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Alerus Financial
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Karel-Gordon & Associates
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Draft Instructions for 2017 IRS Form 8915A: Qualified 2016 Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments (PDF)
"Use 2017 Form 8915A if you were adversely affected by a 2016 disaster listed in Table 1 ... and you received a distribution that qualifies for favorable tax treatment. For distributions for qualified 2017 disasters, see Form 8915B and its instructions."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Navigating the Compliance Challenges of Missing Participants

The DOL is coming ... Pension plan audits are on the rise with a specific focus on the Term-Vested population and RMD. Contact the pros at PBI to learn more about our new Term-Vested Audit & Remediation Service.

What Exactly Is ESG Investing?
"[Of] the $40.3 trillion of assets under management in the U.S. in 2016, $8.1 trillion was invested in ESG portfolios. That growth represents a 30 percent increase from $6.57 trillion in 2014.... No uniform definition exists, but at its heart, ESG investing is an investment methodology that allows an investor to apply a set of criteria that aligns portfolio investments with the investor's ethical considerations or values.... And since ESG criteria are based upon corporate attributes, they apply to both stocks and bonds issued by a company."
CAPTRUST Financial Advisors

Fifth Circuit Fiduciary Ruling: No Direct Effect on Plan Sponsors
"Neither the Fifth Circuit's decision in the Chamber of Commerce case nor the DOL's non-enforcement announcement will insulate employers from the obligation to monitor their plan's investment advisors. Plan fiduciaries should continue to evaluate whether advisors and consultants are operating under a conflict of interest, and whether their advice is in the best interest of the plan and its participants."
Spencer Fane

Retirement Program Designs of the Future: Beyond Automatic Plan Features
"42.7% of DC plans overall use automatic enrollment, and 35.4% use automatic deferral escalation.... [M]any DC plans are defaulting participants into target-date funds (TDFs) as a set-it-and-forget-it investment strategy -- letting professional managers take control of investment diversification decisions. However, as retirement plan sponsors focus on increasing retirement income replacement ratios for participants and new generations enter the workforce, they need to look at enhancing their retirement programs so participant retirement goals are met."
PLANSPONSOR; free registration required

Risky Business: Retirement Risk Taxonomy
"Plan sponsors rightfully focus on risks that would defeat participants' retirement preparation such as failure to participate, to save enough, to select appropriate investments ... Solutions plan sponsors increasingly deploy include automatic features and qualified default investment alternatives.... As a plan sponsor, you may want to reconsider all of the risks participants face in their preparation that are uncontrollable -- with an eye on addressing issues through advocacy, as well as plan design, communication and administration."
Plan Sponsor Council of America [PSCA]

How Long Can a Good Fund Underperform Its Benchmark?
"[F]unds that outperformed their benchmark trailed that benchmark for an average of nine to 12 years sometime during that period. Conversely, ... funds that ended up underperforming their benchmarks were ahead of those benchmarks for comparably long stretches. This phenomenon is global and, with small variations, cuts across all the regions [included] in the study."
Morningstar

Will Your Plan Need to Follow the New Disability Claims Procedures on April 1?
"Affected plans can include welfare plans (including 'wrap' plans with short-term disability and long-term disability benefits), certain pension plans, and 401(k), 403(b), and non-qualified 'top hat' deferred compensation plans ... Any plan for which disability is determined by the plan administrator or its delegate, and not by the Social Security Administration or a disability insurer, must be administered in accordance with the new rules beginning April 1, 2018, and the plan's claims procedures must comply in form with the new rules."
Husch Blackwell

Emerging Trends in Pay Ratio Disclosure
"Few companies use statistical sampling to identify their median employees and ... companies rely on the de minimis exemption, but not the data privacy exemption. Companies also exclude employees acquired in acquisitions. Very few companies use supplemental pay ratios, even if they have pay ratios that are on the higher end of the range."
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Found Some More Plan Funds After DB Plan Termination; Do We Need a Schedule B?
We took over this client in 2016, when this defined benefit plan used a directed trustee (XYZ Bank). Until 2014, the plan had used ABC Bank as the directed trustee; ABC Bank was an affiliate of mega-vendor DEF. In 2014 the client moved from Mega-vendor to local TPA and changed the trustee to XYZ Bank. In 2017 client terminated the plan, distributed all assets, issued 1099-Rs, filed a final 5500, etc. -- Now it's 2018 and we've learned that somebody dropped the ball back in 2014 and left about $900 at ABC Bank. The $900 belongs to about 12 different participants. Do we need to file a Schedule SB for the 2018 Form 5500?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Change in ESOP Distribution Policy After Payments Have Begun?
We have some employees that are already terminated and being paid over a five year schedule under an ESOP. Once payments have begun, is it too late to change the payment schedule? In other words, if we have a participant being paid over a five year schedule, can we change payment timing to delay payments until retirement/diversification? What about non-terminated employees?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Split 403(b) Plan Into Two Plans to Avoid 120-Participant Rule for Form 5500?
I have a nonprofit client with a 403(b) plan and all employees are eligible. The client is anticipating that its participant count will be over 100 at the next plan year end (we have informed them about the 120 count rule for the plan's first year at the large plan status). They have a logical organizational structure reason for splitting this plan into two smaller plans. Our firm has done this many times for 401(k) plans but this is the first situation which has presented itself in 403(b).
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Continuation of Nonqualified Plan After Payout Due to Change in Control
Say a parent company with two operating subsidiaries sponsors a nonqualified plan in which balances pay out upon the first to occur of death, disability, severance, or change in control. There are participants employed by the parent company directly in addition to the two subs. The plan's change in control definition is sale of 50% or more of parent's stock or parent's assets. On a FMV basis, Sub 1 accounts for 70% of parent company's assets; Sub 2 accounts for the other 30%. Parent company sells Sub 1 and triggers a change in control for parent company employees. Parent company will continue running Sub 2 and will continue to employ the same parent-company employees. Has anyone seen a scenario like this where the plan balances are paid out because of the change in control, but the plan is not otherwise terminated? So, assuming no amendments to the plan before the change in control, the existing balances would be forced out, then the parent-company employees could start deferring again? Technically it's just a permissible payment trigger that causes the distribution of prior balances, so I see no reason why the plan couldn't continue. Thoughts?
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