[Official Guidance]
Troubleshooter's Guide to Filing the ERISA Annual Report: Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF, October 2010 (PDF)
70 pages. Excerpt: "This guide is intended to help filers comply with the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF annual reporting requirements and avoid common reporting errors. Not all rules or requirements are reflected and the guide is not a legal interpretation of ERISA. Filers should carefully read the instructions to the Form 5500 and the Form 5500-SF and applicable regulations for complete information on annual reporting and filing requirements."
(U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Proposed Disclosure Rules for Target Date Retirement Funds (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "The last of the new disclosure elements would deal specifically with target date and similar funds. According to the proposal, the description of the fund would need to satisfy three requirements . . . ."
(Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Proposed Rule on Defined Benefit Plan Annual Funding Notices (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Plan trustees of pension plans with more than 100 participants generally furnish the notices no later than 120 days after the close of the plan year. Thus, calendar-year plans must distribute the 2010 plan-year notice by April 30, 2011."
(Milliman, Inc.)

[Guidance Overview]
Avoiding Potential Disclosure Problems and Fiduciary Issues in Retirement Plans that Offer Certain Investment Alternatives (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Many investment managers and providers of investment options that are not subject to rules that apply to mutual funds, e.g., bank collective investment funds, non-registered 'fund of funds', separately managed accounts and annuities ('non-registered investments'), may be surprised that they will have to provide, or make available, to plan sponsors significant new information in order for the plan sponsor to comply with the new disclosure requirements."
(The SPARK Institute)

[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Interim Final Rule Requires Detailed Fee Disclosure
Excerpt: "Plan fiduciaries will be able to obtain the information necessary to make informed decisions regarding services rendered to and expenses paid from the plan. That's the goal of the interim final rule relating to fee disclosure that the Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued on July 16. The regulations -- Reasonable Contract or Arrangement Under Section 408(b)(2) -- Fee Disclosure -- are effective July 16, 2011."
(Thompson Publishing Group Inc. via ERISAdiagnostics Inc.)

[Guidance Overview]
Court Rejects Teachers' ERISA Case Against Union
Excerpt: "The 9th Circuit on Monday dismissed a class action that accused the National Education Association of tricking teachers into buying expensive retirement annuities in exchange for millions of dollars in annual royalties. The federal appeals panel in Seattle ruled that the lead plaintiffs - two public school teachers in California and Washington - had failed to state a claim under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) because the annuities at issue do not qualify as employee pension benefit plans."
(Courthouse News Service)

Senate Approves Extension of Pension Benefit Freeze Relief
Excerpt: "Legislation approved Saturday by the Senate would extend by one year an expiring provision that effectively exempts many severely underfunded plans from rules that require plans to freeze benefit accruals."
(Business Insurance)

The Role of Financial Literacy in Determining Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "Controlling for basic demographics and wealth, we find that misconceptions about eligibility ages and plan generosity influence workers' expected age of retirement. Although retirement-related decisions will affect workers' wellbeing for the remainder of their lifetimes, many do not possess enough basic financial knowledge to confidently make optimal choices."
(National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

Webcast Panelists Discussed How Regulatory Changes Are Affecting Ongoing Administration of 403(b) Plans
Excerpt: "A big change for 403(b) plans . . . is the new Form 5500 reporting requirement. The regulations now require financial statement information, participant counts, plan audits for large plans, and mandated electronic filing. Sponsors must now seek the services of an auditor/accountant."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)

A Fiduciary Test Drive of New DOL Fee Chart Using Top 401(k) Funds
Excerpt: "To give the 401k plan fiduciary a better sense for the table and how to use it, Fiduciary News married the DOL's Model Comparative Chart with BrightScope's ranking of the top ten most widely held mutual funds in 401k plans."
(Fiduciary News)

Making Sense of Minimum Distribution Rules
Excerpt: "Your RMD for a particular tax year is based on the total of all your qualified plan assets (e.g., IRAs and 401(k)s if you're no longer working for the company). In addition, you are not required to take RMDs from each account in an amount that's proportional to each respective account's value. Simply put, you can decide which accounts you want to take money from, as long as you remove enough in total to cover your RMD for that year."
(U.S. News & World Report)

Oklahoma Lawmakers Form Two Pension Study Panels
Excerpt: "Oklahoma state lawmakers have formed two study panels to come up with ways to deal with the state's $16-bil.lion pension shortfall."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Arizona's State Retirement System Board Approves Contribution Rate Hike
Excerpt: "Next year, employees and employers will both contribute 10.75 percent of an employee's salary to the program, which has provided a guaranteed pension benefit, a long-term disability income plan, retiree health insurance and survivor benefits to its members since 1953 . . . ."
(msnbc.com)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Relaxes Rules on Fixing Release-Contingent Payments in Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan
Excerpt: "IRS Notice 2010-80, issued November 30, 2010, grants NQDC plan sponsors more flexibility in correcting impermissible timing provisions for payments that are conditioned on employee actions, such as execution of a general release of claims or restrictive covenant agreement, and provides transition relief for such violations."
(Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)

The 2010 Year in Review for Plan Sponsors
The article presents a look at what happened, the current status, and what's ahead.
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)

"Best of the 2010 IRS Q&A's" Web Seminar
Nationwide on January 18, 2011
presented by SunGard Insurance Systems

Accounting 203: Tax Accounting Basics
Nationwide on November 8, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Administration Software: Cloud- vs. Server-Based Technology
Nationwide on August 2, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Becoming an S Corporation ESOP
Nationwide on April 26, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Best Practices for Other Retirement Plans When You Have an ESOP
Nationwide on March 8, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Best Practices for S Corporation ESOPs
in Illinois on October 18, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Business Literacy
Nationwide on March 24, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Communicating Your ESOP
Nationwide on February 3, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Corporate Governance and Equity Compensation
Nationwide on October 12, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Death and Divorce and Equity Compensation
Nationwide on December 7, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Effective Boards of Directors: Best Practices in Governing an ESOP Company
in Georgia on June 15, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Effective ESOP Committees
Nationwide on February 15, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Equity Administration and Compliance - A Closer Look at FAS 123(R) (Now ASC Topic 718)
Nationwide on July 19, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Accounting: Financial Reporting by ESOPs
Nationwide on February 1, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Accounting: Financial Reporting by Plan Sponsors
Nationwide on February 8, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Audits and Voluntary Compliance Programs
Nationwide on June 7, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Company Case Studies: Open Book Management & Incentive Systems
Nationwide on June 28, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Company Case Studies: Structuring an ESOP Transaction
in California on April 28, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Company Symposium
in Texas on October 11, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Distribution Policies
Nationwide on February 22, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Feasibility
Nationwide on March 22, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOPs as a Business Transition Tool
Nationwide on March 15, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESPP Pointers & Pitfalls
Nationwide on February 16, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Executive Compensation in ESOP Companies
Nationwide on March 10, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Executive Compensation in ESOP Companies
in Georgia on June 16, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Financial Reporting v2.0: A Look at Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities
Nationwide on May 25, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Fundamentals of Health and Welfare Plans
in Pennsylvania on April 13, 2011
presented by Towers Watson

Fundamentals of Retirement Plans
in Pennsylvania on April 11, 2011
presented by Towers Watson

Handling the Repurchase Obligation - How Repurchase Affects Valuation
Nationwide on May 26, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Handling the Repurchase Obligation - Legal Issues
in California on May 24, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Handling the Repurchase Obligation - Planning Issues
Nationwide on May 25, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

How the Proposed Department of Labor Regulations will Affect ESOP Appraisals
Nationwide on June 23, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

How to Navigate Problem Countries - Legal and Administrative Nightmares Around the Globe
Nationwide on March 15, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Is an ESOP Right for You?
in California on September 20, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Measuring and Managing Ownership Culture
Nationwide on March 29, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

NCEO/Beyster Institute Employee Ownership Conference
in Colorado on April 13, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and the Beyster Institute

Perfecting Performance: Using the CEPI's GPS Research for a Fresh Perspective on Performance Awards
Nationwide on January 13, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Recent Research on ESOP Companies
Nationwide on June 21, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Restricted Stock Units - Best Practices
Nationwide on June 7, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

S Corporation ESOPs - Administrative Issues
Nationwide on May 18, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

S Corporation ESOPs - Legal Issues
Nationwide on May 17, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

S Corporation ESOPs - Valuation Issues
Nationwide on May 19, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Second-Stage ESOP Transactions
Nationwide on March 1, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Sustainable Leadership
Nationwide on January 26, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

What You Need to Know as an Internal ESOP Fiduciary
Nationwide on May 3, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Year-end Review and Audit Preparation
Nationwide on September 7, 2011
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Post your webcast or conference

MassMutual Adds $15 Million Gyrodata Inc. 401k to Book
MassMutual Retirement Services

The SPARK Institute Issues Alert Regarding Retirement Plan Participant Fee Disclosure For Non-Mutual Fund Investments, Announces Effort To Develop Standards To Facilitate Disclosure
SPARK Institute

NTSAA & ASPPA To Launch New Magazine for Advisors
American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Twelve Days of Christmas… for Retirement Planning
Atessa Benefits, Inc.

Post your press release

Retirement Plan Supervisor
for SVA Retirement Plan Services, LLC
in WI

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Central IL company providing ERISA compliance related services
in IL

Regional Pension Consultant
for Retirement Alliance, Inc.
in ANY STATE

I3 Investment Product Manager
for Prudential
in CT

Senior Plan Consultant
for BPA, A BPAS Company
in PA

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