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Proposed IRS Regulations Affecting 401(k) and 403(b) Plans
RECORDED
Proskauer

Executive Compensation Series - Proxy Season: Compensatory Thoughts from ISS
January 17, 2019 WEBCAST
Hunton Andrews Kurth

Risk Mitigation Strategies for Benefit Plans
January 23, 2019 WEBCAST
Morgan Lewis

Structuring Equity Compensation for Partnerships and LLCs: Considerations After Tax Reform
February 5, 2019 WEBCAST
Strafford

National Conference & Expo
February 12, 2019 in OH
Health Action Council

The Other Reasons for Filing Form 5330
June 13, 2019 WEBCAST
ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries]

?See 90 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

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New Topics on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

New Comments and Topics

All Topics , Grouped by Forum

Trust in Financial Institutions Can Affect Retirement Plan Participation

"The results suggest an association between distrust in financial institutions and the likelihood that workers will choose to stay in a retirement savings plan if enrolled automatically. That includes whether they would take part in a state-sponsored individual retirement account with automatic enrollment [auto IRA], or one sponsored by their employer." The Pew Charitable Trusts

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401(k) Suits Point to Need for Litigation Risk Prevention

"These settlements cover financial institutions that have filled their 401(k) plans with proprietary investments ... Although defendants admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to pay money, many settlements include non-monetary remedies for plan management practices that could have reduced litigation risk in the first place." Pensions & Investments

Some Unions Turning to Variable Benefit Pension Plan Model

"[T]he $95 million New Orleans Carpenters Pension Plan, a plan close to 100% funded ... added a variable plan design for all benefits that have accrued since May. The basic premise ... is that benefits are adjusted up or down based on investment returns. The assumed rate of return ... determines whether benefits for all participants, including retirees, rise or fall on a plan year basis." Pensions & Investments

D.C. Court of Appeals: Delta Pilots Cannot Recover Fiduciary Breach Damages from Plan's Post-Termination Investment Gains (PDF)

"The Corporation argues that it is entitled under Section 1344(c) to any post-termination increase in the value of pension plan assets. In other words, the Corporation reasons, Congress has already decided who benefits or suffers the loss from a change in the value of plan assets once that plan has been terminated. Therefore, the Corporation concludes that the pilots cannot recover that money as equitable relief for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty. We agree.... The pilots' request for post-termination investment gains is fundamentally flawed." [Lewis v. PBGC, No. 17-5068 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 21, 2018)] U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Groundhog Day Meets Mortality Assumptions

"[T]he updated tables reduce the typical pension plan liability by about 0.4%. MP-2018 is a repeat of the prior three year's downward trend that has cumulatively reduced pension liabilities by approximately 3%, with the zenith of longevity optimism occurring with the release of MP-2014." NISA Investment Advisors; free registration required

Investment Company Institute Comment Letter to DOL on Proposed Regs Defining 'Employer' Under Section 3(5) of ERISA (PDF)

10 pages. "[ICI urges] the Department to interpret the definition of employer more broadly, specifically by expanding the category of persons able to act indirectly in the interest of employers ... Any concerns the Department may have with respect to permitting MEP sponsorship by financial services firms can be mitigated by using established methods for ensuring both the legitimacy and qualifications of the MEP sponsor and protection from conflicts of interest. Failure to expand the interpretation as recommended likely will result in market distortions and inefficiencies, to the detriment of retirement savers." Investment Company Institute [ICI]

Text of IRS Publication 15-A: Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide, for Use in 2019 (PDF)

73 pages. Topics include: [1] Who are employees? [2] Employee or independent contractor? [3] Employees of exempt organizations. [4] Religious exemptions and special rules for ministers. [5] Wages and other compensation. [6] Sick pay reporting. [7] Pensions and annuities. Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Evolving the Benefit Mindset: Responding to the Pace of Change

"The challenge for employers is three-fold: [1] Assess the existing portfolio with a fresh perspective to determine whether longstanding legacy program designs still meet employee needs; [2] Evaluate how investments are applied via the subsidy strategy; [3] Evaluate how benefits are delivered and the employee experience it creates.... 96% of employers are making the employee experience with benefits a top priority over the next three years." Willis Towers Watson

Under ERISA, Ignorance Is Bliss in the Ninth Circuit

"[T]he Ninth Circuit concluded that the statute of limitations was not triggered when the documents were made available to the plaintiff.... [T]he plaintiff was required to have actual knowledge that Intel increased the retirement funds' alternative investments and that those investments were imprudent." [ Sulyma v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Comm. , No. 17-15864 (9th Cir. Nov. 28, 2018)]
Ogletree Deakins

How Will the Partial Government Shutdown Affect Employers?

"Unlike other recent government shutdowns, the instant closure affects only nine federal agencies [including] the Department of the Treasury ... In addition, certain smaller independent agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), will also be impacted. It will be business as usual for other agencies, including the [DOL] ... and [HHS], which have already been funded through September 2019." Littler

Year-End Guidance on New Income Inclusion Deferral for Private Company Options and RSUs

"On December 7th, the IRS issued Notice 2018-97 to provide initial guidance on the new private company income inclusion deferral regime enacted under Code Section 83(i) as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.... [T]he Notice serves as validation of the widely-held sense that the risks and complexities of the deferral regime outweigh any potential benefits -- particularly for employers."
Baker McKenzie

SEC Adopts Final Hedging Disclosure Rule

"The final rule requires a description of any practices or policies a public company has adopted regarding the ability of its employees (including officers) and directors to engage in certain hedging transactions.... [M]ost companies must include this disclosure in their proxy and information statements relating to the election of directors during fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2019."
Ropes & Gray LLP

Institutional Investors and Advisors Pursue Expanded CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure

"A group of institutional investors and advisors, cumulatively representing $3.3 trillion in assets under management and advisement, recently sent a letter to every public company included in the S&P 500 index seeking expanded CEO pay ratio disclosures in proxy statements.... The group believes that supplemental disclosure will help investors put the pay ratio information in the context of the company's overall approach to human capital management." Weil

Can a QDRO Dictate Which Assets Must Be Used?

A plan has 401(k) with safe harbor on a mutual fund recordkeeping platform, and the profit sharing in a pooled account. Participant P has a current balance of $200K in his individual accounts and $50K as of the latest valuation in the pooled account, and the segregation amount is slated to be $130K. For the sake of ease, obviously, it would be awesome to pay out the QDRO from the platform. The attorneys are writing that into the QDRO. Do they have that right? Isn't that the Plan Administrator's authority to decide where to pay the QDRO from? As long as the dollar amount is satisfied, that should be all they care about, I'd think. BenefitsLink Message Boards

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