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Text of DOL Proposed Regs: Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers

79 pages. "This proposed rule would establish the requirements for registering with the [DOL] as a 'pooled plan provider' for 'pooled employer plans' under sections 3(43) and 3(44) of [ERISA]. The [SECURE Act] provides that newly permitted 'pooled plan providers' can begin offering 'pooled employer plans' on January 1, 2021, but requires such persons to register with the Secretary of Labor before beginning operations.

"The proposed rule would also establish a new form -- EBSA Form PR (Pooled Plan Provider Registration) -- as the required filing format for pooled plan provider registrations. Filing the proposed Form PR with the [DOL] would also satisfy the SECURE Act requirement to register with the Treasury Department....

"While pooled plan providers will be required to file Forms 5500 for the pooled employer plans they operate, Forms 5500 generally are not filed until seven to nine-and-a-half months after the end of the plan year. In the absence of appropriate detail in the registration statement, a pooled plan provider could begin operating multiple plans with hundreds or thousands of participants and millions of dollars without the agencies having any information about the pooled employer plans for almost two years....

"The proposal would require an initial registration filing and supplemental filings to report changes in the information in the initial filing, information about each specific pooled employer plan before initiation of operations, and information on specified reportable events.... The proposal would require a final filing once the last pooled employer plan has been terminated and ceased operations.

"The Department believes that the initial registration, supplemental filing, and final filing requirements, when combined with the Form 5500 annual reporting requirements, will give the Department the timely access to pooled plan provider information needed to fulfill the monitoring and oversight tasks the SECURE Act placed on the agencies and would be less burdensome and less costly for pooled plan providers and pooled employer plans than some alternatives that were considered."  MORE >>

Text of DOL Final Regs: Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers (PDF)

"This final regulation establishes the requirements for registering with the [DOL] as a 'pooled plan provider' for 'pooled employer plans' under [ERISA]. The [SECURE Act] provides that newly permitted pooled plan providers can begin offering pooled employer plans on January 1, 2021, but requires such persons to register with the Secretary of Labor before beginning operations. This final regulation also establishes a new form -- EBSA Form PR (Pooled Plan Provider Registration) -- as the required filing format for pooled plan provider registrations. The Form PR must be filed electronically with the [DOL]. Filing the Form PR with the [DOL] also satisfies the SECURE Act requirement to register with the Department of the Treasury.... This final regulation is effective on [the date of its publication in the Federal Register, scheduled for Nov. 16, 2020]."  MORE >>

DOL Proposes Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers

"EBSA's proposed rule would establish straightforward requirements for pooled plan providers to register with the [DOL]. The proposal, which includes both a mock-up of the required form and the instructions for the form, makes clear in the preamble that the Treasury Department and IRS intend to treat registration with the [DOL] in accordance with the final regulation to satisfy the SECURE Act requirement to register with the Secretary of the Treasury.... The proposal includes a 30-day comment period[.]"  MORE >>

DOL Unveils Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers

"A [pooled plan provider (PPP)] is at the heart of these new [pooled employer plans (PEPs)].... [T]he plan must designate the PPP and provide that the PPP is a plan administrator and 'named fiduciary' under ERISA.... [A] PPP will be subject to ERISA's fiduciary duties and other requirements. Each participating employer remains responsible for selecting and monitoring the PPP.... [T]here is an initial registration filing of basic identifying information about the PPP."

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DOL Finalizes Pooled Plan Provider Registration Requirements

"The final rule lays out a two-part registration process ... Providers must also use supplemental filings to report any changes to information in earlier filings and any significant financial and operational events affecting the provider or any of its plans. The rule also requires a final filing after a provider has terminated all of its pooled employer plans and ceased operations as a pooled plan provider."  MORE >>

DOL Issues Final Rule Providing Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers

"The final rule establishes a reporting structure for pooled plan providers that includes an initial registration filing providing basic information about the pooled plan provider. Under the final rule, registration is required upon the operation of a pooled employer plan, rather than, as was required in the proposed rule, publicly marketing services as a pooled plan provider or publicly offering a pooled employer plan."

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DOL Announces Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers

"The final rule establishes a straightforward electronic registration process for businesses that want to offer pooled employer plans. With the exception of Nov. 25, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, the process requires pooled plan providers to register at least 30 days before beginning operations. Plans must also submit supplemental filings regarding specific reportable events and a final filing after the provider's last pooled employer plan has been terminated and ceased operations. For the period of Nov. 25, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, the requirement to register at least 30 days prior to operating a pooled employer plan is waived, provided registration occurs no later than the start of the plan."

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ARA Pushes for Clarifications of Pooled Plan Provider Registration Requirements

"Chief among the ARA's concern is that the proposal underestimates the time needed to comply with the registration requirements in advance of Jan. 1, 2021, starting date.... ARA says that it does not believe that all marketing activities should be treated as beginning operations.... ARA contends that some of the data elements of final Form PR filings may be redundant to the final Form 5500."  MORE >>

ACLI Comment Letter to DOL on Proposed Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers

"To further encourage the formation and operation of these important retirement savings programs, [these comments] focus on simplifying the Proposed Rule's registration requirements. We find several components of the registration requirements somewhat confusing while others rightly can be characterized as overly burdensome and unnecessary."  MORE >>

ICI Comment Letter to DOL on Proposed Registration Requirements for Pooled Plan Providers (PDF)

"[ICI believes] that both PEP providers and participating employers would benefit considerably if the requirements were streamlined in a way that eliminates information that is superfluous and irrelevant to the Department's oversight role, or too detailed to be effectively used by prospective employers. [ICI recommends] that the Department's registration requirements focus on more basic information and, when the need arises, the Department reserve itself the ability to seek more detailed information from PPPs."

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Your 401(k) Plan 'Brokerage Window' May Require An S-8 Registration

"[T]he SEC set out standards a 401(k) plan sponsor should follow to keep its involvement from constituting an 'offer for sale' of a security such that registration would be required. Under these standards, plan sponsors should do no more than: [1] announce the existence of the 401(k) plan (sponsors may describe the self-directed 'brokerage window' as part of the investment alternatives but should take no action to draw employees' attention to the possibility of investing in employer securities); [2] make payroll deductions; and [3] pay administrative expenses, which cannot be tied to particular investments selected by employees. All communications of a soliciting nature should come from the broker."  MORE >>

New IRS e-Services Authentication Process Requires Re-Registration

"The IRS ... is strengthening the authentication process for identifying users and that the new, more stringent procedures will require existing users to re-register (Oct. 24 is the target date for the start of re-registration) ... Any current e-account holder is affected, which the IRS said includes: [1] Electronic return originators; [2] Return transmitters; [3] Large business taxpayers required to e-file; [4] Software developers; [5] Health care law insurance provider fee/branded prescription drug filers; [6] Health care law information return transmitters/issuers; [and] [7] Reporting agents[.]"  MORE >>

American Academy of Actuaries Comment Letter to IRS by on Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) Registration Requirements (PDF)

"The Academy's Pension Committee submitted a letter to the Internal Revenue Service with concerns about the implications of the proposed modifications to Circular 230 and registration requirements for PTINs and the application of these rules to various reporting requirements for retirement plan professionals."  MORE >>

DOL Describes Pooled Plan Registration Requirements

"The new proposal doesn't categorically exclude any one type of business entity or model from serving as a pooled plan provider, but DOL mentions in the preamble that it believes certain entities -- such as recordkeepers, professional employer organizations (PEOs) and some insurance companies -- may well positioned to offer the plans. DOL also views broker-dealers and registered investment advisors as plausible candidates, but believes many would be reluctant to take on the roles of named fiduciary and plan administrator."  MORE >>

DOL Issues Proposed Regs Establishing Registration Requirement for Pooled Plan Providers

"The DOL, although candid about the lack of guidance provided, does not explain how pooled employer plans can be structured like existing multiple employer plans, since the DOL preamble also states that the SECURE Act's 'bad apple' relief is only available to multiple employer plans that comply with the SECURE Act, and thus the major operational confusion for existing multiple employer plans remains to be resolved."

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Text of HHS Announcement of Requirements and Registration for 'Healthy Young America Video Contest'

"In an effort to enroll the maximum number of uninsured young Americans into individual health plans in the upcoming open enrollment period, multiple mediums and methods of reaching the uninsured population are necessary. HHS and Young Invincibles are co-sponsoring the 'Healthy Young America' Video Contest with two primary goals: First, directly reaching the uninsured population through video views and votes; and second, the production of high-quality videos that can be further promoted to the target population.... The Contest is open ... through 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 23, 2013."  MORE >>

Firms Point Fingers in $1 Million Slip-Up -- Required Form S-8 Registration Statement Not Filed

Excerpt: EarthLink Inc. filed suit Friday in Fulton County State Court against Powell Goldstein, charging the law firm with causing a massive repurchase of employee stock by neglecting to file an important document with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In response, Powell Goldstein filed a third-party complaint against the law firm it says was responsible for the filing slip-up: Hunton & Williams. For the time being, Richmond, Va.-based Hunton is representing EarthLink in its suit[.]

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Final SEC Regs: Exemption of Compensatory Employee Stock Options From Registration Under Section 12(G) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (PDF)

15 pages. Excerpt: SUMMARY: We are adopting two exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for compensatory employee stock options. The first exemption will be available to issuers that are not required to file periodic reports under the Exchange Act. The second exemption will be available to issuers that are required to file those reports because they have registered under Exchange Act Section 12 a class of security or are required to file reports pursuant to Exchange Act Section 15(d). The exemptions will apply only to the issuer's compensatory employee stock options and will not extend to the class of securities underlying those options.

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The New York Secure Choice Registration Deadlines Are Fast Approaching

"Registration deadlines are staggered based on employer size, with the first deadline -- March 18, 2026 -- applying to employers with 30 or more employees.... Participating employers are required to facilitate enrollment and payroll deductions, but do not sponsor the IRAs."  MORE >>

Minnesota's Retirement Program Launches with June 30 Registration Deadlines

"Employers have begun enrollment in Minnesota's Secure Choice Retirement Program according to a phased schedule with the first deadline on June 30, 2026. All Minnesota employers with five or more employees that do not offer a retirement plan will be required to facilitate this state program for employees via payroll contributions. Employees are automatically enrolled in the 5 percent contribution unless they affirmatively opt out. Minnesota employers that already have a retirement plan must file for an exemption."  MORE >>