[Official Guidance]
IRS Web Page Provides Overview of Information, with Links, on Correcting an Eligibility Failure Due to 403(b) Plan Sponsor's Loss of Tax-Exempt Status
"If a retirement plan was intended to satisfy the requirements of Code § 403(b) but was adopted or operated by a plan sponsor that is not a tax-exempt organization described in Code § 501(c)(3) or an educational organization described in Code § 170(b)(1)(A)(ii), the plan may have an 'eligibility failure'." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Register for ASPPA?s Spring Exams! (advert.)

ASPPA?s Education and Examination programs provide affordable and convenient ways of earning credentials and Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. Register before April 14 at asppa.org/education to save money with the "early bird" discount

[Official Guidance]
Text of Final PBGC Rule on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Paying Benefits (PDF)
"This final rule amends [PBGC's] regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in March 2011." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Summarizes Resolution Procedure for Ineligible 403(b) Sponsors (PDF)
"Upon issuance of the Enforcement Resolution by the Service, the program will not be disqualified under section 403(b), and the participants will receive the tax treatment provided under section 403(b)." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
DOL Extension of Compliance Deadline for Plan-Level Fee Disclosure Rules
"[The regulations] will apply to 'covered service providers' that reasonably expect to receive $1,000 or more in direct or indirect compensation from a retirement plan in a given plan year." (E Is for ERISA)

[Guidance Overview]
Lincoln National Corp. Allowed 'Causation' Defense in Stock Drop Matter
"'Lincoln's causation defenses thus appear to go to the heart of a requisite element for [the plaintiff's] claims, and are not clearly legally insufficient,' . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Guidance Overview]
DOL Advisory Opinion Disallows IRA Promissory Note Investment
"This ruling is important because [DOL] concluded that the proposed arrangement would be an impermissible extension of credit from the IRA to the IRA owners, even though the owners simply intended to move the existing loan over from a bank to the IRA without thereafter refinancing or otherwise taking any action that would constitute a new loan from the IRA." (E Is for ERISA)

[Guidance Overview]
Retirement Plans Impacted by New Puerto Rico 2011 Tax Code
"Changes for retirement plans are in effect under Section 1081.01 of [Puerto Rico's] 2011 tax code, though some rules are delayed to 2012." (Mercer LLC)

[Guidance Overview]
Seventh Circuit Concludes Employer's Selection of Investment Options Not Protected Under ERISA Section 404(c)
"The Seventh Circuit now joins the Fourth Circuit in adopting the DOL's position that ERISA Section 404(c) does not provide protection for the selection of investment funds." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

[Guidance Overview]
Last Chance for Late Adopters of Preapproved DC Plans to Qualify for IRS Fee Discount
"Employers that missed the April 30, 2010, deadline for adopting restated EGTRRA preapproved defined contribution plans may seek relief under the IRS Voluntary Correction Program." (Mercer LLC)

Small Business and Employee Retirement Savings Plans (PDF)
"This paper will examine the challenges small businesses face in providing retirement plans for their employees, and potential public and private solutions to ease the burden on small business." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

Hybrid and Defined Contribution Plans as the Primary or Optional State Retirement Benefit (PDF)
"The listing [in this document] identifies states that provide a defined contribution plan to broad employee groups (public school teachers, public safety officers, correctional officers, or general employees), or a hybrid retirement plan to these employee groups." (National Association of State Retirement Administrators)

Workers' Lawsuits for 401(k) Losses
"Some banks, such as Citi and Lehman, have gotten the suits dismissed, but others are cutting checks to make them go away. Last year, Washington Mutual agreed to a $49 mil.lion settlement involving 38,000 employees, and Merrill agreed to a $75 mil.lion deal in 2009 . . . ." (Crain Communications Inc.)

America Saves Week 2011
"America Saves Week 2011 is scheduled for February 20-27, 2011." (America Saves)

Interdependent Durations in Joint Retirement
"In this paper, we use a novel duration model to study joint retirement in married couples using the Health and Retirement Study." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Lawmakers Hear Public Pensions Aren't Dying
"[The Research Director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators], told the U.S. House of Representative's Judiciary Committee that state and local government pensions are weathering the financial crisis." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Regulating Investment Advice for 401(k) Plan Participants: Is More Advice the Answer?
"This Article discusses whether the provision of investment advice is likely to be successful." (Social Science Research Network)

Five Ways Obama's Budget Will Impact Retirees
"The proposals allocate more resources to Social Security . . ., but also cut funding to a job retraining program for senior citizens." (U.S. News & World Report)

The Error-Proof Portfolio: What Not to Put in Your IRA
"You can choose from a broad assortment of investments to stash within an IRA wrapper: individual stocks, individual bonds, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, even real estate." (Morningstar, Inc.)

What People Know about Target-Date Funds: Survey and Focus Group Evidence
"[I]t is important to understand how knowledge and awareness may differ between an active or passive decision to invest in the fund. Another perplexing issue is that DC plan participants often invest in other assets in addition to their target-date holdings within their retirement accounts." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

In Los Angeles, Measure G Would Reduce Retirement Benefits to Newly Hired Police Officers and Firefighters
"Some labor representatives argue that the rebounding stock market will solve the pension funds' problems, but that's quixotic. The city will have to make even higher payments into the pension funds if the return on their investments is less than about 8% annually, a percentage that's in line with their historical performance but hardly assured now." (Los Angeles Times)

Legislation Seeks Extensive Funding Disclosures from Public Pension Plans
"Recently proposed legislation -- the Public Employee Pension Transparency Act -- would bar state and local governments from selling bonds exempt from federal taxes unless the issuers annually report their pension plan liabilities to the Treasury Department." (Mercer LLC)

Dealing With Higher Pension Costs Imposed by PBGC
"The problem the government sees is that collectively [the defined benefit] plans taken over by the PBGC are underfunded by a total of $23 bil.lion. In addition to the increase in total premiums, the government wants the PBGC to alter the way the premiums are calculated to charge shaky companies higher fees than more financially secure ones." (The Wall Street Journal)

Florida Governor Says Pension Contribution Phase-In a No-Go
"Senate Education Appropriations Committee Chairman David Simmons said he wants to see the pension reform eased in over more than one year so that beginning teachers won't get a pay cut while the state's still struggling to come out of a recession." (The Palm Beach Post)

Best Practices for 403(b) and Related Retirement Plans Information Sharing: Minimum and Comprehensive Data Elements (PDF)
Version 1.04; Updated on February 14, 2011; Effective as of October 1, 2011. 'These 'Best Practices' set forth: 1. The data elements for information sharing between 403(b) plan employers or employer representatives and vendors. 2. A basic file convention layout. 3. The frequency of data transmissions. 4. An approach for sharing and transmitting data on a transaction or daily basis when agreed upon by both the sending and receiving parties." (The SPARK Institute)

[Opinion]
2011 As 'The Year of Disclosure'
"[M]ost of the burden for disclosure falls on those who provide services to the plan, not the plan sponsor. That said, once the plan sponsor/fiduciary is apprised of such things in black and white (not to mention the Labor Department via the Form 5500), IMHO, it will be a lot harder to profess ignorance of such things." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Opinion]
The Crises in State and Municipal Pension Funds
"In the future, state and municipal pensions should be subject to comparable funding requirements and self-dealing restrictions as private pension funds." (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research)

Pensions & Investments East Coast Defined Contribution Conference (advert.)

March 13-15, 2011, The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort, Miami. Join 350 of your peers to discuss the changes in the industry and discover time-tested strategies that will help you make informed decisions for your plan. Plan sponsors attend FREE.

[Official Guidance]
Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012
The target page provides links to all the documents, tables, and fact sheets related to the budget. (U.S. Office of Management and Budget)

[Guidance Overview]
ERISA Considerations for Severance Pay Policies Checklist (PDF)
"This Checklist outlines the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining a formal severance pay policy and of the policy complying with [ERISA]." (Practical Law Company, Inc.)

FDIC Proposes Incentive Pay Rules for Financial Institutions
"Proposed FDIC rules approved Feb. 7 would bar incentive pay that is 'excessive' or could lead to 'real financial loss' at financial firms with at least $1 bil.lion in assets." (Mercer LLC)

Changes Made to State and Local Pension and Retiree Health Care Benefits
The Web page provides links to compilations of information from NASRA, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, and the Pew Center for the States. (National Association of State Retirement Administrators)

Labor-Force Participation Rates of the Population Age 55 and Older (PDF)
"For those age 55 and older, the labor-force participation rate continued to increase even after the economic downturn of 2008-2009." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

IRS Announces Upcoming Phone Forum on Form 5330
"The IRS has scheduled a free phone forum on the completion and processing for Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans, for March 24, 2011 . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer)

GM Set to Pay Hourly Workers at Least $4, 000 Bonus
"This is the largest profit-sharing bonus GM has ever given hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers union." (Reuters)

US Department of Labor Releases Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

Women, Young People More Inclined to Seek Objective Health Care Information to Save Costs, Ensure Quality (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

The SPARK Institute Updates 403(B) Plans Information Sharing Best Practices (SPARK Institute)

Administrator Is Certified To Industry Best Practices (Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX))

New Report: Companies Must Manage Employee Health -- Not Just Benefits (Healthcare Performance Management Institute)

Retirement & Estates Associate in AZ for Charles Schwab

Retirement Plan Operations Team Lead in TX for Charles Schwab

Retirement Plan Service Specialist in AZ for Charles Schwab

Plan Administrator Specialist in AZ for Pension Funds of Arizona

Client Service Plan Administrator in CA for San Diego Pension Consultants

"Virtual" Defined Contribution Pension Plan Administrator in ANY STATE for The Angell Pension Group, Inc.

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