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401(k) Administrator/Compliance Consultant
DWC ERISA Consultants, LLC
in ANY STATE

Client Service Representative
Associated Pension Consultants
in CA

401(k) Pension Plan Business Development
AEPG Wealth Strategies
in NJ

Assistant Vice President - Defined Benefit Administration
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in MA

Senior 401k/Retirement Plan Associate
Iron Financial
in IL

Senior Benefits Professional
Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation
in NY, PA

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How the Individual Mandate and Public Exchanges Affected Employer Plans in 2014 ? Results of a New Employer Survey
March 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Mercer)

DOL Audits with Craig J. Davidson, CEBS
March 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(FutureOffice Network)

Target Date Funds - Considerations for Plan Fiduciaries
March 20, 2014 in CA
(Western Pension & Benefits Council - Orange County Chapter)

Southern Retirement Plan Conference
April 24, 2014 in GA
(SunGard Relius)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Text of DOL Proposed Amendment Relating to Reasonable Contract or Arrangement Under Section 408(b)(2): Fee Disclosure (PDF)
"[DOL] is proposing ... that covered service providers furnish a guide along with the initial disclosures required by the rule, if the disclosures are contained in multiple or lengthy documents. The Department believes that plan fiduciaries, especially in the case of small plans, need a tool to effectively make use of the required disclosures. The guide being proposed in this document provides clarity and specificity, while avoiding the uncertainty and burdens that some commenters argued may accompany construction of a 'summary' of existing documents. The Department believes that a required summary without some guide to the underlying disclosures themselves, could become the primary document on which some responsible plan fiduciaries rely, which is not the Department's intention.... To avoid unnecessary cost to covered service providers, the proposal also allows for the fact that, in some cases, covered service providers may already furnish the required disclosures in a concise, single document. If that is the case, then the covered service provider will not be required to provide a separate guide to the disclosures." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

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PPA Document Restatements Update

PPA Restatements are quickly approaching -- get ready with ASCi! Join, Charles Lockwood, J.D., LL.M., for two free webcasts, April 23rd & May 7th. Click here for more info.

Text of EBSA Proposed Information Collection Request for Evaluating Effectiveness of the 408(b)(2) Disclosure Requirement
"EBSA and CEO intend to conduct approximately eight to ten focus group sessions with approximately 70 to 100 RPFs to small pension plans (those with less than 100 participants). They will be asked to provide information including the following: [1] their role with respect to their plan; [2] the number of service providers hired by the plan; [3] whether they are aware of and understand the disclosures mandated by the 408(b)(2) final regulation; [4] their experience with receiving the disclosures; [5] whether they were able to find information regarding the services that would be provided and the costs of those services; [6] whether their review of the disclosures impacted their decision-making with regard to hiring, monitoring, or retaining service providers or changing plan investment options; [7] whether their CSPs provide a guide or similar organizational tool to help find specific information within the disclosures; and [8] whether a guide to the required disclosures would be beneficial to them, and if so, how much they would be willing to pay to receive a guide." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

DOL Fact Sheet: Proposed Regs to Require a Guide to Assist Plan Fiduciaries in Reviewing 408(b)(2) Disclosures
"If a guide is required, the covered service provider must direct the fiduciary to the place in the disclosure documents where the fiduciary can find: [1] The description of services to be provided; [2] The statement concerning services to be provided as a fiduciary and/or as a registered investment adviser; [3] The description of: all direct and indirect compensation, any compensation that will be paid among related parties, compensation for termination of the contract or arrangement, as well as compensation for recordkeeping services; [4] The required investment disclosures for fiduciary services and recordkeeping and brokerage services, including annual operating expenses and ongoing expenses, or if applicable, total annual operating expenses. The guide will assist responsible plan fiduciaries by ensuring that the location of all information required to be disclosed is evident and easy to find.... The Department proposes that the amendment to the final rule become effective 12 months after publication of a final amendment in the Federal Register." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

DOL Proposes That Service Providers Give Employers a Guide for 401(k) Fee Disclosures
"The U.S. Department of Labor today requested public comments on a proposed rule that would require pension plan service providers to furnish employers and other plan fiduciaries with a guide to assist them in navigating fee disclosure documents.... The proposal announced today would amend the 2012 rule to require that covered service providers furnish a guide if disclosures are made using multiple or lengthy documents. The guide must specifically identify the document, page or other specific locator, such as section, that enables the employer to quickly and easily find fee information." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

GASB Toolkit Helps State and Local Governments Implement New Accounting Standards
"The toolkit is designed to help preparers, auditors, and users of state and local government financial reports understand and apply the revised pension accounting and financial reporting standards that the GASB approved in June 2012. The toolkit is available at no cost at the GASB website." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)

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IRS Phone Forum, March 13, 2014: An Overview of the 2013 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification

EP Technical Guidance will discuss the list of changes plan sponsors and practitioners must make to a plan before submitting determination letter applications beginning February 1, 2014 (Notice 2013-84). Openings still available!

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans: IRS Position on Mid-year Amendments
"In November 2013, the IRS issued final regulations regarding the mid-year reduction or elimination of safe harbor 401(k) employer contributions (exiting rules). The new regulations also made a change in the provision relating to other mid-year amendments to safe harbor 401(k) plans. Although this change received far less attention than the exiting provisions, the modification may be equally significant.... Many practitioners interpreted the regulation to prevent mid-year changes to the safe harbor contributions but not with respect to other plan changes. The IRS, on the other hand, interprets this provision as permitting mid-year amendments only when the IRS formally issues an exception." (SunGard Relius)

Eleventh Circuit Joins Fourth Circuit in Rejecting Continuing Breach Approach to ERISA's Statute of Limitation
"The Court found that the plaintiff's allegations in the Complaint concerning the SunTrust plan fiduciaries' failure to remove the funds from the 401(k) options were 'in all relevant respects identical to the allegations concerning the [initial] selection process.' ... As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was careful to do in Alphin, the Fuller Court declared that it was declining to decide 'whether a fiduciary had an ongoing duty to remove imprudent investment options from a Plan in the absence of a material change in circumstances.' Rather, it described its ruling as limited to the prevention of a 'continuing violation theory,' which could thwart the purpose of ERISA's six-year statute of repose." [ Fuller v. SunTrust Banks, Inc. , No. 12-16217 (11th Cir. Feb. 26, 2014)] (Womble Carlyle)

As Critics Take Aim, Providers of Target-Date Funds Defend Their Turf
"More than 40 percent of U.S. defined contribution plan participants use target date funds ... Strikingly, fully 52 percent of them are in their 20s.... Target date funds' default strategy of automatically adjusting holdings to lower-risk assets as goal dates approach is simplistic, critics say. Another accusation: Sponsors often fail to properly vet the funds on offer, lazily sticking with a few from the Big Three providers[.]" (Institutional Investor)

Target-Date Fund Adoption in 2013
"TDFs have now reached 19% of total Vanguard DC plan assets and 34% of total DC plan contributions in 2013.... By year-end 2013, 34% of Vanguard plans had adopted automatic enrollment, typically for newly eligible participants.... Among plans with more than 1,000 participants, 6 in 10 have adopted the feature by 2013 and 6 in 10 participants are in plans with automatic enrollment." (Vanguard)

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Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities Under ERISA -- April 9 webinar

The webinar will cover practical strategies to avoid fiduciary status where advisable, satisfy your fiduciary duties when necessary and appropriate, and guard yourself from exposure to liability for alleged breaches. Special BenefitsLink discount .

Helping 401(k) Plan Sponsors Apply Fiduciary Principles to Build a 21st Century Plan
"The best way to reduce fiduciary liability is by creating or upgrading you plan design to conform to the latest research. With a 21st Century plan design, the plan sponsor creates a framework that, at the very least, makes it more difficult for service providers to increase plan sponsor liability. In addition, it bakes into the cake ... a process that directs participants to act in their own best interests." (Fiduciary News)

Is a Roth IRA Conversion Right for You?
"Given each high net worth individual's unique circumstances, there is no single right answer regarding whether converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA will maximize the individual's net worth. That said, [a table in this article] describes general factors that may or may not support a Roth IRA conversion." (Manning & Napier)

Once Bankrupt, City of Vallejo Still Can't Afford Its Pricey Pensions
"The California city of Vallejo emerged from bankruptcy just over two years ago, but it is still struggling to pay its bills. The main culprit: Ballooning pension costs, which will hit more than $14 million this year, a nearly 40% increase from two years ago. Amid threats of legal action from the state's pension giant, CalPERS, Vallejo did little during its nearly three-year stint in bankruptcy to stem the growth in its pension bills." (CNNMoney.com)

ERISA Plan Fiduciaries: Are Your Conversations With Legal Counsel Privileged?
"Ten Factors in Determining Fiduciary Exception: Identify the Client.... Nature and Purpose of the Communication... Limits to the Fiduciary Exception... Joint Representation... Participant Claims and Appeals.... Good Cause Requirement... Application to DOL Proceedings.... Application to Insurance Companies.... Waiver... Attorney Work Product." (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)

The Pursuit of Happiness: Savings and Income for a Lifetime
"Investing throughout retirement, to preserve capital, generate income and perhaps even obtain a measure of growth, will be a necessity for many if they are to address the most pervasive fear about growing old: outliving their retirement savings... [S]ome 49% of survey participants were willing to pay for protection against outliving their retirement savings or retirement asset volatility.... Of those with an annual household income of $100,000 or more, 59% indicated they would be willing to pay either to protect themselves from outliving their retirement savings or to protect their retirement assets from volatility." (Franklin Templeton Investments)

Why Pension Plan Asset Allocation Is Becoming More and More Tied to Funded Status
"The idea that pension plan asset allocation should be tied to funded status ... was not common practice before 2008 ... Today, it's taken as a given. Nobody is surprised when the financial statements of major corporations talk of 'a broad global pension de-risking strategy' or note that 'the interest rate hedge is dynamically increased as funded status improves.' ... To see why this link has become so strong, so quickly, let's start with [a] diagram of four basic combinations of investment policy and funding strength." (Russell Investments)

U.K. Insurance Industry Promises Pension Annuity Reforms
"British pension providers will do more to ensure customers get the best deal when they retire by providing advice and helping them shop around for annuities, the insurance industry's trade body pledged on Monday. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said it was acting in response to a report last month by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a UK watchdog, which called the annuity market 'disorderly' and criticized insurers for making excessive profits." (Reuters)

Failed Say-on-Pay Votes: Revisiting the Road to Recovery (PDF)
"[T]his is a good time to look back at companies that failed to secure majority support for their SOP proposals and assess what they did to turn things around the following year. [This article reviews] at those companies whose SOP votes failed during the 2012 proxy season [to] see how their SOP votes fared in 2013, as well as follow up to see how the companies with failed SOP votes in 2011 continued to fare in 2013. Finally, [this article looks] at the updated quantitative tests being used by ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.) to evaluate SOP proposals and the implications of such tests for companies trying to recover from a failed SOP vote and/or trying to avoid a SOP failure in 2014." (Exequity via Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Daily)

Long-Term Incentives: The Continuing Shift to Performance-Based Awards
"The most significant changes observed [between 2011 and 2013] were: ... [1] The percentage of companies granting performance plan awards increased from 60% to 67%, while the percentage of companies granting performance-based restricted stock increased from 23% to 26%.... [2] The percentage of companies granting stock options in the last three years decreased from 67% to 61%, continuing the trend of the past decade or so since the advent of stock option expensing.... [3] Total shareholder return (TSR) continues to be the most prevalent metric for performance plan awards, with a 45% prevalence in 2012." (Towers Watson)

NFP Unveils Turnkey Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Platform EXEC360 National Financial Partners Corp. (NFP)

Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission Invites Submissions to Provide Certain Legal Services Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission

ConnectYourCare?s HSA On Demand Chosen by Prepaid Industry Leaders as Best in Category ConnectYourCare

American Benefits Council Elects New Officers And Executive Board, Reports Record Membership Growth American Benefits Council

Quest Diagnostics to Acquire Summit Health Quest Diagnostics

BECU (Boeing Employees? Credit Union) Selects Benefitfocus HR InTouch Benefitfocus

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