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How to Properly Conduct a Retirement Plan Committee Meeting
June 7, 2018 WEBCAST
Littler Mendelson

Designing a Retirement Program from a Sponsor Perspective
June 20, 2018 WEBCAST
Society of Actuaries

Summer Social: Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds
June 27, 2018 in GA
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Atlanta Chapter

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Text of IRS Rev. Rul. 2018-17: Withholding and Reporting with Respect to Payments from IRAs to State Unclaimed Property Funds (PDF)

"The payment of Individual C's interest in IRA O, a traditional IRA, to the State J unclaimed property fund, as required by State J law, is a payment from an IRA that is treated as includible in gross income ... Because Individual C has not made a withholding election with respect to the payment, a 10 percent withholding rate applies to the payment ... and Trustee Y must withhold federal income tax of $100 (10% of Individual C's $1,000 interest in IRA O).... Trustee Y must report the $1,000 distribution from IRA O ... on a 2018 Form 1099-R identifying Individual C as the recipient.... A person will not be treated as failing to comply with the withholding and reporting requirements described in this revenue ruling with respect to payments made before the earlier of January 1, 2019, or the date it becomes reasonably practicable for the person to comply with those requirements." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

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Unallocated Forfeitures Now Can Be Used to Fund QMACs and QNECs, IRS Says

"[A]mounts that are in the plan as forfeitures from other employer contributions can now be used to fund an employer's QNECs or QMACs ... [The IRS recently issued two] ' Issue Snapshots ' ... [which] dealt with QMACs and QNECs and permitted taxpayers to rely on these Issue Snapshots currently.... Plan sponsors that may want to be able to correct ADP/ACP nondiscrimination testing by using forfeitures to fund QNECs or QMACs [need to] determine how the plan documents may need to be changed to permit use of forfeitures to fund such corrective contribution allocations. This is an amendment that would need to be in place during the plan year to which it applies[.]"
Winstead PC

Summary Report by IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit: Party in Interest Transaction Project

"The compliance checks demonstrated both systemic errors in processing Form 5500 returns and significant reporting and compliance issues.... In all, there were errors in over 51% of the 253 plans selected (90% of those contacted); the errors included entering incorrect data on Form 5500, failure to complete Schedule G, failure to file Form 5330 and pay the excise tax, errors on filed Forms 5330, and incorrect tax computations." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Summary Report by IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit: Non-Cash Contributions Project

"The project reviewed plans that reported non-cash contribution amounts on Schedule H or Schedule I to determine whether there were non-cash contributions and, if so, whether the contributions were allowable.... Seventy-six percent of the plans contacted had entered incorrect information on the return line relating to non-cash contributions." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

2018 ERISA Advisory Council Issue Statement: Lifetime Income Solutions as a QDIA -- Focus on Decumulation and Rollovers (PDF)

"The 2018 Council's objective is to focus recommendations on promoting lifetime income within DC plans through providing further guidance on an annuity selection safe harbor and modifying the Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) rule to focus on asset accumulation and decumulation issues in the context of lifetime income needs and solutions." Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

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IRS Considers Expanding Determination Letter Program in 2019 for Certain Individually Designed Plans

"[T]he IRS announced that it is soliciting comments from the public to help identify any additional types of plans for which it might be appropriate for plan sponsors to be able to request determination letters during the 2019 calendar year.... The public comment period closes on Monday, June 4, 2018." Compliance Dashboard

ESG's 'Good Vibrations'? Not Yet for DC Plans

"[T]he number of signatories to the U.N.-backed Principles for Responsible Investment swelled from fewer than 100 in 2006 to over 1,800 in 2017, with a comparable increase in assets under management... Despite this growth in interest in the institutional investing industry, ... [only] 16% of DC plans offer a dedicated ESG option.... Only 5% of corporate DC plans offer a standalone option, compared to the 43% of public and non-profit plans that do so." Callan

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging Mismanaged Retirement Plans by Northwestern University

"Judge Jorge Alonso dismissed all seven of the plaintiffs' counts and denied their recent motion to file a second-amended complaint.... Plaintiffs alleged they were financially harmed because the retirement and voluntary savings plans included excessive or imprudent fee options. They argued that the defendants' inclusion of these options prohibited the plaintiffs from being able to grow their retirement savings by investing in options that were prudent and had reasonable fees. Such options, the suit alleged, were not available and the defendants therefore did not satisfy their obligations as fiduciaries, or trustees." The Daily Northwestern

Separately Managed 401(k) Accounts Pose Risks to Plan Sponsors, But Certain Steps Can Reduce Liability

"Employees who can best take advantage of separately managed accounts generally are near retirement and have in excess of $500,000 in retirement assets.... [S]electing and monitoring individual investment advisers for separately managed accounts should be undertaken in the same manner plan sponsors address all their fiduciary functions.... [P]lan sponsors can reduce their liability by placing the bulk of this selection process on the shoulders of the employees." Fiduciary News

DB Plans Holding Their Own, EBSA Finds

"Despite the long-term trend, EBSA reports that in 2015, growth among private DB plans outstripped that of private DC plans -- the number of DB plans grew by 1.8%, while the number of DC plans went up by 1.2%. Also, the increase in contributions was sharper for DB plans than for DC plans; contributions to DB plans rose by 10.9%, while contributions to DC plans grew by 7.7%. DC plans may have grown at a slower pace, but the amount by which their disbursements in 2015 outstripped their contributions was smaller than for DB plans." Cypen & Cypen

PBGC Director Says Failed Multiemployer Plan Members May Receive Only Fraction of PBGC Minimum

"When asked if the PBGC would be able provide the minimum guaranteed benefit to failed plan members without congressional action, [PBGC Director Thomas Reeder] said 'no,' adding that the PBGC would have to cut it to about one-eighth the minimum benefit, or less.... Reeder said that without help from Congress, propping up the PBGC could cost taxpayers $16 billion over 10 years, and that would only keep the organization going for another 20 years." Chief Investment Officer [CIO]

The World Isn't Prepared for Retirement

"More than 20 percent of workers didn't grasp how higher inflation hurts their buying power. Given that declining health was the most-cited retirement worry, at 49 percent, and health care is an area (in the U.S., especially) with high cost inflation,... that makes the subject something older folks should have down cold." Bloomberg

Text of IRS Proposed Regs: Filing Requirements for Information Returns Required on Magnetic Media (Electronically)

"This document contains proposed regulations amending the rules for determining whether information returns must be filed using magnetic media (electronically). The proposed regulations would require that all information returns, regardless of type, be taken into account to determine whether a person meets the 250-return threshold and, therefore, must file the information returns electronically. The proposed regulations also would require any person required to file information returns electronically to file corrected information returns electronically, regardless of the number of corrected information returns being filed." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Pension and OPEB Underfunded Status of Michigan Local Government Plans under the 'Protecting Local Government Retirement and Benefits Act' (PDF)

"[U]ntil the state treasurer publishes the first set of annual assumptions, considerable uncertainty remains as to what the impact will be on each plan's liability. In fact, it is possible that a particular plan might be considered fully funded under the current actuarial assumptions that are being used for determining contributions to the plan or for satisfying financial reporting requirements, yet be considered underfunded based on new mandated assumptions. This paper aims to help stakeholders of Michigan's many local government pension and other post-employment benefit (OPEB) programs develop informed expectations, based on the range of outcomes that could result from the state treasurer's decisions." Milliman

2018 ERISA Advisory Council Issue Statement: Evaluating Regs and Guidance on ERISA Bonding Requirements and Exploring Reform Considerations (PDF)

"[EBSA] has asked the Council to evaluate the effectiveness of the Department's regulations and sub-regulatory guidance promulgated under section 412 of ERISA in safeguarding plan funds or other property against losses caused by acts of fraud and dishonesty and to explore ways in which the current bonding requirements could be improved."
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

Reasons to Integrate Health Savings Into Your Retirement Plan Offering

"[1] Health Savings Accounts address concerns about future costs ... [2] Health Savings [Accounts] are triple tax-free now and in retirement ... [3] HSAs can be easily integrated into an existing plan ... [4] Health Savings Accounts can boost employee recruiting and retention." Bronfman Rothschild

QNEC for Missed Match: Compensation Being Counted Twice?

A plan has a safe harbor match allocated on an annual basis. The client has realized that there were 4 employees eligible on January 1, 2018 who have not been given the opportunity to defer. I will advise them on the correction under EPCRS, which is a 25% QNEC based upon 3% missed deferral and a missed SH Match plus earnings. They will notify employees as required. Is the compensation based upon compensation from 1/1/2018 through the date the employee is given the opportunity to participate? I would think yes, but when I calculate the annual safe harbor match for ALL employees at year-end, this portion of compensation will be included in the calculations. It would seem as though the affected employees will get matched on this compensation twice. Is that how it is meant to work? BenefitsLink Message Boards

Locating the Plan Sponsor After Change in Ownership Long Ago

My father had passed away. I'm the beneficiary of his account in a Profit Sharing plan. The company's name was Lever Brothers Company. He retired in 1985, and died in 2017. Since 1985, the company has changed ownership and has a different name. How in the world do I locate this plan? BenefitsLink Message Boards

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WellCare to Acquire Meridian for $2.5 Billion WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Groom Receives Chambers USA Award for Excellence for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Groom Law Group

Former CMS Chief Data Officer Joins MPIRICA's Board of Advisors MPIRICA

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