Pension Systems Administrator
DeMars Pension Consulting Services, Inc.
in KS

Senior Legal Counsel - Trust Company
T. Rowe Price
in MD

ERISA Attorney
Kraw Law Group, APC
in CA

?See All Jobs

?Post a Job

2018 NQDC Survey Webinar
September 25, 2018 WEBCAST
PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America]

Pre-approved Defined Benefit Plan Workshop
November 7, 2018 in IL
FIS Relius Education

?See 103 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

?See 1386 Recorded Webcasts

New Topics on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

New Comments and Topics

All Topics , Grouped by Forum

Recommending Rollovers in the Evolving Regulatory Environment, Part 2

"Reg BI goes beyond suitability. The SEC also says that a rollover recommendation involves a material conflict of interest. This is because a broker-dealer will earn commissions or other fees as a result of the recommendation, whereas 'a recommendation that a retail investor leave his plan assets with his old employer or roll the assets to a plan sponsored by a new employer likely results in little or no compensation for a firm or a registered representative.' ... The SEC goes on to say that broker-dealers have an obligation to mitigate the financial conflict." Drinker Biddle

Get more - Pay Less!

The best, easiest-to-use software with the best customer support for Proposals, Testing & Administration of Defined Benefit/Cash Balance, Defined Contribution, and Combined Plans. Also Plan Documents, 5500s and 1099Rs. 888-328-2474 or visit www.datair.com

IRS Provides Guidance for Avoiding Incomplete VCP Submissions

"[The IRS Employee Plans Voluntary Compliance area has listed frequent mistakes for VCP filings.] [1] Form 8950, Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) Submission ... [2] Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representation ... [3] Form 14568, Model VCP Compliance Statement ... [4] User fee ... [5] Narrative attachments describing failures and correction methods ... [6] Submissions involving participant loans and IRC 72(p) ... [7] Other important items missing from VCP Submissions." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

PBGC Issues Final Regs on Mergers and Transfers Between Multiemployer Plans

"PBGC recognized that ERISA Section 4231(b)(2) would bar a plan merger or transfer that happens at the same time as a benefit suspension under ERISA Section 305(e)(9). To permit a merger or transfer in these circumstances, the PBGC added a new subsection which provides that it may waive the requirement concerning the preservation of accrued benefits if the benefit suspension and transfer or merger happen simultaneously."
Thomson Reuters Practical Law

Sixth Circuit Adopts Expanded Controlled Group and Successor Liability for Pension Funding

"The 6th Circuit ... [held] that MEPP controlled-group case law applied to single-employer cases and that a lessor of property to a commonly controlled entity is categorically a 'trade or business' for ERISA controlled-group purposes ... [reasoning, in part,] that categorically labeling this activity a trade or business prevents businesses from shirking ERISA obligations by fractionalizing operations into separate entities. [This] decision aligns the 6th Circuit with the 7th, 8th and 9th Circuits in adopting the 'categorical test.' " [ PBGC v. Findlay Industries, Inc. , No. 17-3520 (6th Cir. Sept. 4, 2018)]
McGuireWoods

Be Sure to Update DOL Weblinks in Participant Communications (PDF)

"Last year, DOL overhauled its website. If your electronic or printed participant communications link to DOL materials, you may need to revise those communications so your participants will be directed to the appropriate page s on the revamped DOL site." Buck

New! ftwilliam.com Distribution Tracking Software

Our cutting-edge Distribution Tracking Software , built by retirement service providers, makes distribution preparation and tracking faster and more efficient. Know exactly where each distribution is so nothing slips through the cracks. Learn more!

Intermediaries' Perspectives on Financial Wellness Programs (PDF)

"Eighty-four percent of intermediaries expect sales of such programs to increase in the next three to five years. Nearly six in ten intermediaries (57%) consider it very important for their firm to expand sales of financial wellness programs.... Over two-thirds of intermediaries (68%) say their top challenges in selling financial wellness programs are cost (27%), limited employer buy-in (22%), or concerns about return on investment (ROI) or measuring impact (19%)." Prudential

What Has Changed Over the Years with DC Plans

"In the 1992 survey, only 14% of respondents had assets greater than $1 billion, compared to the 2018 survey where the majority of respondents had plan assets above $1 billion.... [In 1992,] 49% of employers selected where company contributions were invested. And 36% of those directed the matching contributions to company stock. While 93% of plans in 1992 allowed participants to direct their investments, the majority of plans limited investment changes to four times a year." Callan

Providing Benefits for Employees: The Net Cost to Business Owners Can Be Zero (PDF)

"A Defined Benefit Pension Plan (DBPP) helps control labor costs under an efficient compensation design ... A meaningful retirement plan reduces re-hiring and training costs by retaining employees invested in their benefits.... Benefit costs are controlled with plan amendments and increased contributions in higher profit years. DBPPs permit an unlimited range of plan designs." H.C. Foster and Company

Employers Beware: Plan Participants May File Another Lawsuit After Settling a Prior Claim

"Franklin Resources argued that the severance agreement release prohibited the former employee's lawsuit. However, the court determined the plaintiff could proceed with the lawsuit which was brought on behalf of the plan. The employee would not have had the power to settle claims on behalf of the plan because the plan was not a party to the employment dispute." [ Fernandez v. Franklin Resources, Inc. , 17?6409 (N.D. Cal. April 6, 2018)]
Butterfield Schechter LLP

Here's Why You Shouldn't Retire Super Early, Even If You Can

"Not all members of the [financial independence, retire early (FIRE)] community agree on how much you actually need to retire or how to go about saving that much, but they tend to agree the concept is very much worth the extra work and sacrifice. Is it though? MarketWatch spoke with financial advisers about the financial and emotional consequences of early retirement." The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required

How President Trump's Executive Order on Retirement Plans Falls Short

"While 401(k) plans often need lots of assets to access the top actively-managed funds, even start-up plans with no assets can access the top index funds and ETFs -- no economies of scale required. The kicker? These funds often outperform their actively-managed counterparts, net of fees. They also offer a clear and simple way for employers to meet their investment-related 401(k) fiduciary responsibilities. In short, passively-managed investments have made MEPs obsolete." Employee Fiduciary

New Employee Benefit Plan Auditing Standard Now Final

"After years of debate, deliberation and revision, it appears the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is finally set to issue Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA as a final standard. The ASB has not yet announced when the final standard will be available nor has it determined the effective date." Schneider Downs

Evaluating Service Provider Data Security

"[T]ake the time to understand the standards the provider holds themselves to. In other words: when they make any claim about the strength of their security, what criteria is this based upon? ... [H]ow frequently does the provider assess the strength of their system's security? ... [W]hat method does the provider use to evaluate their security: internal assessments or assessments done by a reputable third-party? ...Has the provider prepared for the worst?" bswift

Benefit Gains Exceed Wage Growth

"The value of benefits -- including bonuses and vacation time -- grew at a faster rate in the 12 months ended in June than wages and salaries ... That extended a long-running but slow shift in compensation toward benefits and away from wages. The cost of benefits for private-sector employers rose 3% in June from a year earlier, while the cost of wages and salaries advanced 2.7%." The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required

Do Employers Really Know What Employees Want?

"Eighty-one percent of employees value retirement plans, but only 60 percent of employers offer it. While 60 percent of employees say it's important to have life insurance available to them at work, only 48 percent of employers offer it. When looking at critical illness coverage, 44 percent of employees view it as important but just 24 percent of employers offer this benefit. Only 21 percent of employers offer long-term care insurance but almost half, 46 percent, of employees feel the benefit is important." LIMRA

Section 162(m) Guidance Clarifies Executive Comp Limitations, with Caution to Corporations

"[It] is unclear whether compensation arrangements that allow company boards to decrease performance-based pay (negative discretion compensation) are still subject to the $1 million cap.... [S]ome boards may look to decrease performance-based compensation as part of their overall executive pay package.... [C]ompanies may seek to decrease bonuses and increase salaries, since deductibility no longer differentiates between the two." Olshan

Full-Time Participant in 403(b) Becomes Part-Time

Under universal eligibility for 403(b) plans, all employees working at a rate of at least 20 hours per week are immediately eligible to participate. Say a full-time employee enters the plan enters the plan, and one year later the employee goes part-time. Can the plan stop the employee from making further contributions? BenefitsLink Message Boards

Early Retirement Window Won't Benefit Participants Over 65

We want to do an early retirement window in which, if participants agree to retire, they get an extra 2 years of service and 2 years of age. For most of our "over-65" folks, the extra service and years won't help them because they are more or less maxed out in the plan. Is this OK? Can we offer an early retirement window that benefits people under 65 more than people over 65? BenefitsLink Message Boards

What Is Considered 'By the Deadline' for Tax Deductibility of Contributions?

When is a contribution considered to be made "by the tax filing deadline" in regards to being deductible for that plan year? A client waited until the last day to file its taxes and to submit its annual employer match on that same afternoon. The submission missed the recordkeeper's daily cut-off for the ACH pull, so funds were not pulled from the employer bank account until the next day (the day after their tax filing deadline). The funds were deposited to the plan's trust the following day. Were they made on time? BenefitsLink Message Boards

? Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Message Boards Digest — a free daily email of all new discussions (not just the selected few shown above). View a sample issue .

Press Releases

NAPA Announces the Retirement Industry's Top 10 DC Wholesalers National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA]

Fitbit and Humana Expand Strategic Partnership to Drive Healthy Habits and Prevent and Manage Chronic Disease Fitbit, Inc.

Fitbit Launches Fitbit Care, A Powerful New Enterprise Health Platform for Wellness and Prevention and Disease Management Fitbit, Inc.

VALIC Named Exclusive Retirement Program Provider for PGA of America Golf Retirement Plus Program VALIC

View All Press Releases

Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

Text of IRS Notice 2018-74: Safe Harbor Explanations - Eligible Rollover Distributions (PDF) Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

IRS Private Letter Ruling Sparks Interest in 401(k) Plan Student Loan Repayment Benefit Retirement Management Services, LLC

Your Age at Retirement: The Most Important Number for Planning Forbes