Defined Benefit Plan Administrator
Pension Investors Corporation of Orlando, Inc.
in FL

Corporate Benefits Administrator
Bertelsmann, Inc.
in NY

Defined Benefits / Cash Balance Analyst
Retirement Planning Services
in CO, Telecommute

Sr. Relationship Manager - Retirement Plan Solutions
TD Ameritrade
in CO

Associate Attorney - Employee Benefits
FordHarrison LLP
in GA

?See All Jobs

?Post a Job

Tales from the Crypt: Untangling the Web of Risks Associated with Employee Benefit Plans
October 11, 2018 in OH
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Northeast Ohio Chapter

DOL Investigations of Employee Benefit Plans: Responding to Enforcement Actions, Audits and Settlements
November 7, 2018 WEBCAST
Strafford

?See 88 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

?See 1392 Recorded Webcasts

New Topics on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

New Comments and Topics

All Topics , Grouped by Forum

Draft of 2018 IRS Form 5500-EZ (PDF)

Sept. 25, 2018 draft (not for filing). "This form is required to be filed under section 6058(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Certain foreign retirement plans are also required to file this form[.]" Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

SPARK Forum - November 4-6, 2018 -- The Breakers, Palm Beach, FL

Join us at the retirement services industry's leading event for top marketing, sales, administration and record keeping professionals. Comprehensive agenda includes topics of interest to Record Keepers, 401(k) Plan Providers, Financial Advisors and Cyber Security Professionals.

Draft of 2018 IRS Form 8955-SSA: Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits (PDF)

Sept. 26, 2018 draft (not for filing). "This form is required to be filed under section 6057 of the Internal Revenue Code." [Fillable PDF format. Might not open correctly in some web browsers.] Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Participants' Emotions Should Be Factored into Plan Design

"Understanding participants' emotions -- ranging from anxiety and fear to sadness and regret -- means plan executives must be empathetic. They need to think about participants' feelings, 'not just make things easier' for them to contribute and invest to retirement plans[.]" Pensions & Investments

Best Interest and Best Practices, Part 3

"[P]articipants need projections of retirement income and 'gap analysis.' ... [T]he projections will be inaccurate, since they are based on actuarial assumptions, which are educated guesses about the future. But ... the projections will provide valuable information to participants about whether they are saving enough to reach their goals. And, since the projections will be updated every year, participants can make adjustments along the way based on updated information." FredReish.com

Bundled or Unbundled? That Is the Question

"Having separate service providers who are experts in their field, such as compliance, investments, and record keeping adds a level of checks and balances to protect the client. This added protection is not present when the plan is bundled and only one company is responsible for all of the work." TriStar Pension Consulting

For over 20 years, we've helped employers find the best-informed candidates to fill their benefits job openings -- learn more!

The Defined Contribution Plan Proposition: Retirement Readiness

"Sponsors can strengthen their plan governance and improve their plans' return on investment by using detailed analytics that evaluate specific segments of their employee population based on age, job category, tenure and benefit structure. The right analytics highlight those employees and groups most at risk, and allow sponsors to determine which participant tools and strategies best prepare employees for retirement." Willis Towers Watson

Study of DC Plan Trends: Automatic Enrollment, Escalation and Default, Roth 401(k)

"[T]he survey group ranked 'retirement readiness' their top priority in 2018, with 58.7% of respondents assigning a score of 4 or 5. Focusing on plan fees was a close second with 57.2%. Third was participant communications that actually garnered 67.8% of responses with votes of either 4 or 5 but, on the weighted scoring scale used by Callan, received a score of 3.4 to readiness' 3.6 and fees 3.5. Fund/manager due diligence (3.0), compliance with the (now blocked) DOL fiduciary rule (2.8) and 'investment structure' which encompasses types and number of funds offered among other things (2.7) filled out the top half of priorities." Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC

Millennial Self-Directed 401(k) Investors Allocate More to ETFs Than Do Other Generations; Mutual Funds Remain Top Holdings for All

"[M]utual funds continued to hold the highest percentage of participant assets, with Baby Boomers allocating approximately 39 percent of their portfolios to them, followed by Gen X at 36 percent and Millennials at 32 percent.... Millennials allocated more to ETFs (23%) than did Gen X (19%) and Baby Boomers (16%) and also held more cash (16%) than other generations (Gen X and Boomers: 13% each). Baby Boomers held approximately 3 percent of their portfolios in fixed income, followed by Gen X (1%) and Millennials (0.5%)." Charles Schwab

Seventh Circuit Opines on 'Reasonable Factor Other Than Age' Defense to ADEA Claim Stemming from Benefit Plan Elimination

"[R]etirement-eligible participants who did not retire did not receive distributions.... [They then] filed a lawsuit alleging that its liquidation plan violated the ADEA.... [The Seventh Circuit] ruled that the disbursement of the plan's assets was valid ... because voluntary retirement incentives are permissible under the ADEA. The fact that a different arrangement may have treated retirement-eligible employees who chose not to retire more favorably did not matter." [ O'Brien v. Caterpillar Inc. , No. 17-2956 (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2018)]
Littler

Verizon Launches Early Retirement Program to Trim Workforce

"[Verizon on September 24] offered voluntary severance packages that include three weeks' pay for each year of service, the first such offer in at least 13 years ... The move is part of a broad, multiyear $10 billion cost-cutting effort at Verizon[.]" The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required

The Secret Ingredient in BlackRock's Imitation Pension Fund

"Asset managers are working to make target-date funds -- the go-to defined contribution vehicle -- look more like what preceded them: defined benefit plans. DB plans have historically delivered higher investment returns with less volatility than their pay-as-you-go counterparts, in part due to a broader investable universe. A number of multi-asset firms have looked to one product to help bridge the DC-DB divide: real estate investment trusts, or REITs." Institutional Investor

Approaching the Decumulation Phase of Retirement (PDF)

21 pages. "Despite the evidence that, in general, those who have retired -- especially those who have been retired for a significant amount of time -- are spending less/at a slower rate than might have been assumed, there would seem to be little reason to believe that this behavior will hold true for future generations.... [W]hile experts continue to exhort all currently employed Americans to adopt a prudent approach to accumulating savings for retirement, what do they recommend to those already retired when it comes to decumulation?" Pentegra

American Academy of Actuaries Letter to Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (PDF)

"[A] loan program could protect participant benefits by helping distressed multiemployer plans return to sound financial footing.... The most direct way for Congress to improve the financial strength of the PBGC would be to increase the current premium level.... Another way to increase funding to PBGC's multiemployer program is to deduct premium payments from benefit payments made to participants in all plans covered by the program.... The Committee could also consider whether the PBGC should have broader authority to proactively restructure distressed plans to enable them to remain solvent.... [T]he Committee might consider whether accrued plan benefits should become adjustable after restructuring." American Academy of Actuaries

ICI and ARA Letter to DOL: Electronic Delivery of Disclosure for Workplace Retirement Plans (PDF)

14 pages. "While we agree the Department should be mindful of internet access considerations, for rural Americans, the rate of access to broadband internet is not relevant for a number of reasons, including ... high-speed or broadband internet is not necessary for downloading and viewing DC plan disclosures. Finally, ... under any proposal to be considered, every participant will have the right to opt to receive notices in paper." Investment Company Institute [ICI] and American Retirement Association [ARA]

Text of IRS Disaster Relief Notice SC-2018-01, for Victims of Hurricane Florence in South Carolina

"Victims of Hurricane Florence that took place beginning on Sept. 8, 2018 in South Carolina may qualify for tax relief ... Individuals who reside or have a business in Chesterfield, Dillon, Horry, Marion and Marlboro counties may qualify for tax relief.... [C]ertain deadlines falling on or after Sept. 8, 2018 and before Jan. 31, 2019, are granted additional time to file through Jan. 31, 2019." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Text of IRS Notice 2018-77: 2018-2019 Special Per Diem Rates (PDF)

"This annual notice provides the 2018?2019 special per diem rates for taxpayers to use in substantiating the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home, specifically [1] the special transportation industry meal and incidental expenses (M&IE) rates, [2] the rate for the incidental expenses only deduction, and [3] the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Change-in-Control Benefits Can Incentivize Valuable Transactions, Protect Executives

"These benefits should meet key design objectives, pass an external test of fairness, and avoid windfalls upon executive departures. Directors should consider the following concepts when designing CIC severance protections for executives.... [1] Participation.... [2] Benefit levels.... [3] Excise tax.... [4] Other retention tools." Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC

Calculation of 20% Withholding During a Partial Rollover

A participant terminated employment with an outstanding loan. He wants a partial direct rollover of his account balance excluding the loan; he wants to take the balance of his account as a taxable distribution. Obviously he will receive a 1099R, Code L for the loan offset with $0 withholding. Somewhere I recall that the 20% withholding would be calculated on the total account balance excluding the loan -- i.e., the total being the amount rolled over plus the amount not rolled over. Does that sound right? BenefitsLink Message Boards

Plan Mistakenly Brings Aboard Non-Employee as a Participant

Non-profit #1 sets up non-profit #2 and runs payroll for them. #1 lets a #2 employee into #1's plan. I see provisions in EPCRS regarding how to fix the early letting in of an employee, but this doesn't seem covered by that. She seems ineligible to me, though she's on the payroll. Any thoughts? 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

McDermott Practice Leader Advancing Employee Benefits Law Through Commitment to Client Success and Increasing Public Awareness McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Drinker Biddle Announces Formation of Best Interest Compliance Team Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (FEP) Keeps Medical Premiums Stable While Expanding Plan Offerings for 2019 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

ICMA-RC Launching New Tool for Retirement Plan Sponsors ICMA-RC

Sara Pikofsky Admitted to the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Seven Northwestern Mutual Advisors Named to 2018 Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Plan Advisors Northwestern Mutual

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services Backs Up Participant 401(k) Retirement Accounts with Cybersecurity Guarantee John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

IBI Releases Nation's Largest Disability / Leave Benchmarking Database Reports Integrated Benefits Institute

View All Press Releases

Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

Questions Remain on Administration of New Hardship Distribution Rules FIS Relius

IRS Charts Path to a 401(k) Plan Student Loan Feature -- Will Plan Sponsors Follow? Perkins Coie LLP

IRS Updates Guidance on Safe Harbor Notices for Eligible Rollover Distributions Eversheds Sutherland