Employee Benefits Associate
Wiggin and Dana LLP
in CT

ERISA Compliance Analyst
TCG Administrators, LP
in TX

401(k) Plan Administrator
Retirement Planners
in VA, Telecommute

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Necessity of Utilizing Technology for Data-Driven Benefits Strategies
March 14, 2018 in TX
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Houston Chapter

Structuring Equity Compensation for Partnerships and LLCs; the New Tax Reform Law Considerations
March 22, 2018 WEBCAST
Strafford

Multiemployer Issues Affecting Us All
June 13, 2018 WEBCAST
Conference of Consulting Actuaries

ACA Primer - What's Working and What Isn't?
September 12, 2018 WEBCAST
Conference of Consulting Actuaries

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Text of SEC Announcement: Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative
"Over the past several years, the [SEC] has filed numerous actions in which an investment adviser failed to make required disclosures relating to its selection of mutual fund share classes that paid the adviser (as a dually registered broker-dealer) or its related entities or individuals a fee pursuant to Rule 12b-1 ... when a lower-cost share class for the same fund was available to clients. The Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative [SCSD Initiative] is intended to identify and promptly remedy potential widespread violations of this nature.... [The] Commission's Division of Enforcement will recommend that the Commission accept favorable settlement terms for investment advisers that self-report to the Division possible securities law violations relating to their failure to make necessary disclosures concerning mutual fund share class selection."
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC]

P&I DC East Conference | Miami | March 18-20

Join leading executives who manage 401(k), 403(b), 457 and TSP plans at DC East. You'll learn how other plan sponsors analyze, develop, implement and measure programs for their participants, so you can improve your own plan.

Text of PBGC Interest Rate Update for Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans, March 2018
"The March 2018 interest assumptions under the benefit payments regulation will be 0.75 percent for the period during which a benefit is in pay status and 4.00 percent during any years preceding the benefit's placement in pay status. In comparison with the interest assumptions in effect for February 2018, these assumptions are unchanged."
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC]

Budget Deal Includes Retirement Plan Changes (PDF)
"[1] Hardship distribution rules eased (in 2019): Six month delay no longer required after hardship distributions ... Sources for hardship distributions are expanded ... No requirement to borrow before a hardship distribution ... Amendments will be required ... [2] More retirement plan relief for natural disasters ... [T]he area affected, the specific relief allowed, and applicable dates ... vary based on when the disaster occurred.... Relief is immediately effective, and amendments can be made later.... [3] Relief after IRA retirement plan levies ... [4] Joint Select Committee on solvency of multiemployer pension plans."
Chimento & Webb, P.C.

New Tax Law Creates Uncertainty for Some Hardship Distributions
"One option is to deny a hardship request for repair to a primary residence if the loss occurs on or after January 1, 2018 and is outside of a federally declared disaster area. To account for this change, a plan may need to modify the instructions provided as part of hardship request materials as well as the guidelines used for reviewing and approving hardship requests. Alternatively, a plan could opt to ignore the section 165 amendment -- and maintain the status quo -- when determining hardship eligibility, unless and until the IRS issues guidance to the contrary."
Conduent

Budget Bill Affects Retirement Plans and Retirees -- Plan Amendments Expected
"[T]he Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 ... provides expanded tax relief for victims of natural disasters, relaxes the rules for hardship distributions from employer plans, makes slight changes to portability rules, and requires the IRS to create a simplified tax return for filers age 65 or older."
Ascensus

Signature Awards 2018: final call for submissions!

Don't miss out on recognition for your hard work! Deadline to submit retirement plan education and communication programs: Feb. 16, 2018. Learn more. Winners will be announced at the 71st Annual National Conference May 1-2, 2018, Scottsdale, AZ.

ESOPs and the Tax Act
"[T]he tax benefits for ESOP-owned companies are significantly greater for S-corporations, going from a 37 percent potential tax rate to zero percent taxes, than they are for C-corporations, going from a 39 percent tax rate to a 21 percent tax rate."
Valuation Research Corporation

Making Sure Your Plan's 401(k) and 403(b) Fees Are 'Necessary' and 'Reasonable'
"You should create a master list of items you want to see addressed by each respondent. This can, essentially, be the items in your RFP. You'll want to create a fairly detailed spreadsheet to analyze the fee component of the proposals. [Your list should include] at least the following items[.]"
Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC

Interesting Angles on the DOL's Fiduciary Rule, Part 79
"[E]ven if the reasonable compensation condition in BICE is removed from the exemption, that will not mean that advisers and their supervisory entities can ignore that limit. And, even if the SEC or FINRA do not impose a reasonable compensation limitation, that will not change the rule. Why is that? The reasonable compensation limit is found in both the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. In other words, it is a statutory requirement. Neither the DOL, the SEC nor FINRA can issue a rule that overrides a statute."
FredReish.com

Q&A: Retirement Plans and Cybersecurity
"Who are the targets for cyber predators and how is the current environment conducive to attacking those parties? ... If plan sponsors or recordkeepers are required to authenticate participant accounts, why are cyber predators still able to gain access to those accounts? ... What strategies can be used by plan sponsors or recordkeepers for more effective authentication and overall security? ... Besides changes to authentication, what else should plan sponsors and recordkeepers be doing to prevent cyber predators from gaining access to participant accounts? ... Why should plan sponsors be pay attention to all of this?"
Thomson Reuters Practical Law

Are Your Plan Files Complete? What an Auditor Will Want to See
"Make sure that your plan document and amendments are signed and dated. If the corporate practice is to adopt these by resolution instead of an officer's or committee member's signature, attach a certified copy of the resolution to the document.... Each year, fiduciaries need to review their bonding coverage and determine whether the amount of coverage required has increased."
Cohen & Buckmann, P.C.

Survey Results: Equity Compensation Plan Participants (PDF)
18 pages. "For one-third of employees, equity compensation was the main reason, or one of the main reasons, they accepted their current job ... Just one-quarter of employees have exercised or sold any of their equity compensation/ESPP ... Employees are, on average, 63% vested in their equity compensation ... Millennials are most confident in making decisions about their equity comp/ESPP, but are less likely than other generations to see it as part of their long-term financial plan ... Two-thirds of employees who are offered a workplace financial wellness program take advantage of it ... In addition to help with equity comp, employees are looking for help with retirement planning and wealth-building."
Charles Schwab

Corporate Pensions' $61 Billion Funding Gain in January May Cushion Early February Market Slide (PDF)
"As of January 31, the funded ratio rose to 87.2%, up from 84.1% at the end of December. January's impressive funded status improvement was greater than that seen in any of the prior months of 2017. In fact, the last time we had such a stellar funded status gain was back in November of 2016 when the pension deficit improved by $74 billion."
Milliman

Retirement Security In Peril (PDF)
10 pages. "Half of all American families near retirement have $12,000 or less in formal retirement savings. Not only do far too many workers earn too little to adequately save for retirement, but many more also lack access to good retirement saving plans.... Congress must now focus on policies that broaden access to low cost, high-yield retirement savings options, strengthen Social Security, secure pension plans, and restore access to a stable and adequate retirement for an aging population."
Democratic Staff of the Joint Economic Committee

New DOL Regs Require Changes to Plan Claims Procedures
"One could avoid dealing with the new regulations by referencing a third-party determination of disability, such as a determination by the Social Security Administration. The practical problems with that approach are that the Social Security Administration can take a long time to determine that a disability exists, and the SSA definition may be a more restrictive definition of disability, which could raise employee relations concerns. Also, in the qualified retirement plan area, a more restrictive definition may result in an impermissible cut-back of an accrued benefit, such as where a retirement subsidy attaches to a finding of a disability."
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

How Compensation Committees Should Treat the CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure
"Typically, compensation committees perform certain activities such as reviewing CEO performance and setting CEO pay which is mandated by their charters with minimum requirements dictated by their listing exchange.... SEC counsel generally likes to keep these charters focused, although [the authors] have seen some with more detail about additional responsibilities, and some that expand the committee's role based on a company's unique circumstances."
Willis Towers Watson

Press Releases

Dorsey Partner Aaron Goldstein Recognized by Client Choice for Employment & Benefits Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Anthem Completes Acquisition of America?s 1st Choice Anthem, Inc.

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