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Fiduciary Litigation for Defined Contribution Plan Administrators: Risks and Challenges
June 5, 2018 WEBCAST
Strafford

Severance Plans and ERISA Compliance: Limiting Liability in Design and Implementation of Severance Arrangements
June 12, 2018 WEBCAST
Strafford

Form 5500 Workshop
August 9, 2018 in OR
FIS Relius Education

ERISA Workshop
August 10, 2018 in OR
FIS Relius Education

Cybersecurity and Benefit Plans: An Update on Risks and Challenges for Benefit Providers
October 17, 2018 WEBCAST
ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries]

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Design Matters: Plan Distribution Options (PDF)

"Increasingly, plan sponsors have begun to realize that options such as periodic partial withdrawals, partial annuitization, monthly/quarterly installment payments and other flexible distribution strategies can allow retired and other separated participants to readily turn their account balances into the type of income stream that best meets their individual financial needs." Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association [DCIIA]

ERISApedia.com -- Get Help with All of your Form 5500 Questions

"ASK THE AUTHOR" Personalized help for all of your tough 5500 questions in 4 business hours from noted author and speaker S. Derrin Watson, J.D. Including any supporting schedules: 8955-SSA,1099-R, 5330 and more). Sign up or email sales@ERISApedia.com .

Americans Saving an Average of 8% for Retirement

"Andrew G. Biggs, [of the] American Enterprise Institute ... [examined] the research and claims that indicate there is a retirement crisis in America and suggests they are understating what Americans will have for retirement income and overstating what they will need.... Americans saved an average of 6% in 1975, but in 2013. that was 8%. Biggs said ... 'if you go through life saving 8% versus 6%, you will have 33% more retirement income.' " planadviser

DOL Fiduciary Rule One Step Closer to History

"The federal government missed a deadline Monday to appeal a ruling tossing out the controversial [DOL] fiduciary rule. The decision means that the March 15 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling is slated to take effect May 7." InsuranceNewsNet.com

Business Groups Argue Against Fiduciary Rule Rehearing

"Business and financial services groups that successfully challenged the [DOL's] fiduciary rule asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ... to deny a bid by AARP and the attorneys general of New York, California and Oregon to intervene in the case ... and to have all 17 judges of the 5th Circuit review a March 15 decision where the court ruled 2-1 that the DOL had overstepped its legal authority to issue the fiduciary standard." Pensions & Investments

401(k) Lawsuits: Causes and Consequences (PDF)

"[I]nstead of laying out specific regulations or guidance, the [DOL's] general approach to overseeing 401(k)s has been through its own enforcement actions or through litigation (mostly privately initiated). This brief looks at the broad complaints that motivate the litigation and how the threat of litigation may affect the retirement industry." Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

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DB Plan Sponsors Should Consider Making Additional Contributions for 2017 to Maximize Tax Benefits

"For most purposes, the 2017 taxable year has closed. However, any company that has filed an extension to file its income tax returns, contributions to its defined benefit retirement plan may be made until September 14, 2018 (for calendar year companies). As a result, a $1 million plan contribution made prior to September 14, 2018 can still count toward a company's 2017 taxable year and will result in a $350,000 tax deduction. The value of the deduction falls to $210,000 for Plan contributions of the same size made under the Act for 2018 taxable year." Olshan

Prohibited Transaction Rules Can Spell Trouble for Self-Directed IRAs

"[W]ith the rise of self-directed IRAs buying real estate over the past decade, and more generally the popularity of using self-directed IRAs for 'alternative' investments ... there is a growing risk that the IRS will soon increase its enforcement on IRA prohibited transactions.... [E]ven if a self-directed IRA provider affirms that it can hold a particular alternative investment, it's still the legal responsibility of the IRA owner themselves to determine if it is permissible, and avoid triggering prohibited transactions!" Nerd's Eye View

Social Security: Options for Potential New Automatic Adjustment Features (PDF)

"Under an automatic adjustment approach, changes to keep the system in positive long-range actuarial balance would be made on a periodic basis. These changes could be in the form of an increase in revenue, an adjustment in the total projected benefits over the recipients' lifetimes, or some combination of the two.... This issue brief examines automatic adjustment options, including their advantages and disadvantages." American Academy of Actuaries

Knowledge Gap on Social Security May Lead to False Sense of Security

"[M]ore than half (55%) of future retirees plan on Social Security being their main source of retirement income, while one in four (26%) believe they can live comfortably in retirement on Social Security alone. Yet a similar amount of currently retired U.S. adults (27%) say their Social Security payment is less than they expected.... [M]any older adults think they are eligible for Social Security benefits sooner than they actually are, including 57% of future retirees." National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA]

The Search for Certainty in the Uncertain World of Personal Retirement Financing

"Since it is based on real market information for relatively low-risk investments, the [actuarial budget balance (ABB)] can be used to properly calibrate the assumptions used in the Monte Carlo model for more risky investments.... If you invest in risky assets and the Monte Carlo model indicates that your sustainable spending level is significantly higher than your ABB ... this can also be an indication that the Monte Carlo modeling assumptions may not reflect investment risk properly. If the current spending level produced by the [Monte Carlo] model differs significantly from your ABB, it is a worthwhile educational exercise to discover why this is the case." Ken Steiner, FSA Retired

Puerto Rico's Pensions Are Still Threatened; System Only 3% Funded

"The last publicly available valuation of the pension plan had the funding ratio at 3 percent.... The Puerto Rico Government Employees' Retirement System has over 125,000 active members, who contribute 10 percent of every paycheck toward their pension. There are 107,848 retirees who are receiving benefits. The average annual pension benefit in Puerto Rico is ... $12,708 -- significantly lower than most pension benefits on the mainland U.S." National Public Pension Coalition

The Diminishing Future of Investment Advice Regulation

"[S]ometime after 1975 ... the idea of a 'commission' morphed into something else, something closer to a bribe. Commissions became a way for product companies to pay a broker or sales agent to recommend their products over products which offered superior features or returns.... In retrospect, the SEC has proven to be a terrible regulator of this new commission regime.... With these new proposals, the SEC is fecklessly trying to, at the same time, restore merit-based investment recommendations to the marketplace and make Wall Street lobbyists happy." Bob Veres, in Inside Information

Text of IRS Disaster Relief AL-2018-03, for Victims of Severe Storms and Tornadoes in Alabama

"Individuals who reside or have a business in Calhoun, Cullman, and Etowah counties may qualify for tax relief.... [C]ertain deadlines falling on or after March 19, 2018 and before July 31, 2018, are granted additional time to file through July 31, 2018. In addition, penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after March 19, 2018 and before April 3, 2018, will be abated as long as the deposits were made before April 3, 2018." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

California Supreme Court Holds Worker Classifications Easy as A-B-C

"The California Supreme Court's decision to eschew the traditional multifactor case-by-case worker classification analysis in favor of this 'simpler, more structured test' will undoubtedly raise concerns among many industries, including from companies operating in the gig economy space with large independent contractor workforces." ReedSmith

California Supreme Court Applies 'ABC' Test When Assessing Independent Contractor Status

"For Wage Order claims, the 'engage, suffer or permit' standard determines if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The Supreme Court also held that, to evaluate whether a worker is an employee under this language, courts should use the so-called ABC test that other jurisdictions have used." Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Next Critical Action Item After Filing Your Proxy Statement

"Compensation Committees and the appropriate members of the Company's legal, executive compensation, tax, and/or HR functions should quickly prepare to shift their focus to action items relating to new world of Code Section 162(m) -- without a performance-based compensation exception.... [F]or many companies, the impact of losing the ability to deduct compensation amounts over $1 million per year per executive will be significant."
Winston & Strawn LLP

$15,000 PBGC Premium for 99% Funded Plan with Only 30 Participants: Any Solution?

Client (small medical company) has had a CB plan for several years and just became large enough to trigger coverage in the middle of 2017. 2018 is first full year of coverage. The premium is coming out to be over $15,000! And this is for a group with about 30 participants that is 99% funded on a lump sum basis! This seems absolutely ridiculous, and I'm just wondering if I'm missing something as a potential solution. BenefitsLink Message Boards

Form 5500 Plan Characteristic Code 2T If Plan Provides Default Investment?

Who would like to settle a tiny difference of opinion in our office? One of us thinks that Plan Characteristic Code 2T would apply to ALL such plans (with participant directed accounts) because there is a mechanism of some sort in dealing with money belonging to participants who never made a fund election. It won't just sit in cash. Another person in our office thinks that 2T only applies if there actually are participants who have defaulted into the automatic investment. BenefitsLink Message Boards

Does Anyone Test Whether a Recordkeeper's Disclosures About Compensation from Investment Funds Is Correct?

If a recordkeeper's compensation includes 'revenue sharing,' 12b-1 fees, shareholder-service fees, or other compensation from investment funds, a sponsor/fiduciary's informed approval depends on complete and accurate information about the compensation the recordkeeper receives from the investment funds. Does anyone use a CPA firm or other means to test the accuracy of a recordkeeper's reporting or disclosures about compensation from investment funds? BenefitsLink Message Boards

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Press Releases

Group Benefits Insurers Automate Document Creation with Global IQX Update Global IQX, Inc.

PSCA Presents Volunteer Service Awards at the 71st Annual National Conference PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America]

Nyhart Appoints New CEO Lisa Hague Nyhart

NTSA Releases Best Practices Guide for 403(b) & 457 Plans American Retirement Association

For the First Time, Wisconsin Private Colleges Unite Retirement Plans to Reduce Costs, Streamline Providers, and Simplify Administrative Burdens Transamerica

Lockton Named by Forbes as a Best Employer in America for Third Straight Year Lockton

Ed Emerson Heads MMM's Employment and Benefits Group; Four Attorneys Hired Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

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