Headlines about "Estate planning"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Multi-Generational Views on Family Financial Obligations:Survey of Baby Boomers and Members of Generations X and Y (PDF)
"[T]his research suggests that Americans' desire to give is strong, but not limitless, and the money provided as a gift or for help with specific financial issues, or any other type of non-financial assistance, tends to be seen as a reflection of caring and love between family members, rather than as a familial mandate or unspoken contract." (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company)

Americans Want to Save for Retirement and for Survivors
"According to the Multi-Generational Views on Family financial Obligations: A MetLife Survey of Baby Boomers and Members of Generations X and Y, nearly four in five (78%) survey respondents believe there is an obligation to provide a for a surviving spouse if one dies unexpectedly." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Pitfalls of Inherited IRAs
"If you are the guardian of a child who inherits such an account, you should consider moving the assets into an inherited IRA for the child rather than simply withdrawing the money and paying a sizable chunk of the inheritance in taxes upfront, says William Schmidt, an estate-planning attorney at Schmidt & Federico in Boston." (The Wall Street Journal)

[Guidance Overview] The Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act is Questioned in an ERISA Case
"This is not the only case where the constitutionality of DOMA is under consideration. Given the developing patchwork quilt of state and local domestic partner laws, this uncertainty about the constitutionality of DOMA leaves employers struggling not only to comply with the law, but to figure out what the law is in the first place." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)

Tax Benefits and Allocation Issues in Rollovers to Roth IRAs
"The goal of this analysis is to provide practitioners with an overview of the potential retirement and estate planning benefits of rollovers from a 401(k) plan into a Roth IRA, as well as to alert practitioners to the impact that common 401(k) plan distribution rules will have on the tax benefits of such a rollover in light of the current IRS allocation rules." (Texas Tax Lawyer via Haynes and Boone, LLP)

Retirement Beneficiary Designations: Getting the Right Assets to the Right People
"According to the Wall Street Journal, 401ks and IRAs account for about 60 percent of the assets of U.S. households investing at least $100,000. Both state and federal laws affect to whom these assets may go, and the results can be complicated, especially when the owner of the account has been divorced and remarried." (401khelpcenter.com, LLC)

[Guidance Overview] Sub-IRAs Created by Trustee-to-Trustee Transfer Were Inherited IRAs
"Two sub-individual retirement accounts (IRAs) created by a trustee-to-trustee transfer for two non-spousal beneficiaries who acquired their sub-IRAs because of their parent's death are inherited IRAs within the meaning of Code Sec. 408(d)(3)(C), according to an IRS letter ruling." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Recent Changes in Tax Code Allow Investors with Huge 401(k) Accounts to Turn Them into Tax-Free Income for Grandchildren's Lifetimes
"This massive estate-tax break was created last year in two steps. First Congress lifted a $100,000 income restriction on who can convert a 401(k) or IRA to a Roth IRA . . . . Then late in the year, it raised the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption (GST) to $5 million until 2013." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Family Feuds: The Battles Over Retirement Accounts
"As the amount of money stashed in 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts has grown, more and more families are finding themselves locked in battles over who has rights to the assets, especially in cases involving divorce and remarriage." (The Wall Street Journal)

Article on the Plan Document Rule Under ERISA
"[The target page presents the introduction to a recent comment] entitled When Happily Ever After is Not Ever After, After All: Rectifying the Plan Documents Rule Under ERISA to Benefit the Right Person." (Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog)

GAO Correspondence: Cost and Legal Authority for Selected Financial Literacy Programs and Activities (PDF)
"Based on ongoing congressional interest, the enclosure to this letter provides a summary description, statutory or other legal authority, and appropriation or estimated cost for 13 selected financial literacy programs and activities in 10 federal agencies." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

GAO Report: A Federal Certification Process for Financial Literacy Providers Would Pose Challenges
"Financial literacy program evaluations are most reliable and definitive when they track participants over time, include a control group, and measure the program's impact on consumers' behavior. However, such evaluations are typically expensive, time-consuming, and methodologically challenging." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

ERISA Preemption and Beneficiary Designation Forms
"The circuit courts are split as to whether ERISA preemption would require benefits to be paid to the estate or state law doctrines would allow the beneficiary designation form to be honored." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

An In-Depth Look Into Intergenerational Flows
"The goal of this paper is to carefully document the characteristics of within-family monetary transfers in the United States, using all nine waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

When Is ERISA Preemption Permitted: Beneficiary Designation Forms
"The circuit courts are split as to whether ERISA preemption would require benefits to be paid to the estate or state law doctrines would allow the beneficiary designation form to be honored." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Beneficiary Designations Under Qualified Plans
"A fundamental question for any Plan's beneficiary designation form relates to whether spousal consent must be obtained for a participant to name a nonspouse beneficiary." (Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC)

[Guidance Overview] Court Rules That Plan Owners Must Get Consent of Spouse to Pass Wealth to Children
"The court determined that under the terms of the participant's plan, a spouse's right to plan assets is immediately vested upon marriage, and since no spousal waiver was obtained, the default beneficiary is the spouse, even though she was not the named beneficiary." (Investment News; free registration required)

Even Beneficiary Designation Forms Can Create Significant Issues for Benefit Administration
"Employee benefit administrators, 401(k) vendors, recordkeepers and benefits professionals regularly recommend that participants in qualified retirement plans periodically review and update their beneficiary designation forms." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Court Says Spouse Trumps Beneficiary Designation of Children
"A federal court has granted retirement plan benefits of a deceased participant to his spouse, even though he had listed his children as beneficiaries on the plan's designation form." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Guidance Overview] Court Denies Mother's Claim to Deceased Son's Benefits
"A federal court has upheld an employer's decision to grant death benefits to the beneficiary designated by a former employee, though his mother claimed he was unduly influenced." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Guidance Overview] Beneficiary Designations Under Qualified Plans
"There have been many changes in federal pension law that have an impact on a participant's beneficiary designation form. Beneficiary forms drafted even a few years ago may be outdated and not compliant with current law." (Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC)

Celebrate Financial Literacy Month
"April marks the beginning of Financial Literacy Month, a time during the year when we can all take a few minutes to brush up on our financial knowledge to make the most of our money." (WISER)

Long-Term Care Insurance: A Piece of the Retirement & Estate Planning Puzzle (PDF)
"Specifically, the study measures attitudes towards and knowledge of long-term care insurance among Americans. The survey also explores concerns about needing extended care services, confidence in being able to pay for such services in the future, perceived methods of funding the expenses associated with long-term care, and the misperceptions about and barriers to purchasing long-term care insurance." (The Prudential Insurance Company of America)

[Guidance Overview] Same-Sex Domestic Partners Added to Federal Employees' Annuitant List
"Same-sex domestic partners have been added to the list of annuitants who are eligible to receive a survivor annuity under the federal employees' retirement program, according to new proposed regulations from the Office of Personnel Management . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Financial Planning Technology As an Employee Benefit
"It can lead to adverse consequences for both well-intentioned employers and financial do-it-yourselfers that use financial planning software without a certain amount of knowledge or the inability to see the bigger financial picture." (Employee Benefit News; one-time free registration required)

Wealth, Financial Literacy and Schooling
"The estimates of the impact of financial literacy imply that investments in financial literacy could have high payoffs in terms of enhanced household wealth." (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund)

Americans' Financial Capability
"Financial capability is measured in terms of how well people make ends meet, plan ahead, choose and manage financial products, and possess the skills and knowledge to make financial decisions." (The Pension Research Council; registration required to download papers)

GAO Concludes Existing Regulation Covers Financial Planners
"[The GAO] recommended that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners . . . assess consumers' understanding of the standards of care associated with the sale of insurance products and that the SEC determine how well investors understand financial planners' titles and designations." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

Consumer Finance: Regulatory Coverage Generally Exists for Financial Planners, But Consumer Protection Issues Remain (PDF)
"This report examines (1) how financial planners are regulated and overseen at the federal and state levels, (2) what is known about the effectiveness of this regulation, and (3) the advantages and disadvantages of alternative regulatory approaches." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

How Important Are Inheritances for Baby Boomers?
Excerpt: "This study quantifies the aggregate amount of inheritances that baby boomers ? those individuals born between 1946 and 1964 ? can expect to receive over their lifetimes, and the distribution of past and prospective receipts by household type." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

How Important Are Intergenerational Transfers for Baby Boomers?
Excerpt: "We estimate that two-thirds of boomer households will receive some inheritance over their lifetime, with a median amount of $64,000. The estimates are based on data obtained before the economic crisis, so our analysis explores how the collapse in the stock and housing markets might affect the picture." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

[Guidance Overview] Provisions in The Senate's Tax Cut Extension Bill
Excerpt: "Other expired and expiring provisions that would be extended through 2011 by the bill include: . . . IRC ? 132 parity for exclusion from income for employer-provided mass transit passes and parking benefits . . . . IRC ? 408(d)(8) allowance for tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes." (Journal of Accountancy)

[Guidance Overview] Child Loses Battle over 401(k) Distribution Taxes
Excerpt: "A federal court has upheld a lower court ruling that the minor child of a woman who pleaded guilty to killing the child's father is liable for federal income tax on a 401(k) distribution from his father's account." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Trends in Employee Financial Issues (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "The tide has shifted, and never before have we seen so many employees focused on long-term planning. In Q3 2010, more than 1 in every 4 calls into our Financial Helpline was related to retirement planning, and in total, over 60% of employee interactions involved discussions surrounding long-term planning issues. This gives us the impression that employees are beginning to regain confidence in their overall financial picture." (Financial Finesse, Inc.)

How Financial Literacy and Impatience Shape Retirement Wealth and Investment Behaviors (PDF)
29 pages. Excerpt: "Two competing explanations for why consumers have trouble with financial decisions are gaining momentum. One is that people are financially illiterate since they lack understanding of simple economic concepts and cannot carry out computations such as computing compound interest, which could cause them to make suboptimal financial decisions. A second is that impatience or present-bias might explain suboptimal financial decisions. That is, some people persistently choose immediate gratification instead of taking advantage of larger long-term payoffs." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)

Americans Want More Financial Education, According to Survey
Excerpt: " When asked to rank the importance of understanding their own personal finances, nearly 8 in 10 respondents (79%) gave it a 7 or above on a scale of one ('what I don't know won't hurt me') to 10 ('I feel the need to know all I can about my financial situation'), according to a press release." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

Retirement Planning Most Difficult Financial Task, According to Recent Study
Excerpt: "A news release about the poll of more than 4,000 U.S. households said many investors are taking over the responsibility for their own financial planning, but many don't know enough to make informed choices." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

Improving Employees' Financial Literacy
Excerpt: "While many employers offer some form of investment advice, a recent national survey shows that employees are slow to tap that expertise. One Minneapolis-based construction company has been able to better connect with employees by hosting a series of financial workshops." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Ex-Wife Entitled to 401(k) Account Balance
Excerpt: "In finding that [the ex-wife] was entitled to the money, [the judge] pointed out that the Supreme court ruled that [ERISA] does not bar common law waivers but plan administrators are nevertheless bound by the plan documents if such waivers conflict." (planadviser)

Retired and Broke: Why Retirees Are Declaring Bankruptcy
Excerpt: "For more and more seniors, retirement doesn't mean a debt-free life of leisure. An increasing number of Americans aged 65 and older are declaring bankruptcy, according to a recent study by [a] professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School." (Reuters)

Boomers' Shrunken 401(k)s Spark Interest in Reverse Mortgages
Excerpt: "Ten years ago, reverse mortgages were primarily used by widowed or single women well into their 70s with little other means of retirement income. Now, big losses to retirement savings as a result of the financial crisis have stoked interest among younger retirees of both sexes." (Businessweek)

[Official Guidance] Brief for Secretary of Labor as Amicus Curiae Supporting Defendant-Appellee, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Excerpt: "The question presented in this case concerns whether, in light of the decision in Kennedy v. DuPont, 129 S. Ct. 865 (2009), holding that plan administrators must distribute benefits to beneficiaries in accordance with plan documents, ERISA allows a plan administrator to disregard a validly-executed beneficiary designation because the plan lacks a formal procedure through which a designated beneficiary can refuse benefits." (U.S. Department of Labor)

[Opinion] What Effect Will Defense of Marriage Act Cases Have on Benefit Plans?
Excerpt: "Although numerous federal laws are affected by the definition of a spouse, of particular note are those statutes affecting surviving spousal benefits, spousal consent requirements, qualified domestic relations orders, COBRA, flexible spending accounts, and taxation of medical benefits. Under Gill, a plan would be required to recognize the rights granted to a spouse under the relevant statutes." (Tax Management Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Landmark Case Ends the Inconsistent Application of the Bankruptcy Law to ERISA Plans
Excerpt: "In Patterson v. Shumate, . . . the Supreme Court held that the anti-assignment provision of ERISA section 206(d) is an enforceable nonbankruptcy law which results in the plan benefit being excluded from the bankruptcy estate of the plan participant." (McKay Hochman Co.)

[Guidance Overview] Supreme Court Rules That Divorce Decree Could Not Overcome the Express Terms of a Plan Document
Excerpt: "Under ERISA, the plan administrator is obligated to act 'in accordance with the documents and instruments governing the plan' insofar as such documents and instruments are consistent with the provisions of Title I and Title IV of ERISA." (Passion for Subro!)

[Guidance Overview] Prenuptial Agreements and Waiver of Retirement Rights
Excerpt: "In Strong v. Dubin, 2010 N.Y. Slip. Op. 04121 (1st Dept. 2010), the Appellate Division, First Department, overturned the prior case law, including its own decisions, and held that a waiver of retirement rights included in a prenuptial agreement is valid and does not violate ERISA." (Rochester Family Lawyer)

[Guidance Overview] Annuity Beneficiary Substitution Denial Upheld
Excerpt: "A plan's review committee did not abuse its discretion when it denied a participant's request to change the beneficiary of his qualified joint and survivor annuity from his ex-wife to his new wife, a court has ruled. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the participant's benefits vested for his ex-wife at the time the participant retired and began receiving a payout." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] Second Wife of Deceased Participant Not Entitled to Annuity Given Participant's Informed Choice of Straight-Life Option
Excerpt: "A deceased participant's second wife was not entitled to claim pension plan benefits as a contingent annuitant when evidence demonstrated that the plan made all required disclosures to her husband before he made the election to receive his pension distribution as a straight life annuity, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City (CA-2) has ruled in Hall v. Kodak Retirement Income Plan." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Appellate Court Upholds Plan Amendment Invalidation
Excerpt: "A federal appellate court has upheld a ruling throwing out a trust plan amendment changing the definition of surviving spouse for the purposes of benefits determination." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

Website: Financial Literacy Center
Excerpt: "The mission of the Financial Literacy Center is to develop and test innovative programs to improve financial literacy and promote informed financial decision-making. With support from the Social Security Administration, the Center was established in October 2009 by the RAND Corporation, Dartmouth College, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in order to develop educational tools and programs that help individuals prepare for their long-term financial stability." (RAND Corporation)

[Guidance Overview] ERISA's Survivor Annuity Requirements Inapplicable to Benefits in IRA
Excerpt: "The automatic survivor annuity requirements imposed by the Code and ERISA did not apply to proceeds in an IRA and could not override beneficiary designations made when establishing the account, the U.S. Court of Appeals at San Francisco (CA-9) has ruled in Charles Schwab and Company v. Debickero." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Court Allows Annuity Contracts' Beneficiary Switch
Excerpt: "A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that a participant in TIAA-CREF annuity contracts met the requirements to change his beneficiary from his ex-wife to his long-time friend." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] 401(k) Benefits Properly Paid to Ex-Wife As Named Beneficiary on the Account
Excerpt: "U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Nadine Staelens properly deserved ex-husband Aaron's 401(k) benefits because she had not explicitly given up her rights to the money when the couple divorced in 2004 after 15 years of marriage." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] When a Trust Is Beneficiary, Can the Beneficiaries of the Trust Use the Life Expectancy Payout Method?
Excerpt: "[A] trust may be named as a beneficiary of a qualified plan, 403(b) or IRA participant. However, since it is not a person, a trust may generally not use the life expectancy method of payout, but individuals who are beneficiaries of the trust are able to be treated as designated beneficiaries, and thus use the life expectancy payout method, if the trust meets all of the following four requirements . . . ." (McKay Hochman Co.)

The Numbers for Tax Planning for 2009 and 2010
Excerpt: "This Private Clients Alert contains information helpful for individual income, gift and estate tax planning . . . . It is a handy reference guide to the many very important tax related 'Numbers' that impact individuals. Many of the limitations, ceilings, thresholds, etc., change each year due to inflation adjustments. The alert contains information that will be helpful for 2009 tax preparation and 2010 tax planning." (Nixon Peabody LLP)

[Guidance Overview] 401k Better or Worse: You Need Your Spouse's Consent
Excerpt: "A woman who claimed that a plan distribution form indicating her consent to her late husband's distribution election was never properly notarized and therefore invalid has the agreement of a federal judge[.] The husband had elected a split distribution: one half in a lump sum and one half in an annuity without survivor benefits. The husband passed away after having received the lump sum distribution and two annuity payments. The wife then sued over the waiver's validity. ERISA requires that the distribution waiver form be witnessed by a plan representative or a notary. In this case the notary had stamped the document without the wife present The US District Court threw out the waiver form signed by the woman, finding it had not been properly witnessed by a plan representative or a notary as required by ERISA." (Self Directed 401k)

Affluent Investors Do Better Over the Long Term When They Are Engaged with Advisers
Excerpt: "Households that regularly receive advice are better prepared financially for retirement than households that do not receive advice as often. That's the essence of the findings of a recent report, 'Financial Advisors and Boomers,' that I recently completed with Elvin Turner of Turner Consulting LLC for the Retirement Income Industry Association. We sought to explain this differential in preparedness, and found four equally important reasons . . . ." (Investment News; free registration required)

Same-Sex Couples Face Significant Disadvantages in Retirement, According to Study
Excerpt: "A new study released . . . details the inequalities faced by same-sex couples in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Without legal recognition of their relationships under federal law, the report concludes, lesbians and gay men have less retirement income and are disadvantaged in their ability to pass on savings to their families after their death. The study, 'The Impact of Inequality for Same-Sex Partners inEmployer-Sponsored Retirement Plans,' provides the first detailed demographic portrait of older same-sex couples. It was released by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law with funding support from Merrill Lynch in conjunction with National Save for Retirement Week. 'The findings show that, in particular, female same-sex couples have far lessretirement income than different-sex married couples,' says study author Naomi Goldberg." (Reuters)

[Opinion] Book Review: 'The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read'
Excerpt: "The first problem is inflation. Even if it runs at a relatively tame 3 percent a year, the impact will be substantial. . . . Second, you'll need to figure out how to withdraw enough money during retirement to live the way you want, but without outliving your savings. [The author] sets out to deal with both topics, throwing in advice about other retirement issues like health care costs and estate planning." (The New York Times; free registration required)

[Official Guidance] DOL Advisory Opinion 2009-02A on Estate Planning and IRAs
Excerpt: "[The DOL was asked w]hether an estate plan would give rise to a prohibited transaction under Code section 4975 if it is designed to use permissible minimum distributions from an IRA to fund a Trust, which is not a plan subject to fiduciary obligations under Title I of ERISA or the Code but is a disqualified person with respect to the IRA under Code section 4975, and where the beneficiary of the Trust is the IRA owner's grandson and Trustee of the Trust is the IRA owner's son who is entitled under applicable state law to receive statutory trustee commissions from the Trust." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

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