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Retirement Plans Newsletter
December 14, 2009 
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EFAST 2 5500 Software.
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[Guidance Overview]
Notice 2009-97 Does Not Extend Deadline for Amendments on Applicable Interest Rate or Mortality Table (PDF)
Excerpt: "Importantly, the notice does not provide a blanket extension of the amendment deadline for all plan document changes that are required to comply with or to implement changes made by PPA or WRERA. Moreover, the notice states that Section 411(d)(6) anti-cutback relief will not be granted for amendments made after the original PPA deadline, except for the limited class of amendments described above. In particular, there is no extended deadline and no expanded Section 411(d)(6) relief for plan amendments addressing the PPA changes to the Section 417(e) provisions specifying the 'applicable interest rate' and the 'applicable mortality table.'" (Buck Consultants)
[Guidance Overview]
Caution: Notice 2009-97 Provides Amendment Extension for Certain PPA Changes Only
Excerpt: "Please note that Notice 2009-97 does not delay the amendment deadline for a number of required PPA provisions. In general, all DB and all DC plans will still need to be amended for PPA provisions by the last day of the plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2009." (Fort William LLC)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS's One-Year Extension to Adopt Certain PPA-Related Amendments (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "[On December 11], the IRS issued Notice 2009-97, which extends by one year - to the last day of the 2010 plan year - the deadline for amending qualified retirement plans to reflect certain provisions of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) and the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA). . . . The notice provides welcome relief for some plan sponsors that are rushing to get amendments adopted by the end of December, but there still may be amendments that need to be made by the last day of the 2009 plan year." (Buck Consultants)
[Guidance Overview]
Service Provider Fee Cases: Principal Prevails in Ruppert Case; Class Certification Granted in Haddock v. Nationwide; John Hancock Settles Charters Lawsuit
Excerpt: "Although the appellate rulings in the 401(k) fee cases against Wal-Mart and United Technologies have received the most attention in recent weeks, there also has been a series of important developments in the fee cases that plan trustees filed against service providers." (Groom Law Group)
Deferred Compensation for K-12 Public Defined Benefit Pension Plans: An Empirical Analysis for Five State Plans
Excerpt: "Results indicate sizable levels of deferred compensation for each plan using five alternative measures of deferred compensation, with substantial differences across plans, job classes, and age groups. Our results contradict the assertion that large pension values are largely the result of large employee/employer contributions, with the largest pension values for plans with the lowest historical funding levels. We also find that reduced benefits for early retirement provided an even larger incentive for younger retirement than full, unreduced benefits." (Social Science Research Network)
2009 Global Pension Risk Survey: U.S. Results
Excerpt: "Our survey found that most U.S. companies are taking active steps to reduce their overall pension risk by changing the way they fund, invest, and design their pension plans. On funding policy, 66% of all U.S. respondents indicate that they have adopted a funding policy geared toward maintaining an 80% funded level to avoid benefit restrictions, and 83% of U.S. respondents now expect to make additional contributions to their plans as a result of the recession." (Hewitt Associates)
Bond Choices Too Narrow for 401(k) Investors, According to Advisers
Excerpt: "This is of particular concern in the retirement business, where 57% of 401(k) plans offer just one bond fund, according to Hewitt Associates LLC. 'We are seeing more 401(k) plan committees talk about what they can do to diversify their fixed-income menus,' said Don Stone, president of Plan Sponsor Advisors LLC." (Investment News; free registration required)
Hiatus for Florida Retirement System's 401(a) Plan Trading During Administrator Change-Over
Excerpt: "Florida State Board of Administration, Tallahassee, will prohibit trading by participants in the $4.6 billion Florida Retirement System's 401(a) plan for eight days as it moves to record keeper and administrator Hewitt Associates, the board announced in a statement. Participants won't be allowed to trade in their 401(a) accounts or access their accounts online during the changeover, from 4 p.m. EST Dec. 28 until 9 a.m. Jan. 4." (Pensions & Investments; free registration required)
NYC Union Urges Educators to Exploit Loophole to Reap Retirement Benefits
Excerpt: "Not satisfied with concessions extracted from the pension-reform legislation signed yesterday by Gov. Paterson, the state's powerful teachers union is urging would-be educators to exploit an outrageous loophole that lets them lock in sweet retirement benefits after just one day in the classroom. New York State United Teachers posted a notice on its Web site Wednesday explaining how to game the system: Substitute-teach for one day before the new system starts on Jan. 1, apply for union membership, and you can join the more generous pension system any time in the next seven years." (FOX News Network, LLC)
[Opinion]
Conventional Wisdom, Fiduciary Duty and 401(k)s (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Whether 401(k) plans should be corporate America's primary retirement plan is a critical issue, but it is not one that affects the fiduciaries' responsibilities. Thus, fiduciaries should heed the advice of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan: 'You have to navigate from where you are and not from where you wish to be.'" (Richard D. Glass via Pensions & Investments via Investment Horizons)
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DATAIR’s DB Valuation System
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]IRS's Final ESPP Regulations and ESPP and ISO Reporting Requirements
Excerpt: "Observation: Employers should begin to review their stock plan administration so that the required information for 2010 transactions can be captured and reported on Form 3921 and 3922." (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
2010 Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Multiemployer Plans
Excerpt: "The 2010 Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Multiemployer Plans lists and describes the forms, schedules and notices that must be filed with each organization for which plan types and by what deadlines. It also indicates who must file and whether copies must be provided to participants." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Issues Guidance on Complying with TARP and 409A
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on the application of 409A(a) to changes made to nonqualified deferred compensation plans to comply with an advisory opinion of the Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
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)
Some Employers Scaling Back on Holiday Perks
Excerpt: "A new CareerBuilder survey finds many companies still plan to reward their employees with bonuses, gifts, and parties, but some are scaling back." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Webcasts and Conferences
Cafeteria Plansin Washington on March 23, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Cafeteria Plans
in Texas on April 6, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Cafeteria Plans
in Minnesota on April 13, 2010
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Cafeteria Plans
in Maryland on April 20, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Washington on March 25, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Texas on April 8, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Minnesota on April 15, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Maryland on April 22, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Washington on March 24, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Texas on April 7, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Minnesota on April 14, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Maryland on April 21, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Washington on March 25, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Texas on April 8, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Minnesota on April 15, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Maryland on April 22, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Washington on March 24, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Texas on April 7, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Minnesota on April 14, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Maryland on April 21, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for 401(k) Plan Abandoned by Merrimack, New Hampshire, EmployerU.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
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Newly Posted Employee Benefits Jobs
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