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Tax Reform and the March on Capitol Hill
RECORDED
ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries]

Crash Course in Pension Liability Hedging and Fixed Income
October 31, 2018 WEBCAST
Society of Actuaries

Fiduciary Regulations: Year in Review
November 28, 2018 WEBCAST
Wagner Law Group P.C.

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Text of PBGC Regulatory Agenda, Fall 2018

Proposed Rules include: [1] Benefit payments; [2] Methods for computing withdrawal liability; [3] Multiemployer plan guaranteed benefits; [4] PBGC-approved arbitration procedures -- multiemployer plans; [5] Release of official information and testimony by PBGC employees; and [6] Examination and copying of PBGC records.

Final Rules: [1] Terminated and insolvent multiemployer plans and duties of plan sponsors; and [2] Adjustment of civil penalties.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC]

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!

IRS TE/GE Program Letter Lays Out Employee Plan Program Priorities for 2019

"[S]pecific areas of compliance the division plans to review with respect to employee plans [include:] ... [1] verify that plans are following correct distribution processes and procedures and that participants are receiving correct distribution amounts.... [2]  contact employers sponsoring plans that did not file one or more required [Form 5500 series] returns ... [3] examine 403(b) plans for universal availability, excessive contributions and proper use of catch-up contributions ... [4] determine whether smaller plans with trusts holding large assets have taken deductions ... exceeding IRC Section 404 limitations ... [5] examine terminated plans with cash balance features that may have exceeded the IRC Section 415 limitations or generated a reversion that is subject to an excise tax."
American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA]

Withdrawing Disaster Recovery Funds from Retirement Plans

"After Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017, Congress passed special legislation allowing expanded access to retirement plan funds for individuals affected by those storms.... No such legislation has been enacted yet for Hurricanes Florence and Michael. Victims of 2018 federally declared disasters, such as the hurricanes, currently only have the relief that IRS can provide which consists mainly of extensions of various tax deadlines." Slott Report

Budgeting and Retirement Plan Engagement

"People who budget are far more likely to be able to afford retirement savings, since by budgeting they are getting a handle on the all-important revenue versus expense equation.... Retirement recordkeepers who are on the front lines of providing solutions in this area, by engaging participants in budgeting, building emergency funds, managing debt, etc., will be leaders in the marketplace[.]" Cammack Retirement Group

Best Interest and Best Practices, Part 6

"This article discusses the fundamentals of a good process and the lessons learned from the NYU decision. The NYU committee met quarterly.... The committee used an adviser with expertise with similar plans.... The committee adopted and followed an investment policy statement.... However, the committee in the NYU case also made some mistakes. Based on the judge's description, some of the committee members were not engaged and did not see themselves as being responsible for making fiduciary decisions.... Those people should not have been on the plan committee." FredReish.com

J.P. Morgan Retirement Link: Turning retirement resolutions into reality

Our 2018 survey finds that although DC plan participants are making progress and gaining confidence overall, more work is needed to: understand the state of the participant, motivate participants to save, and streamline investment decision-making.

Bringing White Label Investments and CITs to Plans of All Sizes (PDF)

"[A] white label investment option bears a name of the sponsor's choosing, typically to identify the option with its investment objective rather than the brand name of an investment manager. White labelling also can combine several funds into one option.... White labelling is becoming increasingly effective, as a result of participants' evolving view of investments." PLANSPONSOR

Pension Cuts Law Makes Mockery of American Democratic Principles

"About 130 multiemployer pension plans ... are facing insolvency within the next 10 to 20 years.... MPRA was constructed to have retirees pay the bulk of plan financial shortfalls even though retirees are not responsible for the plans' financial problems.... [T]he law presumes that all members approve the cuts unless they cast a 'no' vote disapproving the cuts. Thus, if people do not return ballots -- casting neither a 'no' nor a yes' vote -- these non-returned ballots are counted as a 'yes,' which retirees view as deeply unfair." Pension Rights Center

Text of DOL Regulatory Agenda, Fall 2018

EBSA Proposed Rules include: [1] Health Reimbursement Arrangements and other account-based group health plans; and [2] Definition of an "Employer" under Section 3(5) of ERISA -- Association Retirement Plans and other Multiple Employer Plans.

EBSA Final Rules : [1] Amendment of abandoned plan program; [2] Electronic filing of apprenticeship & training plan notices, and Top Hat Plan statements; [3] Adoption of amended and restated Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program; [4] Fiduciary rule and prohibited transaction exemptions; [5] Religious exemptions and accommodations for coverage of certain preventive services under the ACA; and [6] Moral exemptions and accommodations for coverage of certain preventive services under the ACA.
U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

American Benefits Legacy: The Unique Value of Employer Sponsorship

80 pages. "This report considers the value of employer-sponsored benefits and provides an overview of some of the data and analysis that illustrate the important contribution these benefits make to the economy and security of American workers and their families.... Section I provides a brief summary of the characteristics and development of employer sponsorship of benefits, and presents estimates of what the effect might be on the health benefits coverage and retirement security of workers if employers did not provide these benefits. Section II presents more in-depth analysis of several selected topics germane to understanding how employer-sponsored benefits provide value to workers and the broader economy. Section III highlights innovative programs and behavioral economics strategies implemented by employers in order to help employees achieve health and financial security." American Benefits Council

Disaster Planning for Employee Benefits (PDF)

"Natural disasters such as hurricanes, forest fires, ice storms and volcanic eruptions can result in widespread evacuations, work cessation and other disruptions that can significantly impact employees. For that reason, employers and benefit plans also should spend time considering and planning for disasters in a way that focuses on employees and plan participants. This article offers a look at several key planning areas." benefits magazine, a publication of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

IRS Explains New $1M Compensation Deduction Rule

"There are a number of actions companies subject to Section 162(m) should be taking at this time: [1] Prepare a list of current covered employees and continue to monitor who is a covered employee ... [2] Carefully review and inventory all written compensation plans and agreements -- including nonqualified plans -- and determine which may qualify for grandfathered status. [3] For grandfathered agreements, determine the extent to which amounts are grandfathered ... [4] Consider structuring new agreements to make payments through annuities or installments spread over multiple years on a post-retirement basis to allow efficient utilization of the $1 million exemption." Buck

Disclosure of the CEO Pay Ratio: Potential Impact on Stakeholders

"Investors may have a different point of view after several years of seeing disclosures of the CEO Pay Ratio and the Median Employee Pay and changes in each of these.... Many employees will be upset to learn, as part of the CEO Pay Ratio disclosure, that their pay levels are below the Median Employee Pay level at their employer ... An important effect of the pay and pay ratio disclosures ... may be an upward pressure on employee pay levels." McCarter & English LLP, via Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Press Releases

DataPath White Paper Analyzes Ways a Partner Marketing Program Can Affect a TPA's Success DataPath, Inc.

Insight Financial Partners, LLC is Certified for Fiduciary Excellence Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

How Mandatory Force-Outs Turned Into a Fiduciary Concern (PDF) Fi360

Perspectives to Help Drive Better Retirement Outcomes (PDF) Wells Fargo

Second Circuit Speaks on When Ministerial Acts Can Breach a Fiduciary Duty Robinson & Cole LLP