ESOP Administrator
Blue Ridge ESOP Associates
in ANY STATE

Retirement Plan Administrator
Downeast Pension Services, Inc.
in ME

Retirement Plan Consultant
BPC, Inc.
in IL

Defined Contribution Client Manager
Milliman
in OR

Pension Administrator
Retirement Strategies, Inc.
in GA

Senior New Business Analyst
Employee Fiduciary, LLC
in AL, FL

Benefits Project Manager
Publix Super Markets, Inc.
in FL

Conversion Specialist
BlueStar Retirement Services
in ANY STATE, FL

Plan Document Specialist/Plan Administrator
BlueStar Retirement Services
in ANY STATE, FL

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Investments Institute
March 9, 2015 in CA
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

2014 Legislative and Regulatory Update (PDF)
49 presentation slides provide an overview of: [1] IRS and DOL guidance; [2] COLA limits and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013; [3] HATFA and pension smoothing; [4] Charitable donation of an IRA; [5] Ending of the SSA letter forwarding program; [6] Changes at IRS TE/GE; [7] IRS compliance tools; [8] Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract final regulations; [9] The myRA; [10] U.S. v. Windsor: impact on qualified plans; [11] FAB 2014-1: updated guidance on handling missing participants under a terminating DC plan; and [12] Form 5500 series. (McKay Hochman)

[Advert.]

Investments Institute -- March 9-11, 2015

Attend the Investments Institute in Rancho Mirage, CA. Learn vital information needed to make decisions for the employee benefit funds you represent, discuss economic/legislative updates and terminology from today's headlines. Register Today!

IRS Hybrid Plan Transition Rules Criticized
"The IRS is now asking for comments on transitional rules to help plan sponsors that need to reduce their market rate of return without running afoul of anti-cutback rules. Those proposed rules are 'unnecessarily restrictive' and fail to account for a variety of interest crediting rates among plans, said Kathryn Ricard, ERISA Industry Committee senior vice president for retirement policy ... [E]mployer groups are also asking the IRS to revisit a provision in the final rules that could hurt sponsors calculating lump sums under a 'whipsaw' method when it comes to new age-discrimination safe harbors." (Pensions & Investments)

A Framework for Assessing Retirement Plan Fees
"[W]hen assessing fees, plan sponsors frequently focus their attention on seeking out the lowest costs for plan services and investments, but fees are just one part of the story. Many plan sponsors may not fully consider the quality and effectiveness of the services they are receiving and how they contribute to positive outcomes for their employees." (PLANSPONSOR)

New 401(k) Participants Rely on Target Date Funds
"The evolution of 401(k) plan designs has resulted in a significant increase in the use of balanced multi-asset-class funds -- and, in particular, the growing use of target-date funds (TDFs) -- by recently hired employees ... One reason for lower TDF use among longer-tenured employees is that only about a third of plans that auto-enroll new employees (generally into TDFs, with an option to opt out) also annually auto-enroll current workers that don't participate in the plan[.]" (Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM])

myRAs Are an ERISA-Free Zone
"Now that the federal government has officially rolled out the myRA retirement savings program, has it also left participating employers open to possible fiduciary liability? The answer is no -- employers who decide to help enroll workers in these new accounts need not fear marauding bands of fiduciary-violation-seeking plaintiffs' attorneys." (BenefitsPro)

Seven Reasons to Beg Your Employer to Offer a Roth 401(k)
"[1] Tax-Free Withdrawals in Retirement ... [2] Income Tax Diversification ... [3] If You're In a Low Tax Bracket Right Now ... [4] You'll Probably Still Get the Employer Match ... [5] No Required Minimum Distributions ... [6] More Flexibility for Your Life in Retirement ... [7] Advance Protection From Widely Anticipated Income Tax Increases." (DailyFinance)

Here's a Good Reason Not to Fund Your 401(k)
"We save for retirement so we can create income for ourselves when we stop receiving a paycheck.... But if the income itself is the most important thing -- not the amount of money you amass to create that income -- why don't we ever focus on building lifelong income streams outside of our investment portfolios? ... By buying rental properties, [one individual] is establishing a sustainable income stream -- an alternate form of cash flow from which she can benefit now and in the future. As this rental income grows, her 401(k) and IRA balances become less relevant." (Money)

Summary of the Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions for 2014, Third Quarter (PDF)
"For the 100 largest public-employee pension systems in the country, cash and security holdings totaled $3,305.2 billion in the third quarter of 2014, dropping from the previous all-time-high of $3,365.4 billion set in the second quarter of 2014, a decrease of 1.8 percent. Compared to the third quarter of 2013, assets for these major public pension systems increased 8.0 percent from $3,061.6 billion. This decline in assets is due to negative earnings, which fell from $129.4 billion in the second quarter of 2014 to -$43.0 billion in the third quarter. Earnings experienced a year-to-year decrease from $120.9 billion in the third quarter of 2013." (U.S. Census Bureau)

Text of Eighth Circuit Opinion: SPD Language Granting Discretion to Plan Administrator Is Enforceable to Determine Standard of Review (PDF)
"[T]he district court concluded, and Johnson argues on appeal, that the grant of discretion appearing only in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) was insufficient to vest discretion in United.... Unlike the policy and SPD in [ Jobe v. Medical Life Insurance Co. ], there is no conflict here because a reasonable participant would have read the policy to have integrated the SPD along with the discretionary statement contained therein. The face of the policy in this case states, '[t]he Certificate of Insurance ... is made a part of the Policy.' The SPD was included in the Certificate of Insurance as the final part of the consecutively-paginated booklet.... Accordingly, we reject the district court's expanded reading of Jobe, and we conclude that under the policy and the integrated Certificate of Insurance, discretion was granted to United to determine eligibility for benefits." [Johnson v. United of Omaha Life Ins. Co., No. 13-2645 (8th Cir. Dec. 30, 2014)] (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit)

Lame Duck Congress Finds Courage to Repeal ERISA; Employers to Use Honor System (PDF)
[BenefitsLink note: A bit of holiday humor.] "Under the new honor system, employers can deduct on their income tax returns whatever amounts they deem appropriate for their health care and retirement plan contributions, instead relying upon their notions of reasonableness, patriotism and government utility as their guide. No longer shackled with eligibility, vesting, investment, nondiscrimination, disclosure or any rules of any kind, employers and fiduciaries should now redesign their plans and operate them as their conscience and business acumen dictate." (The ERISA Law Group)

Best Doctors and WiserTogether Partner to Provide Employers with Better Purchasing Value and Increased Employee Engagement Best Doctors, Inc.

View All Press Releases