Retirement Plans Newsletter |
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| December 7, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) (Advert.)
EBIA’s 401(k) Plans Manuals and Seminars! Pension Protection Act implementation, fee disclosure proposals, complex correction programs, and more. A never ending stream of regulations and other guidance has been hitting 401(k) practitioners. Need some help keeping up? EBIA’s 401(k) Plans manual analyzes and explains the new developments, puts them in context, and offers practical guidance on how to deal with the constantly shifting environment for 401(k) plans. |
[Official Guidance]
Text of Revenue Ruling 2009-40: Covered Compensation Tables for 2010 (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "This revenue ruling provides tables of covered compensation under § 401(l)(5)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code (the 'Code') and the Income Tax Regulations, thereunder, for the 2010 plan year. Section 401(l)(5)(E)(i) defines covered compensation with respect to an employee, as the average of the contribution and benefit bases in effect under section 230 of the Social Security Act (the 'Act') for each year in the 35-year period ending with the year in which the employee attains social security retirement age." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview]
Court of Appeals Upholds Cash Balance Plan's ERISA § 204(h) Notice
Excerpt: "In a decision with important implications for sponsors of defined benefit pension plans, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Citigroup gave proper notice under Section 204(h) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of reductions in future benefit accrual rates in the Citigroup cash balance plan. The ruling reverses a district court decision that could have permitted plaintiffs to mount broad challenges to pension plan amendments that reduced future accruals." (McGuireWoods LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
401(k) Fee Cases: United Technologies Prevails in Second Circuit; Eighth Circuit Reinstates Wal-Mart Lawsuit; Caterpillar Settles (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "As we pass the three year mark from when the majority of the 401(k) fee cases were filed, the appellate courts have issued a series of decisions on some of the key issues presented in the lawsuits. Earlier this year the Seventh Circuit and the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of two of the lawsuits on the basis that plaintiffs failed to allege viable claims under ERISA. Hecker v. Deere & Co., 556 F.3d 575 (7th Cir. 2009); Young v. General Motors Investment Management Corp., 325 Fed. Appx. 31, 2009 WL 1230350 (2d Cir. 2009). In the last few weeks, two additional appellate decisions were issued in the fee cases. As discussed in greater detail below, the Second Circuit on December 1 affirmed the entry of summary judgment in favor of United Technologies on the merits of the plaintiffs' claims. . . . Running opposite to the other appellate court rulings in favor of defendants, the Eighth Circuit on November 25 reinstated the putative class action filed by a participant in Wal-Mart's 401(k) plan. . . . The United Technologies and Wal-Mart decisions come in the wake of the recently announced $16.5 million settlement of the fee lawsuit involving Caterpillar, Inc.'s 401(k) plans . . . ." (Groom Law Group)
[Guidance Overview]
PBGC Proposal to Eliminate 'Most' Automatic Waivers and Filing Extensions
Click on the title under 'Items of Interest' on the target page. Excerpt: "''The existing reportable events regulation was the result of a negotiated rulemaking process involving a committee consisting of representatives of employers, participants, pension practitioners, and PBGC, with a great deal of give-and-take among the various stakeholders,' Harold Ashner, also a partner in Keightley & Ashner LLP and former PBGC assistant general counsel, told BNA Nov. 20. 'Following a similar process in connection with the major changes now being proposed would help ensure that the new rules strike an appropriate balance,' he said." (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. via Keightley Ashner)
Employers Target Women with Financial Education
Excerpt: "As the entire retirement benefits industry increases its focus on how people, particularly the baby boomers who are now retiring, will be able to live off their savings, the issues that women face seem even more daunting, experts say. As a result, many employers are asking their providers to craft retirement planning seminars targeting women, employers and plan providers say." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
SEC to Make Recommendations on 12b-1, Target-Dates, According to Chairman Shapiro
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors could be looking at some changes on target-date funds next year - and maybe a change in certain mutual fund fees. Speaking at the Consumer Federation of America 21st Annual Financial Services Conference, Mary Shapiro, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told attendees that she had requested that SEC staff, 'early next year, present the Commission its recommendations on target date funds.'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Confidence in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans Shaken, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Workers are clearly nervous about making ends meet in retirement - and their confidence in workplace savings plans has plunged, according to a new survey. Confidence in employer-sponsored pension plans has plummeted, according to the 2009 Investments and Retirement Survey by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. More than one-third of all survey respondents (34.4%) said they were 'not at all confident' that the income from their employer-sponsored pension plan would be guaranteed for as long as they lived in retirement, and nearly half (45.4%) were either 'not too confident' or 'not at all confident.'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
401(k) Plan Benefit Projections Target of Senate Bill
Excerpt: "Legislation introduced in the Senate would require 401(k) plan sponsors to inform participants how much income they could expect at retirement based on their current account balances. The Lifetime Income Disclosure Act, intended to ensure that Americans don't outlive their retirement savings, was introduced by Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., according to Mr. Kohl's office." (Pensions & Investments; free registration required)
[Opinion]
Marriage, Property and [In]Equality: Remedying ERISA's Disparate Impact on Spousal Wealth
Excerpt: "Congress is considering pension reform in the wake of the tremendous loss in market value of retirement plans during the current recession. This article suggests that this is a historic moment to remedy a previously unidentified, unintended but profound gender disparity embedded in the federal law governing retirement plans in this country. It explores the common perception that while contemporary law and policy aim to facilitate equality within marriage, including in the area of property ownership, embracing equitable distribution in reallocating property upon divorce, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act's (ERISA) structuring of retirement asset accumulation runs counter to this trend and in fact incentivizes the concentration of wealth in the hands of husbands rather than wives within intact marriages. It suggests that in order to remedy this inconsistency and facilitate equality within intact marriages, Congress should amend ERISA to confer an immediate ownership interest in one-half of the assets in each spouse as they are earned and contributed by one spouse, akin to a community property theory of ownership." (Social Science Research Network)
[Opinion]
Small But Important Step Towards New York State Public Pension Reform
Excerpt: "Lost in the hoopla in Albany this week over the rejection of same-s.ex marriage and a flimsy budget fix was an important change in pension laws. Following Gov. David Paterson's lead, lawmakers finally scaled back overly generous pensions for many new employees. It was a small but important step. Nobody wants to deprive state workers of a comfortable old age. But in the last 25 years, New York politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have padded workers' pension plans. It was a way of pleasing the workers (who vote), while shoving the real costs of their political largess into the future. Some of that cost is landing too heavily on budgets for New York State and many local governments, and the situation will only get worse." (The New York Times; free registration required)
NTSAA (Advert.)
How to Succeed in the 403(b) Market! Expand your business in the lucrative 403(b) and 457(b) non-profit market. Learn what you need to know by attending the annual conference of the National Tax-Sheltered Accounts Association (NTSAA). The industry's top practitioners will show you how to not just survive, but thrive! For more information and to register, visit the NTSAA website or click here. The 2010 NTSAA Annual Conference...the place to be for 403(b)! January 27 - 30, Indian Wells, CA |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Opinion]Philadelphia, PA, Reaping Benefits of Reform, But Must Think Many Years Ahead
Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia. Excerpt: "Where [is Philadelphia] headed? We must and will come to grips with the budget-destabilizing increases in employee health care and pension costs. We've proposed to the four municipal unions a plan fair to employees and taxpayers - a hybrid pension plan for new employees that will save the city millions of dollars and ensure the health of our pension fund. On health care, we've offered a self-insurance plan to the unions and have already implemented the cost-saving plan on behalf of 5,000 employees in the city-administered health plan." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Webcasts and Conferences
Health and Welfare Roundup 2009: Checklist of New Compliance RequirementsNationwide on December 3, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA & Other Health Benefits Laws: Compliance Assistance Seminar
in Nevada on March 16, 2010
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Medicare A - Z with Craig J. Davidson, CEBS and the FutureOffice Network
Nationwide on January 19, 2010
presented by FutureOffice Network
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
PBGC Looks at Future of Defined Benefit Plans at National Press Club Forum; Honors Robert E. Nagle for Contribution to Retirement SecurityPension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Sebelius Statement on Benefits of Health Insurance Reform for Businesses
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Phoenix Based Sunwest Pensions Expands Services and Launches New Company
Sunwest Pensions
Second Edition of Best-Selling Retirement Income Book
W.E. Griffith & Associates, LLC
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Pension Administratorfor Northern & Central NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ
401(k)/DC Plan Administrator
for HPnorthwest
in OR
Training Specialist
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
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