Loan & Distribution Specialists
SK&F Enlightened Retirement Group Inc.
in TX

401(k) Consultant
Creative Retirement Systems
in ANY STATE, OH

Plan Compliance Specialist
Lincoln Financial Group
in ANY STATE

Client Service Representative, Retirement Plans
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
in NE, OH

Retirement Plan Specialist
Benefit Plans Plus
in IL, MO

Pension Customer Service Representative
Small Benefits Firm in Middle Tennessee
in TN

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Affordable Care Act: Employer Shared Responsibility Provision
RECORDED
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

Data Mining Form 5500
August 21, 2015 WEBCAST
(WithumSmith+Brown)

Church Plans
September 14, 2015 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

Safe Harbor 401(k) Workshop
September 17, 2015 in NY
(SunGard Relius)

Cash Balance Outlook 2015: Top Trends and Market Insights
September 17, 2015 WEBCAST
(Kravitz)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Recent IRS Guidance on Plan (and IRA) Distributions (PDF)
"Participants and plan sponsors should be aware that the IRS recently issued several pieces of guidance affecting qualified plans and IRA distributions. First, the IRS issued Notice 2014-54 , which provides favorable guidance on plan distributions to multiple destinations. It allows a participant to directly roll over pre-tax funds to a traditional IRA, while taking the after-tax or Roth amounts in cash (or rolling to a Roth IRA). Second, the IRS issued Notice 2014-74 , which replaces the existing safe harbor rollover notices set forth in Notice 2009-68. Third, the IRS issued Announcement 2014-32 , that imposes an aggregate one-per-year rule for all indirect rollovers between IRAs following the surprising Tax Court decision in Bobrow v. Comm'r . [This article takes] a closer look at each in turn[.]" (Groom Law Group)

[Advert.]

Feeling Left Out? It's Time to Get "Ahead of the Curve"

This October the nation's retirement industry elite will converge in our nation's capital to get "Ahead of the Curve" with insights from industry insiders, regulators, pundits and the nation's leading voices. It's ASPPA Annual. Join us.

Deadlines for Form 5500 and Employer Tax Returns Revised (PDF)
"It remains to be seen whether the initial deadline will change for direct filing entities -- such as master trusts, common collective trusts and pooled separate accounts (which do not currently have an extension available).... Certain employee benefit plan deadlines may change because they are related to the deadline for filing the employer's tax return (including extensions).... [including] deadlines for making: Interim amendments to a qualified retirement plans ... Deductible contributions to a qualified retirement plan ... Employer contributions to a qualified defined contribution plan (or 403(b) plan) and having it count as a prior year annual addition under Section 415(c) of the Code." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)

IRS Issues Private Letter Ruling to Public Sector Plan on Participant Contribution Elections
"Public sector defined benefit plans anticipating guidance from the IRS on whether individual member elections into benefit tiers and contributions levels would be permitted now have clarification that such individual elections cannot be made as part of pension plan reform in their jurisdictions." [ PLR 201532036 (May 4, 2015, released Aug. 7, 2015)] (Segal Consulting)

When It Comes to State-Mandated Private Sector Retirement Plans, Phyllis Borzi Lays Down the Law
"[We] will be issuing by the end of the year a proposed regulation that will address and give some good solid guidance to the states that want to use that 'avoid ERISA' approach.... A state could decide that instead of the 'avoid ERISA' approach, it could use the existing ERISA structures ... For [this] approach, we're not going to use a regulation but ... subregulatory guidance.... [T]he state could offer, in essence, a multiple-employer plan that would be treated under ERISA as if it were a single plan, which means that the ERISA obligations wouldn't have to be complied with by each employer but that, like any other service provider, the state or whoever administered this plan would take care of the ERISA obligations.... We believe that the most important consumer protection we could have is to have the state establishing a plan and overseeing it.... We have absolute confidence that the state has the best interest of its citizens in mind." (Institutional Investor)

2015 National Cash Balance Research Report (PDF)
"Marking the highest year-over-year increase in a decade, the number of new Cash Balance plans added by plan sponsors increased 32% in 2013 ... Between 2008 and 2013, there was a 43% increase in new plans nationwide ... Cash Balance plan assets are approaching $1 Trillion nationwide ... Cash Balance plans make up more than 28% of all defined benefit plans, up from 2.9% in 2001 ... 89% of Cash Balance plans are in place at firms with fewer than 100 employees." (Kravitz)

[Advert.]

Now is a great time to join Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)

WEB members represent more than 25 professions and 30 areas of expertise within the pension and benefits industry-including administrators, consultants, attorneys, accountants, investment managers, communications experts and benefits managers. Join today .

2016 Mortality Tables Published by IRS
"[W]hether IRS modifies the SOA tables or not, IRS will adopt new mortality assumptions that, for many plans, significantly increase life expectancies and the value of plan liabilities for minimum funding and lump sum calculations. Those increases will in turn, result in lower funding ratios, higher funding requirements, higher PBGC premiums, and an increase in the cost of de-risking compared to the current tables." (October Three Consulting)

Public Pension Litigation Update, Summer 2015 (PDF)
"[This article examines] the decisions in the state of Illinois and city of Chicago striking down pension reform legislation; the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling allowing Governor Chris Christie to curtail promised contributions; the Oregon Supreme Court's protection of COLAs for benefits already earned; and the settlement in Rhode Island over challenges to that state's 2011 pension reform law." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)

Only Half of U.S. Singles Have a Retirement Savings Account
"The population of single people is rising, but along with that growth comes a troubling statistic about their retirement savings accounts: Only 51 percent of unattached people have one.... Retirement savings accounts have been set up, in contrast, by 68 percent of people living with a partner and 84 percent of married adults. Almost half of adults today don't live with a spouse, according to the U.S. Census. That's up from about 30 percent in 1967." (Chicago Tribune; subscription may be required)

As Workers Delay Retirement, Some Bosses Become More Flexible
"As more workers ... are saying no to a traditional retirement, more employers are informally introducing flexibility into their schedules or allowing employees to step slowly out of the work force with a phased retirement arrangement. It can be a win-win for both. But there are plenty of challenges to overcome. From 1985 to 2014, the rate of participation in the labor force for people 65 to 69 increased to almost 32 percent from about 18 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)

'Pension Advance' Firms Sued Over Deceptive Practices
"[A] lawsuit filed Thursday by federal and state regulators charges that the offers by California-based Pension Funding LLC and Pension Income LLC in reality came with high interest rates -- a detail not disclosed to customers. The federal court action filed by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the New York State Department of Financial Services accused the firms and present or former executives ... of deceiving consumers by characterizing the transactions as advances, not loans." (USA TODAY)

Understanding the SEC's CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure Rule and Its Implications (PDF)
9 pages. "Companies with a significant number of independent contractors will need to determine whether each individual is an employee for purposes of the new rules.... [W]hile the company must identify a specific employee as its median employee, it must be careful when preparing its narrative disclosure not to violate any privacy laws and provide information that will identify the individual whose compensation data is being presented.... Companies should also consider the practical impact of pay ratio disclosure on its employee population." (Mayer Brown)

SEC Expands Executive Pay Disclosures (PDF)
"It is not clear how institutional investors or their advisers will use the pay ratio, if at all; though it is conceivable that labor pension funds may factor it into decisions whether to invest in a company.... Companies may face new challenges explaining large pay gaps to rank-and-file employees, and boards may think twice about giving their CEO a raise. And it may have an unexpected result, with chief executives who feel underpaid moving to privately held companies that don't face similar disclosure rules." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)

SEC Pay Ratio Rules: A Recipe for Compliance and Model Disclosure
"This alert explains step-by-step how to comply with the final rules and concludes with a model disclosure." (Orrick)

Labor Leader Robert Roach, Jr. Joins Pension Rights Center Board of Directors Pension Rights Center

Mary Jo Hudson Elected to Board of American Academy of Actuaries as Special Director American Academy of Actuaries

MassMutual Appoints Eight New Sales Representatives To Support Financial Advisors, Retirement Plans MassMutual Retirement Services

ABG Rolls Out Web Based Retirement Planning Service Alliance Benefit Group of Illinois

View All Press Releases