Headlines about "Ret plans - admin"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
District Court Muddles Directive Provided in MetLife v. Glenn
Excerpt: "In this case, Mr. Carnes alleges a conflict of interest based on (1) the dual roles of Devon as both sponsor and administrator of the plan and (2) belief that as a company plan, Devon is solely responsible if the plan becomes underfunded making it in the best interest of the company to pay as few benefits as possible." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
More Players Call Foul on National Football League's Pension System
Excerpt: "The National Football League's pension system continues to pay players less than they are entitled to for disabilities caused by on-field injuries, a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore claims. The pension suit against the league is the third one filed by attorney Cyril V. Smith, who won a verdict of more than $1.5 million for the family of the late 'Iron Mike' Webster in 2005. The decision was affirmed by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals." (The Daily Record)
Employee Benefits Developments July 2008
Excerpt: "A brief look at developments in Employee Benefits law from June and July 2008, including cases, rulings, and opinions." (Hodgson Russ LLP)
New Features on the Redesigned BLS Web Site As of July 2008
Excerpt: "[Some features of the redesigned site:] Fresh content will appear on the BLS homepage every business day. Improved Navigation - User-tested menus will enable fast and efficient browsing. Improved Search Engine - BLS will be upgrading to a new search engine which will be a major improvement over the existing one." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
[Guidance Overview] Failure to Meet Technical Requirements and to Timely Submit Divorce Decree Prevent Recognition as QDRO
Excerpt: "Although this case did not involve a 401(k) plan, it raises two issues of significant interest to 401(k) plan sponsors and administrators. First, the case serves as a reminder that even though the DOL has suggested that perfect compliance with the QDRO technicalities is not necessary, those requirements cannot be ignored." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
DOL Issues 40-FAQs About IRS Form 5500 – Schedule C
Excerpt: "EBSA released 40 frequently asked questions (FAQs) developed in response to questions from the employee benefit community on the new Schedule C requirements. The FAQs cover such issues as the alternative reporting option for eligible indirect compensation, electronic disclosure of fee information by service providers, fee reporting for brokerage window options in participant directed plans, and reporting on gifts, entertainment and other non-monetary compensation." (ERISA Rules and Regulations)
[Guidance Overview] 'Why Do Spouses Have to Be the Automatic Beneficiary of a Retirement Plan?'
Excerpt: "[The Retirement Equity Act of 1984] amended Title I of ERISA to require written consent of both the employee and his or her spouse to waive the survivors' annuity option in a defined benefit plan. Under certain conditions, this rule also applies to defined contribution plans." (National Benefits Services, Inc.)
Groups Urge Supreme Court to Uphold QDRO Ruling
Excerpt: "In a motion for permission to file a friend of the court brief, the American Benefits Council, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a finding by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a divorce decree was not a waiver of an ex-spouse's right to benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Official Guidance] Text of Prop. IRS Regs on Required Returns and Employee Statements for ESOPs, Incentive Stock Options and Sec. 423 Employee Stock Purchase Plans (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains proposed regulations relating to the return and information statement requirements under section 6039 . . . [which] reflect changes [made by] the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. These proposed regulations affect corporations that issue statutory stock options . . . [under sections 422 or 423]. As amended by the Act, section 6039 requires corporations to file an information return with the IRS, in addition to providing employees with an information statement, following a stock transfer. The time and manner for filing a return with the IRS, as well as the information to be contained in the return and furnished to employees, is addressed in these proposed regulations. Section 6039, as amended by the Act, applies to stock transfers occurring on or after January 1, 2007." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview] Timing of Remittance of Employee-Withheld Plan Contributions
Excerpt: "To avoid civil and criminal penalties, and to reduce the risk of lawsuits and governmental scrutiny, employers should review their existing contribution practices to ensure that employee contributions are deposited to the proper plan as quickly as possible following each pay period. While the amount of time that is reasonable depends on the facts and circumstances of each individual case, every effort should be made to minimize delay." (Poyner Spruill)
[Opinion] Text of Amicus Brief in re: Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, et al. (PDF)
40 pages. Excerpt: "The rule proposed by Petitioner – under which plan administrators would be required to recognize beneficiary waivers that are not contemplated in the applicable plan documentation – would wreak havoc on plan administration. Petitioner's rule would also impose enormous burdens and costs on plans and their participants and give rise to costly disputes, litigation, and the possibility of double payment of plan benefits." (American Benefits Council)
[Guidance Overview] How Does HEART Affect 415 and PPA Amendments?
Excerpt: "On June 17, 2008, the President signed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART). Among other things, HEART will change the way retirement plans deal with employees in the military. This technical update will address three issues: When must plans be amended to conform to HEART? How does HEART affect final 415 regulation amendments? How does HEART affect PPA amendments?" (SunGard)
Milliman's Monthly Benefit News and Developments, July 2008 (PDF)
2 pages. The newsletter provides a summary of the previous month's legislative, regulatory, and judicial information on employee benefits. (Milliman)
[Opinion] What's a DB Plan Administrator/Advisor to Do?
Excerpt: "My question to this forum is, what have you been doing in 2008 when dealing with your defined benefit plans, especially in two areas: where no proposed regulations have been issued and where musings in preambles and in open forums by government representatives are disagreed with by practitioners?" (Pension & Benefits Blog)
The Current Series of Revenue-Sharing Lawsuits and Other ERISA Litigation
Excerpt: "While suits over the excess/improperly disclosed fee issue have generated a good deal of retirement services industry buzz in recent months (the Deere case is but one of more than a dozen similar suits filed since September 2006 by the St. Louis-based law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton), they are only part of a much broader web of potential ERISA legal hazards that plan sponsors must navigate." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: A More Strategic Approach Could Improve Human Capital Management (PDF)
61 pages. Excerpt: "GAO was asked to report on (1) PBGC's recent experience in hiring and retaining key staff and how it compares to other federal agencies and (2) the actions PBGC has taken to strategically hire and retain key staff and what additional steps, if any, can be taken." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
[Guidance Overview] PBGC Permits Appeals Board to Refer Some Appeals to Other Departments
Excerpt: "The PBGC has issued final regulations permitting its Appeals Board to refer certain appeals to Appeals Board staff or other internal departments for a written response. The amendments also include some minor clarifying and technical changes to the rules for administrative review of agency decisions." (Wolters Kluwer)
TE/GE Advisory Groups recommend changes to EPCRS, government plans
Excerpt: "The IRS's Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) met in open session on June 11, 2008 and made suggestions that could affect the administration and correction of pension plans under TE/GE's regulatory umbrella." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Official Guidance] Proposed IRS Regs: Reasonable Good Faith Interpretation of Required Minimum Distribution Rules by Governmental Plans (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains proposed regulations under sections 401(a)(9) and 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to permit a governmental plan to comply with the required minimum distribution rules by using a reasonable and good faith interpretation of the statute. These proposed regulations will affect administrators of, employers maintaining, participants in, and beneficiaries of governmental plans. . . . Section 823 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 . . . instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations under which, for all years to which section 401(a)(9) applies, a governmental plan, within the meaning of section 414(d), shall be treated as having complied with section 401(a)(9) if such plan complies with a reasonable good faith interpretation of section 401(a)(9)." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Official Guidance] July 2008 Pension Funding Segment Rates
Generally for plan years beginning after 2007, the rates in the tables . . . apply for minimum funding requirements under section 430 of the Code. (Internal Revenue Service)
[Official Guidance] IRS Weighted Average Interest Rate Table Updated for July 2008
Weighted Average Interest Rate = 4.74 for July 2008 (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Composite Corporate Bond Rate Table Updated for July 2008
Corporate Bond Weighted Average Interest Rate = 6.04 for July 2008 (Internal Revenue Service)
Benefits Attorney Donald R. Levy Dies
Excerpt: "He served as Vice President and Employee Benefit Consultant to Johnson & Higgins as Vice President-Human Resources and Director of Employee Benefits at UST (United States Tobacco Company), as Senior Consultant with William M. Mercer, Inc. His publishing activity developed in post retirement, after a few years with Prentice Hall and RIA. He continued with his own publishing business and authored many books, including the Pension Handbook. He taught at the University of Connecticut, served as a panelist for the Practicing Law Institute, and lectured before various professional groups." (The [Stamford CT] Advocate)
Senators Seek Probe of PBGC Benefit Calculations
Excerpt: "The group -- which includes Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, the presumptive Democratic candidate for president -- asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate how the PBGC initially estimates benefits due and why there have been, in some cases, lengthy delays in final benefit determinations. In addition, they want the GAO to examine the extent to which benefits calculations change between the initial and final determinations." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Court Denies Interest on Benefit Paid 12 Years After Death
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has denied a request by a deceased pension plan participant's ex-wife for interest on surviving spouse benefits paid to her 12 years after her ex-husband's death." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] Web Cast: Retirement Plan Pitfalls, July 8, 2008
Excerpt: "Don't wait until the IRS knocks on your client's doors to help them find, fix and avoid common retirement plan mistakes. Attend this program where you will learn how to use the IRS Fix-It Guides to identify and correct frequently encountered errors the IRS sees in retirement plans. In addition, the IRS will provide tips you can share with your clients on how these mistakes can be avoided in the future. Use IRS Fix-it Guides to keep your clients out of trouble." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Official Guidance] Final PBGC Regs: Rules for Administrative Review of PBGC Decisions (PDF)
Excerpt: "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is amending its regulation on Administrative Review of Agency Decisions to clarify that the agency's Appeals Board may refer certain categories of appeals to other PBGC departments for a written response and to remove determinations under section 4022A of [ERISA] from the scope of part 4003. The amendments also include minor clarifying and technical changes to the rules for administrative review of agency decisions. . . . Effective August 4, 2008." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Listing of IRS Published Guidance for January - June 2008
The target page links to guidance published by the Service relating to retirement plans: Treasury Regulations; Revenue Rulings; Revenue Procedures; Notices; and, Announcements. (Internal Revenue Service)
[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Revenue Ruling 2008-40: Transfers from Tax-qualified Plan to Nonqualified Foreign Trust or Puerto Rican Plan (PDF)
9 pages. Certain transition relief is provided; also discusses application of section 410(b) minimum coverage rules to employees in Puerto Rico and other possessions of the United States. Excerpt: "HOLDINGS: 1. A transfer of amounts from a trust under a plan qualified under § 401(a) to a nonqualified foreign trust is treated as a distribution from the transferor plan. 2. A transfer of assets and liabilities from a qualified plan to a plan that satisfies section 1165 of the Puerto Rico Code is also treated as a distribution from the transferor plan, even if the plan is described in section 1022(i)(1) of ERISA." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Official Guidance] Text of PBGC Proposed Regs: Termination of Single-Employer Plan While Sponsor in Bankruptcy (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "This is a proposed rule to implement section 404 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Section 404 amended Title IV of ERISA to provide that when an underfunded, PBGC-covered, single-employer pension plan terminates while its contributing sponsor is in bankruptcy, sections 4022 and 4044(a)(3) of ERISA are to be applied by treating the date the sponsor's bankruptcy petition was filed as the termination date of the plan. . . .Thus, under the 2006 amendments, when a plan terminates while the sponsor is in bankruptcy, the amount of benefits guaranteed by PBGC and the amount of benefits in priority category 3 are fixed at the date of the bankruptcy filing rather than at the plan termination date. This will, in most cases, reduce the amount of guaranteed benefits and the amount of benefits in priority category 3." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
2008 PLANSPONSOR Recordkeeping Survey
Excerpt: "[A] quick comparison of the providers in PLANSPONSOR's inaugural recordkeeping survey 10 years ago, with the listings that follow, attests. Most of those now 'missing,' like old soldiers, passed quietly (unless, of course, your plan had to find a new home in a hurry), and most that have chosen to do so, did so with grace." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Newsletter Identifies Common Electronic Record Retention Problems and Reviews Requirements
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors should routinely review their record retention policies, including service contract provisions, to ensure that they address record retention and retrieval. As the newsletter points out, changing service providers or failing to make adequate provision for IRS examination disclosures will not relieve taxpayers of their obligation to produce records." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
U.S. Chamber Sparks DOL Restraint on Union Pension Fund Abuse
Excerpt: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce obtained an Advisory Opinion Letter from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Standards Administration (EBSA) restraining unions from leveraging their pension funds to pressure employers." (The FINANCIAL)
Retirement Income Focus of DC Growth
Excerpt: "That was a key conclusion of a new McKinsey & Company study on the DC market's future based on the consultant's interviews with 50 experts and its own modeling and analysis, a news release said. The study asserted that by 2015, the transformed DC market will provide a variety of asset accumulation products, a wide range of personalized advice models, transition planning from work to retirement, and retiree lifetime income solutions." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] IRS, DOL and PBGC Propose Guidance on PPA Changes for Multiemployer Plans (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 included many provisions that significantly impact multiemployer pension funds. Three federal agencies have recently released guidance to help these funds comply with some of the PPA provisions as well as clarify other issues." (Buck Consultants)
[Opinion] Proposed Rule Would Create a 'Safe Harbor' for Participant Contributions Deposited Within Seven Business Days of Receipt or Withholding
Excerpt: "DoL's position, as stated in numerous Field Assistance Bulletins and Advisory Opinions, is that an employer impermissibly 'uses' plan assets if it fails to transmit participant contributions to the plan as soon as they are 'reasonably segregable' from the employer's general assets. This 'use of plan assets' is a potential prohibited transaction, subjecting the employer to remedies (e.g., making the plan whole), excise taxes, and penalties." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] DOL Webcast on Regulatory, Interpretive and Amicus Update, Sponsored by DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration
Excerpt: "This third in a series of webcasts will address guidance on a series of frequently asked questions raised since publication of the final regulation on qualified default investment alternatives; guidance on the responsibilities of plan fiduciaries and trustees with respect to monitoring and collecting delinquent employer and employee contributions owed to employee benefit plans; the participant contribution safe harbor proposal; and recent amicus participation in ERISA litigation.' (U.S. Department of Labor)
IRS's Employee Plans News, Summer 2008 (PDF)
14 pages. This edition includes the following articles: Steven T. Miller, TE/GE Commissioner, Speaks at Mid-Atlantic Benefits Conference; Form 5307 Has Been Revised; Forms & Pubs; Critical Priorities...With Monika Templeman; Maintaining Electronic Records for Employee Plans Team Audit (EPTA) Plans; Form 5500 Filing Tips - Are You a Multiemployer Plan?; Things to Remember - 2007 Forms 5500/5500EZ; Employee Plans Published Guidance; PBGC Insights; Calendar of EP Benefits Conferences. (Internal Revenue Service)
Audits of Outsourced Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "[T]he annually required, DOL-driven accounting audit of your plan by an independent certified public accountant is well positioned to do a lot more than just get its financial statements and IRS Forms 5500 prepared.' (HRO Today)
[Guidance Overview] Milliman's Monthly Benefit News and Developments, June 2008 (PDF)
2 pages. The newsletter provides a summary of the previous month's legislative, regulatory, and judicial information on employee benefits. (Milliman)
[Guidance Overview] Revisiting the Concept of Standing As a Defense to ERISA Actions After LaRue
Excerpt: "One of the less noticeable casualties of the LaRue decision may be the erstwhile vaunted role of standing as a predicate to ERISA actions. Wanberger provides a small hint of this possibility, but that decision does not necessarily measure the watermark of this influence at high tide. I say that because Wangberger involved a cashed out plan participant which was similar to the situation before the Court in LaRue." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
[Guidance Overview] Amara v. Cigna, ERISA Class Actions, and Fiduciary Misrepresentations About Retirement Benefits
Excerpt: "A few months ago, I reported on the District Court's decision in Amara v. CIGNA, an important class-action case on ERISA retirement benefits and on alleged misrepresentations made by the Company about retirement benefits. Over the last few months, then, the court was asked to consider the issue of what is appropriate relief from the decision." (Workplace Prof Blog)
[Guidance Overview] White House Calls for Regulations to Be Finalized by November 1, 2008
Excerpt: "On May 9, 2008, the White House issued a Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Offices and Agencies stating that, 'except in extraordinary circumstances, regulations to be finalized in this Administration should be proposed no later than June 1, 2008, and final regulations should be issued no later than November 1, 2008.' It is not clear how this Memorandum will affect the many pending regulations relating to employee benefit plans, including those relating to the Pension Protection Act of 2006." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
Cashed-Out Participants Keep Legal Standing Under ERISA
Excerpt: "A federal appellate court ruled that employees don't lose the right to pursue individual claims when they cash out their plan balances. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision released Monday came in a consolidated action involving four lawsuits charging that employers violated their Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary duties by investing plan assets in mutual funds that permitted market timing." (planadvisor.com)
[Guidance Overview] Compliance Checklist 2008 - For Plans That Are Not Subject to ERISA (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "The Checklist incorporates requirements for Governmental and Nonelecting Church Plans, Non-ERISA 403(b) Programs, 457 Plans, and Nonqualified Executive Benefit Plans, and provides information on the materials that you will need to file, filing due dates, and agencies to which the filings should be made." (Prudential Retirement)
[Guidance Overview] Compliance Checklist 2008 - For Plans That Are Subject to ERISA (PDF)
42 pages. Excerpt: "The Checklist incorporates Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution and ERISA 403(b) requirements and provides information on the materials that you will need to file, filing due dates, and agencies to which the filings should be made." (Prudential Retirement)
Law Firm Agrees to $4M San Diego Pension Mess Settlement
Excerpt: "A Houston law firm that was brought into San Diego's ongoing pension mess has agreed to a $4.35-million settlement with city officials." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] Beneficiary Designation Form Not Valid When Participant Did Not Sign and Date It
Excerpt: "This case is another cautionary tale: ERISA administrators that fail to have procedures in place (or fail to follow those procedures to ensure that beneficiary designation forms are properly completed, signed, and dated before they are accepted) risk expensive and time-consuming lawsuits . . . ." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview] Section 404(c) Compliance Audit Checklist
9 pages. (Snell & Willmer, L.L.P.)
[Guidance Overview] PPA Testing Changes for 2008
Excerpt: "[There are three basic changes:] 1. GAP Period Income Eliminated on ADP and ACP Test Failure Refunds. 2. Eligible Automatic Contribution Arrangement plans will have 6-months after the plan year-end to make a refund for a failed ADP/ACP test without a 10% penalty to the employer versus 2˝ months for 401(k) plans without automatic enrollment. 3. Corrective distributions for ADP/ACP will be taxable in the year distributed." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)
[Guidance Overview] Off-Calendar-Year Plans
Excerpt: "Most of the compensation limitations are based on the limit in effect in the calendar year in which the plan year begins with a notable exception of the annual additions limit . . . ." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)
[Guidance Overview] Getting Plan Terminations Right
Excerpt: "If a sponsor is no longer committed to the defined benefit (DB) system, if a decision has already been made to freeze or terminate the DB plan, what is the best way to wind things up? That issue – of DB 'exit strategy' – is more complicated than it sounds. In this article we review the exit strategy process and considerations plan sponsors should be aware of." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
[Guidance Overview] PBGC Premiums After PPA
Excerpt: "PPA not only overhauled the funding rules for DB plans, but also changed the way premiums are assessed for the mandatory benefit guaranty insurance coverage provided by the PBGC. In this article, we discuss the changes to the premium calculations and touch on funding strategies to minimize these premiums." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
As 401k Audit Season Starts, Sponsors Face Tougher Standards
Excerpt: "Auditors will be asking more questions and requesting more documentation because new, stricter audit standards, known as the 'risk assessment standards,' now are effective for employee benefit plan audits for periods beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2006. This year, auditors are required to look at the plan sponsor as well as the plan, and the audit process will last longer and demand more management time." (Business Wire via Human Resource Executive Online)
[Official Guidance] Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities Releases Seventh Report (PDF)
367 pages. Excerpt: "On June 11, 2008 the [committee] presented six recommendations to the IRS Commissioner and TE/GE." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Model Special Tax Notice is Out of Date
Excerpt: "The notice must explain the rollover rules, taxation consequences of a lump-sum distribution, direct rollover option (including automatic rollover), mandatory 20% withholding rules, and tax consequences and distribution restrictions applicable to rollovers to different types of plans." (SunGard Corbel LLC)
[Official Guidance] June 2008 Pension Funding Segment Rates
Generally for plan years beginning after 2007, the rates in the tables . . . apply for minimum funding requirements under section 430 of the Code. (Internal Revenue Service)
[Official Guidance] IRS Composite Corporate Bond Rate Table Updated for June 2008
Corporate Bond Weighted Average Interest Rate = 6.02 for June 2008 (Internal Revenue Service)
[Opinion] What Fiduciaries Can Do About the Increasing Risk of Iitigation from Disgruntled Investors
Excerpt: "Regulatory scrutiny of fiduciaries is increasing. With changes to Internal Revenue Service Form 5500 for retirement plan reporting and proposed rules pertaining to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act Section of 1974, the Department of Labor is pressuring investment service providers to give better disclosures of compensation and conflicts of interest. These changes will make it easier for investors to identify fiduciary shortfalls." (Blaine F. Aikin via Investment News; free registration required)
Unsigned Form Throws Disputed 401(k) Assets to Participant's Son
Excerpt: "A federal judge in Florida has ruled that a deceased 401(k) plan participant's girlfriend is not entitled to half the approximately $450,000 in his account because he did not sign the designation form naming her a partial beneficiary." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
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