DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

Pension Plan Administrator
Growing Retirement Plan Administration Firm
in NY

Retirement Plan Administrator
Delaware Valley Retirement, Inc
in PA

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Today's Discussions on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

View All Discussions

Text of PBGC Final Regs: Partitions of Eligible Multiemployer Plans
30 pages. "On June 19, 2015, PBGC published an interim final rule to implement the application process and notice requirements for partitions of eligible multiemployer plans under title IV of [ERISA], as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA). PBGC is making minor changes to the interim final regulation in response to public comments received on the interim final rule." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])

[Advert.]

A Revolutionary New Resource.

An intuitive on-line library. ERISA technical guidance and tools. "ASK THE AUTHOR" Personalized help for tough ERISA questions- rapid reply with tracking. Form 5500 eSource. A Complete Guide to Form 5500. Free Trial - Sign up or email sales@ERISApedia.com .

Text of GASB Exposure Draft: Pension Issues -- An Amendment of GASB Statements No. 67, No. 68 and No. 73
"[T]his proposed Statement would address issues regarding [1] the presentation of payroll -- related measures in required supplementary information, [2] the selection of assumptions and the treatment of deviations from the guidance in Actuarial Standards of Practice for financial reporting purposes, and [3] the classification of payments made by employers to satisfy employee (plan member) contribution requirements." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board [GASB])

Text of GASB Exposure Draft: Fiduciary Activities
46 pages. Dated Dec. 8, 2015; published online Dec. 22, 2015. "This proposed Statement would establish criteria for identifying and reporting fiduciary activities of all state and local governments ... This proposed Statement describes four fiduciary fund types that would be required to be reported, if applicable: [1] pension (and other employee benefit) trust funds, [2] investment trust funds, [3] private-purpose trust funds, and [4] custodial funds. A custodial fund would report fiduciary activity resources that are not held in a trust agreement or equivalent arrangement that meets specific criteria." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board [GASB])

Text of GASB Exposure Draft: Certain Asset Retirement Obligations
41 pages. Dated Dec. 7, 2015; published online Dec. 22, 2015. "This proposed Statement would [1] establish criteria for determining the timing and pattern of recognition of a liability and a corresponding deferred outflow of resources for asset retirement obligations.... [2] require the measurement of the liability for an asset retirement obligation to be based on the best estimate of the current value of outlays expected to be incurred.... [3] require the current value of the liability for a government's asset retirement obligations to be remeasured for the effects of inflation or deflation at least annually.... [4] require disclosures of descriptive information about the nature and timing of a government's asset retirement obligations, the methods and assumptions used for the estimates of the liabilities, and the estimated remaining useful life of the associated tangible capital assets." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board [GASB])

From the Mind of the TDF Investor
"In this set of brief papers, Vanguard experts present key findings from Vanguard's target-date fund investor survey, which was designed to uncover investors' expectations and overall understanding of TDF characteristics and risks. [The] analysis of the results focuses on investors' product comprehension , risk tolerance , and anticipated uses of their retirement savings." (Vanguard)

ESG Interest and Implementation Survey (PDF)
10 pages. "Twenty-nine percent of all survey respondents have 'incorporated ESG factors into decision making,' ... up from 26% in 2014 and 22% in 2013. An additional 11% are currently considering doing so.... [P]ublic funds saw a material uptick in incorporation relative to a year ago (15% in 2013 to 27% in 2015). Corporate funds have the lowest overall integration of ESG factors at 15% in 2015, but this figure is substantially different for corporate defined contribution plans (24%) and corporate defined benefit plans (7%)." (Callan Associates)

A Troubling Expansion of Successor Liability (PDF)
"Two recent opinions from the U.S. Courts of Appeals forecast a troubling expansion of the imposition of withdrawal liability of non-signatory entities under the successor liability doctrine. While the imposition of such liability is not new, recent case law extends the doctrine beyond the reach of the Seventh Circuit ... to which it had previously been confined, and appears to ease the requirements for a claim against a putative successor. These cases also illustrate the effect of successor liability on the 'building and construction industry exception' to withdrawal liability." (Jackson Lewis P.C.)

Pension Accounting Disclosure Assumptions for 2016
"99 percent of plan sponsors decreased their discount rates last year to a level that is unlikely to be reversed in 2015, due to the small change in yield curves through Nov. 30.... In looking at year-end 2014 [return on asset (ROA)] assumptions, most (62 percent) of plan sponsors had ROAs between 7.00 percent and 8.25 percent, as with year-end 2013. More than 90 percent of the plan sponsors had ROAs between 5.52 percent and 8.25 percent, which is the same range as last year." (SEI)

Defined Contribution Plan Profile: A Close Look at 401(k) Plans During 2013 (PDF)
74 pages. "Larger 401(k) plans tend to be more likely to have employer contributions, participant loans outstanding, and automatic enrollment.... 401(k) plans with automatic enrollment are more likely to have both employer contributions and participant loans outstanding than plans without automatic enrollment.... Mutual funds were the most common investment vehicle in 401(k) plans.... Equity funds accounted for the largest share of assets in 401(k) plans.... Target date funds have become more common in 401(k) plans since 2006.... Most 401(k) plans offered investment options that included investment options proprietary to the plan's recordkeeper, but proprietary investments accounted for a smaller share of total 401(k) assets.... Mutual fund expense ratios in 401(k) plans tend to be lower in larger plans and have trended down over time." (Investment Company Institute [ICI] and Brightscope)

Mobile Transaction Capabilities Are Increasingly Available to Participants
"Every firm covered in the report enables participants to adjust their contribution rates from at least one mobile platform -- by far the most commonly offered mobile transaction. No other transaction is available on more than one mobile platform of at least half the firms. Half the firms provide a mobile fund exchange transaction, 33% offer an optimized future investment allocations change transaction and 25% provide an optimized rebalance account option." (PLANSPONSOR)

J.P. Morgan Settles 'London Whale' Lawsuit with Pension Funds
"A group of pension funds has settled a 2012 securities class-action lawsuit with J.P. Morgan Chase for $150 million, relating to the 'London Whale' trades. Lead plaintiffs on the case were the $90 billion Ohio Public Employees Retirement System ... $14.3 billion Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Little Rock; and the state of Oregon ... The settlement includes all those who purchased J.P. Morgan common stock between April 13, 2012, and May 21, 2012[.]" (Pensions & Investments)

Good News for Retirement Policy in Spite of Gridlock
"Payroll savings are key to retirement security.... Auto-IRA: Gridlocked in Washington, unlocked in the states.... DOL allows businesses to encourage retirement saving without full federal regulation.... Reducing conflicts in the marketing of retirement plans.... Offering a federal private retirement savings option.... Limiting employers' ability to cash out their pension obligations via lump sum payments." (The Brookings Institution)

Year-End Tax and Spending Legislation Includes Employee Benefits Provisions (PDF)
"The PATH Act extends numerous tax provisions that expired at the end of 2014, with extensions varying from two years (2015 and 2016) to permanent extensions. The combined 2,000+ page legislation contains a miscellany of employee benefits provisions. Highlights include a permanent extension of transit and parking benefit parity, retroactive to the beginning of 2015. In addition, the 40 percent excise tax on so-called 'Cadillac health plans' is delayed for two years and is also made deductible." (Alston & Bird LLP)

SCOTUS Revisits ERISA Reimbursement
"One of the more interesting developments during the oral argument was the plan's concession that disability and pension plans would not be affected by the rule it is advocating. Katyal explained that Social Security disability benefits are protected from garnishment under Section 207 of the Social Security Act ... He added that pension plan participants who receive an overpayment often don't know that they are overspending until after the fact; thus, they lack the requisite knowledge. That concession is significant because several of the circuit court cases involved in the circuit split, for which certiorari was granted, are disability cases." [ Bd. of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan v. Montanile , No. 14-11678 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2014; oral arg. Nov. 9, 2015)] (DeBofsky & Associates, via Employee Benefits Committee Newsletter, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law)

2015 Was a Wild Ride for Employee Benefits
"Employers dipped their collective toe into new models for employee benefits, employees took on more responsibility, and a couple of new players came swashbuckling in declaring they were going to completely revamp the business. All this action occurred against a backdrop of complexity that occupies most of the HR department's time.... Big trends we saw in 2015: ... Rise of the benefits tech companies ... More compliance requirements ... Consumers continue to take the reins ... Healthcare gets more expensive ... Tracking wellness." (Corporate Synergies)

Section 409A: Reflections on Its 11th Anniversary (PDF)
"If your company will be sold, have your counsel review all of your agreements before the due diligence process begins. Many times, Section 409A issues are discovered during due diligence. The penalties for violating Section 409A are severe and imposed on the employee or independent contractor rather than the employer. There are no penalty exceptions for inadvertent errors no matter how small.... The IRS has initiated a Section 409A audit project to assess compliance with the law." (Wilkins Finston Friedman Law Group LLP)

FASB Directs Staff to Draft a Final Accounting Standards Update on Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting Improvements (PDF)
"The final ASU would amend Topic 718 in the following eight areas: ... [1] Stock-for-tax withholding ... [2] Presentation of stock-for-tax withholding on statement of cash flows ... [3] Accounting for award forfeiture ... [4] Accounting for excess tax benefits and deficiencies ... [5] Presentation of excess tax benefits and deficiencies on statement of cash flows ... [6] Classification of awards with contingent repurchase features ... [7] Estimating expected term of stock option award for nonpublic companies ... [8] Using intrinsic value rather than fair value for liability awards for nonpublic companies." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)