BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter
Employee Benefits Jobs
Defined Contribution Relationship Manager
for Milliman in TX
401(k) / Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for R.J.L. Pension Services, Inc. in FL
Account Manager - Health & Welfare
for The Plexus Groupe in IL
VP and Chief Operating Officer
for United Retirement Plan Consultants in CA
Senior Conversion Manager
for Charles Schwab in OH
DB Plan Administration Services Manager
for Charles Schwab in OH
Actuarial Consultant
for Charles Schwab in OH
401(k) Relationship Manager
for Industry Leading Financial Services Firm in IL, MO
Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com
Webcasts and Conferences
"Ethics: A Practical Understanding of the Rules" Web Seminar Nationwide on November 29, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius
Changes to Cafeteria Plans: What You Need to Know to Prepare Nationwide on November 1, 2011 presented by Lorman Education Services
COBRA: A Little of Everything is Changing Nationwide on November 29, 2011 presented by Lorman Education Services
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32 pages, from today's Federal Register. (This is the typeset version of the document to which we linked yesterday.) (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Advance Your Career with ASPPA this Fall [Advert.]
Whether working towards an ASPPA credential or just growing knowledge in specific areas, ASPPA exams offer CPE credits (valid for ASPPA, JBEA and ERPA). Proctored exam window is open November 1 to December 14 - register early and have time to prepare.
"The final rule will become effective on December 27, 2011, and will be applicable to transactions occurring on or after that date." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
"Many TPAs have determined that they are not subject to the disclosure requirements because they receive their compensation directly from the employer or from the plan. TPAs that have made such determinations may, nevertheless, have concerns because they may receive unanticipated indirect payments from financial institutions to which they refer business." (SunGard Relius)
"The Houston pension fund launched the suit after Highland announced three years ago it would shutter its Highland Crusader Fund. The system accused the money manager of looting the fund." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
"The court also determined that the six-year statute of limitations applicable to the case began to accrue when the participants received their lump-sum distributions." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
ERISA Workshop: Up-to-date DOL/IRS Guidance + Continuing Education [Advert.]
Your customers count on you to help keep their plans safe from IRS, DOL, and participant issues. Attend our ERISA Workshop to stay abreast of the latest regulations and learn solutions for today?s fast-changing environment.
"The court said fiduciaries were aware the profit sharing plan participant sought plan documents and distribution election forms, and knew or should have known he lacked crucial information." (Mercer LLC)
The new form removes participant Social Security numbers from the Form 5500 filing package. (Milliman, Inc.)
Rule Lets 401(k) Plan Advisers Take More Fees
"Regulation announced by the Department of Labor on Monday will allow investment advisers to retirement plans now receive fees from third parties, such as mutual funds, a change that may help those advisers expand their business with retirement plans." (Reuters)
Retirement Plan Providers Can Now Offer Own Advice
"Retirement plan providers, including big companies like Fidelity, Vanguard or T. Rowe Price, can offer the advice themselves as long as they avoid conflicts of interest by meeting one of two conditions." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Towers Watson Reviews Pension Volatility Management Strategies
"The analysis found a combination of reduced-risk/better-matched investment policy and reduced-duration plan design was most effective at reducing volatility." (Towers Watson)
Public Pension Pressures in the United States
"This paper discusses why public pensions have warranted so much interest of late, focusing on their financing status and reform options." (Pension Research Council; free registration required to download papers)
IRS Phone Forum Handout on Determination Letter Issues Regarding Employee Stock Ownership Plans Presentation (PDF)
Presentation scheduled for October 28, 2011. "The presentation will cover topics such as technical issues affecting ESOPs and recurring issues noted in ESOP determination letter submissions." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
The 4th Deadly Fiduciary Sin: Overdiversification
"[Let's look at] how diversification, whose objective has been to reduce overall risk, has over the decades morphed into overdiversification and has actually increased risk." (Fiduciary News)
New York State and More Than 100 Local Governments Face Pension Cost Bulge from Budget-Paring Incentives
"Lawmakers passed the plan in May 2010, as [Governor Paterson] estimated fiscal 2010 and 2011 budget savings of $320 mil.lion. Combined, the extra cost to state and local governments that offered the inducements will be almost $650 mil.lion, and more if municipalities spread out their payments to the New York State Common Retirement Fund, according to officials in Albany." (Bloomberg L.P.)
Retirement Investment Funds Built for Skittish Times
"Pimco has created its RealRetirement target-date funds with a strategy that appears to be custom-built for these skittish times. There's less money in stocks, more inflation protection, hedging to protect against large losses and freedom for the Pimco fund managers to make bets on the fly." (The New York Times; free registration required)
DOL Urges Amara Court to Reinstate Remedy for Flawed SPD
"The US Supreme Court's discussion of ERISA remedies for a flawed SPD was a formal conclusion lower courts must follow, a [DOL] brief argues, refuting claims the discussion wasn't essential to the CIGNA v. Amara ruling." (Mercer LLC)
Sutter County, NY, Employees OK Pay and Pension Givebacks
"Under the new contracts, that pension formula dropped from 3 percent per year to 2 percent for most sheriff's and fire employees and from 2.7 percent to 2 percent for miscellaneous employees, according to a press release from the county." (The Sacramento Bee)
Funding the Post-Pension Retirement
"Far more people will retire without pensions and will need to rely on their accumulated savings to pay for everything that Social Security doesn't cover. So how will you turn those funds into the monthly income you will need to pay your bills?" (The Wall Street Journal)
[Corrected Link] Plan Sponsors Should Prepare Now for 2012 Pension Interest Rates
"The IRS recently released the October interest rates for pension plans. What do they hold in store for plan sponsors? This post summarizes some of the important rates along with our observations." (Van Iwaarden Associates)
"The scariest thing about retiring in this stagnant economy is that if you do realize you're running out of money, it will be tough to find a job that pays as well as the one you had -- much less find one at all. Here's why most retiring Boomers in the private sector will likely run out of money in five years or less." (TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.)
"City pension costs are a crisis—one that the city's fiscal watchdog, John Liu, should tackle. Instead, Comptroller Liu just released a report whose title might as well be 'Nothing to See Here, Folks—Just Leave Your Wallet and Move Along.'" (NYP Holdings, Inc.)
Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
"Code Section 132(g) allows employers to provide certain moving expense reimbursements directly or indirectly to their employees on a tax-free basis, so long as the moving expenses would have qualified for a deduction from income on the employee's individual federal income tax return." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
IRS Guidance on Federal Income Tax Returns for Registered Domestic Partners in Community Property States
"The IRS released a set of Questions and Answers to supplement Publication 555 Community Property regarding the preparation of Federal income tax returns for same-s.ex spouses in California and registered domestic partners in California, Nevada and Washington. The Q&As address various topics, including head of household status, claiming children as dependents and claiming adoption credits." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
Press Releases
2Q BOLI Assets Up and Trending Toward Hybrid Accounts (Meyer-Chatfield)
Bruce Ashton Receives Highest Honor From ASPPA At Annual Conference (Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP)
Retirement Calculators for New York City Employees (Thomann Tax & Asset Management, Inc.)
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