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Senate Panel to Examine Military Pension Cut

"The panel will examine recent changes to the military retirement system. Working-age military retirees took a hit with the budget deal President Obama signed last month, as the legislation reduced their cost-of-living allowances by 1 percent starting in December 2015 -- a higher rate would apply once those individuals reach age 62. The provision will not affect disabled retirees, due to an amendment tacked onto the $1.1 trillion spending bill enacted this month."

Senate HELP Committee Hearing on Reducing Health Care Costs: Examining How Transparency Can Lower Spending and Empower Patients

Hearing was held Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018; video recording is online. Testimony by: [1] Leah Binder, The Leapfrog Group; [2] Bill Kampine, Healthcare Bluebook; [3] Nancy A. Giunto, Washington Health Alliance; and [4] Ty Tippets, St. George Surgical Center.

HELP Committee Hearing: Examining Job-Based Health Insurance and Defining Full-Time Work

Recording of hearing held Jan. 22, 2015. Witnesses: Dr. Betsy Webb, Superintendent, Bangor School Department, Bangor, ME; Andrew F. Puzder, Chief Executive Officer, CKE Restaurants, Carpinteria, CA; Dr. Doug Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum, Washington, DC; and Joe Fugere, Founder, Tutta Bella Pizzeria, Seattle, WA.

ERISA Advisory Council to Examine Disability Coverage, Retirement Income and Beneficiary Designations

"[The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Advisory Council) [meeting] will be held on June 12-14, 2012 [in] Washington, DC].... The Advisory Council will study the following issues: (1) Managing Disability Risks in an Environment of Individual Responsibility; (2) Current Issues Regarding Income Replacement During Retirement Years; and (3) Current Challenges and Best Practices Concerning Beneficiary Designations in Retirement and Life Insurance Plans."

Experts Examine Bush Health Plan -- Some Fear That Consumers Wouldn't Fare Well in Open Market

Excerpt: It's not solving the uninsured problem and it's not solving the cost problem, so it's not really advancing what we need to have happen,' said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health policy research organization. 'What it does is favor individual insurance.... The question is, should you try to undermine employer coverage?

Automated Systems for Drugs Examined in Report: Computers Can Add to Medication Errors

Excerpt: Computer systems designed to prevent medication errors in hospitals can actually contribute to mistakes, according to a new report. As more hospitals have implemented automated systems for administering drugs, the number of errors associated with them has risen, according to an annual report on medication errors released yesterday by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), a nonprofit group that sets standards for the drug industry.

Text of IRS Memorandum to TE/GE Examiners: New Process for Information Document Requests (PDF)

"The examiner will mail initial contact letters listed in the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) to notify a taxpayer and POA when a return is selected for examination.... After 10 business days have elapsed, the examiner may then initiate contact with the taxpayer or POA by telephone.... The examiner will call the [taxpayer] to discuss the issue being examined and the items being requested on the [Information Document Request (IDR)].... Prior to mailing the IDR, the examiner and the taxpayer should agree on the response date ... If they cannot agree on a response date, the examiner will assign a reasonable response date.... If the taxpayer did not respond or if the response was not complete, the examiner must determine within 5 business days if an extension will be granted.... The first extension may be granted by the examiner.... If the taxpayer did not respond or if the response is still incomplete, the examiner may grant a second extension for up to 15 business days, but only after discussion with the manager and with the manager's approval.... If the information is not received after the second extension, the examiner will begin the Enforcement Process." [Control no. 04-1116-0028, Nov. 21, 2016]

IRS Employee Plans Examination Process Guide

"The Employee Plans Examination Process Guide clarifies the steps in the examination process and introduces resources for retirement plan compliance.... A general explanation of the EP Examination process from the initial contact through conclusion. It explains general examination techniques and procedures used to conduct examinations of qualified retirement plans." [Includes links to relevant IRS publications and forms.]

Enrolled Actuary Program Booklet: Basic (EA-1) Examination, Pension EA-2 (Segments L and F) Examinations (PDF)

35 pages. "The EA-1 examination ... covers the mathematics of compound interest and practical financial analysis and the mathematics of life contingencies and practical demographic analysis. The pension (EA-2) examination consists of two segments: The EA-2 (Segment L) law examination ... covers relevant pension laws ... as they affect pension actuarial practice.... The EA-2 (Segment F) examination ... covers the selection of actuarial assumptions and calculation of minimum required and maximum tax-deductible contributions under current pension law, along with the related actuarial mathematics." [Issued Jan. 2023 for May 2023 and Nov. 2023 exams. Rev. Jan. 24, 2023]

Text of SEC Division of Examinations Statement on Recent and Upcoming Regulation Best Interest Examinations

"After Regulation Best Interest's June 30, 2020 compliance date, the Division of Examinations (formerly the 'Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations') launched examinations to assess the ... implementation efforts of broker-dealers.... [N]ow that approximately six months have passed since the Regulation Best Interest compliance date, the Division intends to begin its next phase by conducting more focused examinations ... beginning in January 2021. As part of this effort, Division staff will examine whether broker-dealers have written policies and procedures and systems in place to achieve compliance with the Regulation."

Regulation Best Interest: FINRA Examination Priorities for 2020

"Among the priorities in FINRA's 2020 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter is examining the compliance readiness for Reg BI and Form CRS ... and then, after June 30, examining compliance with those requirements. Here's what the examination priorities letter says about that, including the questions that their examiners will ask[.]"

Text of 2017 Enrolled Actuary Program Booklet: Basic (EA-1) Examination, Pension EA-2 (Segments L and F) Examinations (PDF)

35 pages. "The EA-1 examination ... covers the mathematics of compound interest and practical financial analysis and the mathematics of life contingencies and practical demographic analysis. The pension (EA-2) examination consists of two segments: The EA-2 (Segment L) law examination ... covers relevant pension laws ... as they affect pension actuarial practice.... The EA-2 (Segment F) examination ... covers the selection of actuarial assumptions and calculation of minimum required and maximum tax-deductible contributions under current pension law, along with the related actuarial mathematics." [Issued July 2017, for Nov. 2017 and May 2018 exams. Rev. July 27, 2017]

Text of 2017 Enrolled Actuary Program Booklet: Basic (EA-1) Examination; Pension EA-2 (Segment L) Examination; and Pension EA-2 (Segment F) Examination (PDF)

35 pages. "The EA-1 examination ... covers the mathematics of compound interest and practical financial analysis and the mathematics of life contingencies and practical demographic analysis. The pension (EA-2) examination consists of two segments: The EA-2 (Segment L) law examination ... covers relevant pension laws ... as they affect pension actuarial practice.... The EA-2 (Segment F) examination ... covers the selection of actuarial assumptions and calculation of minimum required and maximum tax-deductible contributions under current pension law, along with the related actuarial mathematics." [Issued Jan. 2017, for May and November, 2017, exams; rev. Feb. 2, 2017]

Text of SEC National Exam Program Risk Alert: Retirement-Targeted Industry Reviews and Examinations Initiative (PDF)

"[SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE)] is launching a multi-year Retirement-Targeted Industry Reviews and Examinations (ReTIRE) Initiative.... OCIE, through the National Examination Program (NEP), will conduct examinations of SEC-registered investment advisers and broker-dealers (collectively, registrants) under the ReTIRE Initiative that will focus on certain higher-risk areas of registrants' sales, investment, and oversight processes, with particular emphasis on select areas where retail investors saving for retirement may be harmed.... NEP staff intends to focus on certain registered investment advisers and broker-dealers that provide services or sell investment products to retail investors. Examination focus areas include: reasonable basis for recommendations; conflicts of interest; supervision and compliance controls; and marketing and disclosure."

SEC Announces Initiative Directed at Never-Before Examined Registered Investment Advisers

"As part of the initiative, [the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE)] will conduct examinations of a significant percentage of advisers that have not been examined since they registered with the SEC. These examinations will concentrate on the advisers' compliance programs, filings and disclosure, marketing, portfolio management, and safekeeping of client assets. Additional details on the examinations are available[.]"

Washington State Clarifies New Requirement to List Compensation and Benefits in Job Postings

"All covered job postings must include a general description of all benefits offered for the specific available position ... If the general description of benefits changes after a posting has been published, the job posting must be updated.... [T]he law applies to any employer who conducts business activity in Washington, regardless of whether the company has any employees in Washington or any physical presence in Washington.... A posting for a remote role must comply with Washington law if the position could be performed by a Washington-based employee. Employers cannot avoid coverage by excluding Washington applicants[.]"

Re-Examining the Advisor-Record Keeper Relationship

"Recordkeepers are expanding into wealth management, managed accounts, and participant-level services -- areas once reserved for advisors.... These dynamics risk becoming co-option -- where advisors, dependent on recordkeepers for referrals, technology, and even marketing support, lose their independence. When that happens, plan sponsors and participants may face higher costs, less transparency, and weaker fee negotiations."

Enrolled Actuaries Pension Examination Program Booklet (PDF)

35 Pages, Rev .Jul. 10, 2023. Syllabus for November 2023 Pension EA-2 (Segment F) Examination; May 2024 Basic (EA-1) Examination; and May 2024 Pension EA-2 (Segment L) Examination.  

SEC Risk Alert: Observations from Broker-Dealer Examinations Related to Regulation Best Interest (PDF)

"Moving forward, the Division intends to incorporate compliance with Regulation Best Interest into retail-focused examinations of broker-dealers, particularly those that include sales practices within the scope of the examination. The Division is issuing this risk alert to highlight deficiencies noted during examinations conducted, as well as examples of weak practices that could result in deficiencies."

Text of IRS Final Regs: User Fees for Enrolled Agent Special Enrollment Examination and the Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent Special Enrollment Examination

"[These] final regulations increase the amount of the user fee for each part of the special enrollment examination for enrolled agents (EA SEE). The final regulations also remove the user fee for the special enrollment examination for enrolled retirement plan agents (ERPA SEE) because the IRS no longer offers the ERPA SEE or new enrollment as an enrolled retirement plan agent."