ASPPA

Health Benefits Law Attorney
Alston & Bird LLP
in DC

Manager of Client Service Team
JPMorgan Chase
in CO, KS

Benefits Communications Specialist
Employee Benefits Consulting Firm
in GA

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The Critical Difference: HIPAA Security Evaluation v HIPAA Security Risk Analysis
April 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clearwater Compliance)

Midwest Regional Conference
April 9, 2014 in IL
(Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA))

The Future of U.S. Health Care Spending: Why it Slowed and How to Sustain It
April 11, 2014 in DC
(Altarum Institute)

Longevity Improvements Strike Again - Strengthening the Case for Pension Risk Transfer
April 16, 2014 WEBCAST
(Institutional Investor Journals)

Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference
May 4, 2014 in MA
(University Conference Services)

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Text of IRS Announcement 2014-15: Application of One-Per-Year Limit on IRA Rollovers (PDF)
"The IRS anticipates that it will follow the interpretation of 408(d)(3)(B) in [ Bobrow v. Commissioner ] and, accordingly, intends to withdraw the proposed regulation and revise Publication 590 to the extent needed to follow that interpretation. These actions by the IRS will not affect the ability of an IRA owner to transfer funds from one IRA trustee directly to another, because such a transfer is not a rollover and, therefore, is not subject to the one-rollover-per-year limitation.... The IRS understands that adoption of the Tax Court's interpretation of the statute will require IRA trustees to make changes in the processing of IRA rollovers and in IRA disclosure documents, which will take time to implement. Accordingly, the IRS will not apply the Bobrow interpretation of 408(d)(3)(B) to any rollover that involves an IRA distribution occurring before January 1, 2015." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])

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IRA Rollover Guidance Issued: IRS Will Follow the Tax Court
"The IRS also announced that it intends to withdraw the proposed regulation and issue new regulations that follow the Tax Court's interpretation of the law and apply the limitation on an aggregate basis. It will also revise Publication 590 to the extent needed to reflect that interpretation." (Journal of Accountancy)

DOL Proposed Regulation on 408(b)(2) 'Guide' -- Impact on Service Providers
"The DOL has requested comments on the appropriate length of the document, and the regulation will be amended to insert a specific number of pages.... [S]ome TPAs may be disclosing their indirect compensation payments from insurance companies and mutual fund complexes through a separate document ... In that case, the TPA would be using multiple documents and would need to either develop a guide or consolidate the disclosures into a single document.... [M]ost recordkeepers will need to develop a 408(b)(2) disclosure guide.... Broker-dealers will probably bear the greatest burden of compliance with the guide requirement, if it becomes final in its proposed form." (Drinker Biddle)

Updated IRS Resource: Internal Controls Protect Your Retirement Plan
"Internal controls should include procedures for: [1] Plan operations review -- verify that you operate your plan according to its written terms; [2] Plan document updates -- meet with your benefits professional to see if the plan document needs updating for: law changes, changes in plan operations. The exact procedures will depend on your organization, your plan type and its features." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])

The 60-Day IRA Rollover: What Can Go Wrong
"This rollover started in 2008. It was finalized six years later. The IRS fee alone for this type of ruling is capped at $3,000. Generally you also have to pay a professional to prepare the [private letter ruling request]. Given the amount of times IRS requested more information from Nancy, the professional might have charged her another $10,000. The cost in time and money to complete this rollover -- not to mention the aggravation and stress on Gary and Nancy -- is something that we want you to avoid. DON'T DO 60-DAY ROLLOVERS." (The Slott Report)

Considerations for Service Provider Agreements
"When crafting an agreement with a service provider, 'first and foremost, plan sponsors need to have an inventory in their minds about what services they need instead of just having an open-ended conversation with a provider that may sell services not necessary for the plan,' [says Philip J. Koehler, CEO of ERISA Fiduciary Administrators LLC]. Services need to be spelled out specifically in the agreement. Many providers have a standard form agreement, and some will not vary much from it, he notes. As fiduciaries, plan sponsors need to focus on whether there are options in the agreement for services they need for their plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

The Adviser Industry Is Shrinking (And Why That's a Good Thing)
"[O]ver 100,000 advisers are projected to leave in the next ten years -- a full third of the industry. This headline-grabbing statistic is ... creating angst and worry for the financial well-being of the millions and millions of baby boomers who are entering retirement. Who or what will meet the staggering projected need and demand for financial advice as the adviser population continues to shrink? The good news for the adviser industry is that a bulk of that demand will be continue to be met by financial advisers, however, there will be much fewer of them, with the excess capacity filled by technology." (InvestmentNews)

Analyzing Defaulted Participant Behavior and QDIA Target Date Design (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "Contribution rates for defaulted participants start too low and remain well below industry expectations across their entire careers. A sizable number of defaulted participants take loans ... A number of defaulted participants take pre-retirement distributions, and most withdraw their entire account balances shortly after they stop working.... Projected balances at age 65 were significantly lower for defaulted participants. Fortunately, these participants also generally have a lower retirement savings 'finish line' to cross. Investing at controlled levels of risk -- through broader diversification and relatively rapid reduction in equity exposure in the years leading up to retirement -- increases the number of defaulted participants likely to reach their retirement income goals." (JPMorgan)

Eighth Circuit Weighs in on Excessive Fee Claims
"The court agreed with the Provider's argument that, based on basic principles of property rights, float is not a plan asset. With respect to Plan contributions, the court held that the Plan was credited with ownership of shares of the investment options on the day the contributions were received, and thereafter the Plan no longer had an ownership interest in the funds used to purchase those shares. With respect to redemptions from the Plan investment options, the court found that participants adduced no evidence that the Plan owned the funds in the redemption account." [ Tussey v. ABB, Inc. , No. 12-2056 (8th Cir. Mar. 19, 2014)] (Goodwin Procter)

2013 PPA 'Zone' Status of Calendar-Year Multiemployer Plans
"In 2013, a solid majority of plans -- 59 percent -- were in the green zone. This percentage represents a very slight decline from 2012 (60 percent). The percentage of plans in the yellow zone was the same for 2013 as for 2012: 14 percent. Between 2012 and 2013, the percentage of plans in the red zone increased by 1 percentage point, from 26 percent to 27 percent. The average PPA '06 funded percentage for all surveyed plans was 84 percent in 2013, the same percentage as in 2012." (Segal)

A Look at Women's Retirement Security
"[C]ompared to men, women's retirement security is often less than adequate. The [DOL] reports married women tend to outlive their spouses by two years once they reach age 65 -- that's two whole years of additional savings needed to cover the cost of living expenses that some do not factor in.... [W]omen do not invest in high-risk stocks because of the volatility of the stock market.... Women, more often than men, are employed in part-time jobs and do not qualify for company retirement plans." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])

Are Workers Rethinking Retirement Age? (PDF)
"Since 2009, between 20 and 25 percent of workers have reported that the age at which they expect to retire increased in the last year.... [O]nly 15 percent of workers report an increase in their expected retirement age in the past year, compared with 22 percent [last year]. In 1991, just 11 percent of workers expected to retire after age 65. Twenty-three years later, in 2014, 33 percent of workers report that they expect to retire after age 65, and 10 percent don't plan to retire at all. At the same time, the percentage of workers expecting to retire before age 65 has decreased, from 50 percent in 1991 to 27 percent." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])

Confidence About a Comfortable Retirement Increases Among Workers with a Plan
"The increased confidence did not seem to correlate with better financial planning, although it was higher among people with incomes of $75,000 or more and among those who have a retirement plan. Around half of workers without a retirement plan were not confident about their financial security in retirement, compared with one in 10 who have a plan." (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)

Accounting for Stock Compensation Under FASB ASC Topic 718 (PDF)
"FASB ASC Topic 718 (Topic 718) is in substantial convergence with the International Accounting Standard Board's (IASB) final standard on Share-based Payment, except for transactions with nonemployees and nonpublic companies, and minor technical differences in regard to employee stock purchase plans, modifications, liabilities, and income tax effects. Topic 718 creates a more 'level playing field' for equity incentive design that is expected to result in the increased prevalence of full-value and performance-vesting awards, and a corresponding decline in plain-vanilla, tax qualified, and reload stock options, and employee stock purchase plans." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System Invites Submissions to Provide Third-party Administrative Services City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System

fi360 and Castle Rock Innovations Announce Integrated Products Solution Castle Rock Innovations

Year-End Retirement of President and CEO Joan McCallen ICMA-RC

Lipper Names TIAA-CREF Best Overall Large Fund Group for Second Consecutive Year TIAA-CREF

Pension Annuitization Attractiveness Hangs On Dietrich & Associates, Inc.

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