people with disabilities, low-wage workers and children."
(National Academy of Social Insurance)

Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Benefits Over a Lifetime
Excerpt: "How much will you pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes over your lifetime? And how much can you expect to get back in benefits? It depends on whether you're married, when you retire, and how much you've earned over a lifetime."
(Urban Institute)

Change in Average Account Balances by Age and Tenure from January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010 Among 401(k) Participants with Account Balances As of Dec. 31, 2009 (PDF)
1 page. Tabulations from EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project; 2010 Account Balances: EBRI estimates. The analysis is based on all participants with account balances at the end of 2009 and contribution information for that year.
(Employee Benefit Research Institute)

An Actuarial Field Guide to a Long and Healthy Retirement
Excerpt: "Unless you expect to work until you drop, some planning is in order to get the most out of your final years."
(American Association of Actuaries)

Government Plan Determination Letter Deadline Delay Sought
Excerpt: "[Two lawyers with] the Groom Law Group, Chartered, asserted in a letter to the [IRS] that a one-time extension to comply with the deadline in Section 414(d) to January 31, 2012, 'would serve the best interests of the service, plan participants, governmental retirement systems, and sponsoring employers.'"
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Plan Fiduciaries Gain Protection from Employee Lawsuits
Excerpt: "Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), 401(k)s, and other types of eligible individual account plans (EIAPs) are often an effective way to build employee loyalty, especially when the plans invest in the employer's own stock. A potential downfall, though, has always been the possibility of employees bringing a class action lawsuit if the stock drops in value."
(Business & Legal Reports, Inc.)

[Opinion]
401(k) Fee Disclosure: I Can Hardly Wait Excerpt: "I can hardly wait for fee disclosure so we will have the data to incontrovertibly prove that the fee structure of 401(k) plans is one of their greatest benefits and those writing negative 401(k) fee articles will be silenced forever."
(Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)

[Opinion]
Groom Law Group Comment Letter on Cycle E Amendment Deadline (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "Groom Law Group submitted a comment letter to the [IRS] to request an extension of the upcoming January 31, 2011, 'Cycle E' determination letter deadline for governmental plans described in Code section 414(d)."
(Groom Law Group)

[Opinion]
Should What DOL's New Regs Reveal about Most Widely Held 401k Mutual Funds Worry Plan Sponsors? Excerpt: "One of the most glaring questions rising from the analysis using the DOL's model comparison chart starts at the very top. How could such a high cost/poor performing fund like the Growth Fund of America sit as the most widely held 401k mutual fund."
(Fiduciary News)

[Opinion]
Prognostications for Advisers, Plan Sponsors, Providers and Regulators in 2011 Excerpt: "Will 2011 be the year that the DC industry focuses on outcomes, not features? It's ambitious and won't be accomplished overnight. But without that goal in sight, where are we headed?"
(Employee Benefit Adviser; one-time free registration required)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Notice 2011-2 Provides Interim Guidance on PPACA's Limitation on Deduction of Compensation Paid by Health Insurance Providers 3 pages. Excerpt: "Notice 2011-2 is effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010. The IRS anticipates incorporating this guidance into regulations. Any future guidance that would expand the coverage of Section 162(m)(6) will apply prospectively."
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)

Employee Ownership Update for January 3, 2011
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses the following: One of the most comprehensive and convincing studies to date on the effect of broad-based stock options on company performance was released in November. The DOL will hold a hearing on the proposed rule amending the definition of 'fiduciary' and defining ESOP appraisers as fiduciaries. Mystockoptions.com has a valuable analysis of the new tax law's effect on equity compensation. You can get a free ShareComp conference registration. (National Center for Employee Ownership
(NCEO))

IRS's 2011 Version of Publication 15-B: Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "Publication 15-B, which is a supplement to IRS Publication 15 (more commonly known as Circular E), is a useful reference for employers on the tax treatment of fringe benefits. But it is important to remember that this publication does not provide full coverage of the many rules applicable to the fringe benefits it summarizes. Instead, Publication 15-B refers readers to other IRS publications, guidance, and websites for more detailed coverage of certain aspects of these fringe benefits."
(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

"Best of the 2010 IRS Q&A's" Web Seminar - Rescheduled for 1/25/2011
Nationwide on January 25, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"Distributions and Taxation" Web Seminar - Rescheduled to 2/15/2011
Nationwide on February 15, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"Earned Income: Computing Compensation for the Self-employed" Web Seminar
Nationwide on February 1, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"ERPA Test Review - Part 1" Web Seminar, A 3-part program
Nationwide on January 5, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"ERPA Test Review - Part 2" Web Seminar, A 3-part program
Nationwide on January 12, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"Good News on PTINs: What It Means and What's Left" Web Seminar
Nationwide on January 18, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"Multiple Employer Plans: Perils and Possibilities" Web Seminar
Nationwide on January 11, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

"Plan Fees Workshop: Navigating the Maze" - January-February 2011, 18 Cities
Nationwide on January 20, 2011
presented by SunGard Relius

13th Annual Advanced Cafeteria Plans Conference 2011
in Minnesota on July 20, 2011
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters

Post your webcast or conference

PBGC, Motorola Agree on $100 Million in Pension Protection Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

US Labor Department Obtains Judgment Restoring Nearly $34,000 In Misused Assets To 401(K) Plan Of Newton, Mass., Salon U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

ASPPA Welcomes IRS Clarification on PTIN Registration Requirements American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Former T. Rowe Price Executives Join Retirement Plan Advisory Group Retirement Plan Advisory Group

401ktest.com: HCE Refund Calculator Will Launch This Friday, Jan. 7th; This Is The Last Week To Beta Test It & Make Final Comments. 401kTest.com

BNA Books' New 2010 Edition of 'ERISA: The Law and the Code' Details Recent Amendments to ERISA and the Tax Code BNA Books

Post your press release

Senior Plan Consultant
for Scholz, Klein & Friends Enlightened Retirement Group, Inc.
in TX

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Bates & Company, P.A.
in FL

Sr. Client Employee Benefit Advisor
for Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP
in CA

Calculation Engine Analyst
for J.P. Morgan
in IL, MO, TX

Post your job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com | View all jobs | RSS feed of all jobs

• View Today's Active Message Threads
• Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
• Employee Benefits Library

This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151

Jeanette Hull, News Editor

David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisherdbaker@benefitslink.com

Copyright 2011 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.

Anyone can subscribe to this newsletter.

Other useful links:

• How to Sponsor an Issue
• Privacy Policy
• Archive of Previous Newsletters