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Pension Plan Investment Products and Service Provider Contracts: the Good the Bad and the Ugly
January 13, 2016 WEBCAST
(American Bar Association [ABA])

Top 5 Employee Benefit Trends for 2016
March 3, 2016 WEBCAST
(Lorman Education Services)

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Draft of 2015 IRS Form 5500-EZ (PDF)
Draft as of Dec. 22, 2015; not for filing. "This form is required to be filed under section 6058(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Certain foreign retirement plans are also required to file this form[.]" (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])

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Qualified Non U.S. Pension Funds Exempt from FIRPTA Tax Withholding (PDF)
"There has long been a proposal to exempt foreign pension fund investment in US real estate from the tax withholding requirements of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA).... This exemption has finally been enacted as part of H.R. 2029, the recent budget bill signed into law by President Obama.... One of the requirements for non-US pension funds to be exempt from both [FATCA and FIRPTA] is that the fund provides annual information reporting about its beneficiaries to the relevant tax authorities in the country in which it is established or operates." (Groom Law Group)

PBGC Issues Final Rule on Multiemployer Plan Partitions
"There were minor changes made from the interim final rule regarding: [1] Application requirements. [2] Required actuarial and financial information. [3] Gender information for participant census data. [4] A new 14-day review period for the PBGC's initial review of the partition application. [5] Clarifications relating to the effect of a conditional approval of partition for plan sponsors who file applications for partitions and benefit suspensions." (Practical Law Company)

2015 Year-End Compliance Reminders for Defined Contribution Plans Subject to ERISA (PDF)
"This information applies to qualified defined contribution plans and 403(b) plans that are subject to Title I of ERISA. Every year, plan sponsors must make sure their plans meet certain compliance requirements, including those listed [in this article]. This publication identifies the materials you need to review and will help you prepare for year-end." (Prudential)

2015 Year-End Compliance Reminders for Defined Contribution Plans Not Subject to ERISA (PDF)
"This information applies to defined contribution plans, such as qualified governmental plans (including 'grandfathered' 401(k) plans), qualified church plans that do not elect to be covered by ERISA ('non-electing church plans'), 403(b) plans, and section 457 plans that are not subject to Title I of ERISA. Every year, defined contribution plan sponsors should make sure their plans meet certain compliance requirements, including those listed [in this article]. This publication identifies the materials you need to review and will help you prepare for year-end." (Prudential)

GASB Addresses Fiduciary Activities, Asset Retirement Obligations, Pension Issues
"GASB proposes guidance regarding what constitutes fiduciary activities for reporting purposes, the recognition of liabilities to beneficiaries, and how fiduciary activities should be reported.... GASB proposes guidance for determining the timing and pattern of recognition for liabilities related to asset retirement obligations and corresponding deferred outflows of resources.... GASB addresses practice issues raised during the implementation of Statements No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, and No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions. Comment is sought by Feb. 12." (Journal of Accountancy)

The Case for Why the DOL Fiduciary Rule Won't Kill IRA Rollovers
"The lack of retirement income products currently offered in 401(k) plans creates a dynamic where participants can largely only tap into annuity-type products through the retail market.... If investors want to use such a product, they won't keep their money in the 401(k) market, some industry watchers say.... Further, the fiduciary rule will likely force more transparency in annuity pricing ... The inability for most 401(k) plans to offer flexible or ad hoc withdrawals to participants also makes IRA rollovers attractive for investors[.]" (InvestmentNews)

SEC Exam Questions Dive Deeply Into Retirement Account Advice
"As part of its examination sweep, the SEC is sending to financial advisers a 13-page information request that includes 75 queries. The document focuses on the recommendations that advisers make to rollover funds from a 401(k) to an individual retirement account, fees they charge, conflicts of interest and supervision and compliance controls. The document also devotes 25 queries to situations in which the registered adviser or broker serves as the adviser to a managed account qualified default investment alternative. An emphasis on QDIA usually comes from the DOL, which enforces [ERISA]." (InvestmentNews)

Third DB Plan 'Relief' Law Less Charming to Plan Sponsors
"[M]any plan sponsors have already adopted funding policies in excess of the required minimums. For them there are no funding savings from [the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015], just a higher PBGC bill to pay.... With plan sponsors understanding that minimum funding rules are less relevant with each passing round of relief, PBGC premium avoidance has become a primary driver of pension funding decisions." (The Principal Blog)

Interest Rate Increases Could Lift Pensions to Full Funding
"Pension funding levels for about 670 rated U.S. non-financial corporate pension liabilities remain below the required level of 80 percent, but if interest rates move higher, as Moody's expects, and asset returns remain consistent, pension plans could reach fully funded status in 36 months." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

How Will the Fed Interest Rate Increase Affect Pension Plans?
"For most defined benefit plans interest rates are the most significant variable in plan valuations. [This article reviews] how the Fed's action may affect DB plan sponsors' [1] financial statements, [2] funding and [3] de-risking decisions. [It begins] with a discussion of the effect of the Fed's action on interest rates generally." (October Three Consulting)

The Mechanics of Pension Reform
"At the state and agency level, there will not be curative pension reform without the election of a pension reform majority of each legislative body. This analysis will outline an agenda, first at the state level and later, separately, at the agency level, specifically describing reforms required prospectively at the state level and setting forth remedial steps available to local agencies. Obviously, legislative body majorities must be elected to adopt the curative action." (UnionWatch)

Is the Government Trying to Create 'Obamacare for Your 401(k)'?
"Many see [the proposed DOL rule] as another government overreach that assumes we're too dense to sensibly navigate our accounts without federal hand-holding, giving rise to the moniker 'Obamacare for your 401(k).' Then again, many who see it that way are in the finance industry and have a clear stake in government keeping its hands off." (Newsmax)

The Gut-Wrenching Truth About Pensions
"U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur's bill to provide federal funding to plans like Central States is well-intentioned, and we would love to see it pass. But in the current political climate, it is difficult to understand where the votes would come from.... Nobody wants to reduce pension benefits. It is a gut-wrenching course of action that we must take, having exhausted every other reasonable alternative solution. As fiduciaries of the Central States Pension Fund, we have an obligation to safeguard our participants' retirement security and the financial well-being of the fund -- now and in the future." (Thomas C. Nyhan, Executive Director and General Counsel, Central States Pension Fund)

Year-End Spending and Tax Deal Affects Health Retirement and Fringe Benefit Plans (PDF)
"The key provisions of H.R. 2029 affecting health, retirement and fringe benefit plans [include]: [1] High cost employer-sponsored health coverage excise tax.... [2] Health insurer fee moratorium.... [3] Medical device tax moratorium.... [3] Mass transit and parking benefits.... [4] Governmental accident or health benefits.... [5] Charitable distributions from IRAs.... [6] Rollovers to simple IRAs.... [7] Church plans.... [8] Foreign investment in real property tax act (FIRPTA).... [9] Airline employee IRA rollovers.... [9] Public safety officers." (Groom Law Group)

Benefitfocus Announces CFO, Milt Alpern, to Retire in March 2016 Benefitfocus

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