Come discuss employee benefits issues with industry colleagues and local, regional and national experts from the IRS, DOL and the private sector. Programs focus on current regulatory, legislative, administrative and actuarial topics. When are we coming to your area?
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[Guidance Overview]
PBGC Says It Will Forgo Rulemaking Related to the Timing of Annuity Purchases
Excerpt: "In lieu of rulemaking or issuing new guidance, 'PBGC will continue monitoring industry practices to determine whether further regulatory action or specific guidance is needed in the future,' the notice said. 'PBGC will also continue to audit all plans that make a final distribution of plan assets before or without filing a standard termination notice and take enforcement action where appropriate,' it said."
(Keightley & Ashner LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS List of Retirement Plan Changes for Cycle A Qualification Requests
Excerpt: "Retirement plans seeking determination letters in Cycle A should incorporate the necessary plan updates outlined in the 2010 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements issued by the Internal Revenue Service in Notice 2010-90."
(Wolters Kluwer)
Call for Proposals: Improving Lives of Vulnerable Americans Through Social Security
Excerpt: "With support from the Ford Foundation, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is awarding funds to projects designed to educate Americans most reliant on Social Security about its role in their economic security. The purpose of the project is to support constituency building, education outside of the beltway, and the development of user-friendly, research-based information on the adequacy of Social Security benefits and how these could be strengthened for vulnerable groups, including communities of color, women, people with disabilities, low-wage workers and children."
(National Academy of Social Insurance)
Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Benefits Over a Lifetime
Excerpt: "How much will you pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes over your lifetime? And how much can you expect to get back in benefits? It depends on whether you're married, when you retire, and how much you've earned over a lifetime."
(Urban Institute)
Government Plan Determination Letter Deadline Delay Sought
Excerpt: "[Two lawyers with] the Groom Law Group, Chartered, asserted in a letter to the [IRS] that a one-time extension to comply with the deadline in Section 414(d) to January 31, 2012, 'would serve the best interests of the service, plan participants, governmental retirement systems, and sponsoring employers.'"
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
Plan Fiduciaries Gain Protection from Employee Lawsuits
Excerpt: "Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), 401(k)s, and other types of eligible individual account plans (EIAPs) are often an effective way to build employee loyalty, especially when the plans invest in the employer's own stock. A potential downfall, though, has always been the possibility of employees bringing a class action lawsuit if the stock drops in value."
(Business & Legal Reports, Inc.)
[Opinion]
401(k) Fee Disclosure: I Can Hardly Wait
Excerpt: "I can hardly wait for fee disclosure so we will have the data to incontrovertibly prove that the fee structure of 401(k) plans is one of their greatest benefits and those writing negative 401(k) fee articles will be silenced forever."
(Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)
Need help with prototype document services, participant notices, or DC specialized testing services? We’ve got you covered. Averaging over 20 years of retirement plan experience per person, MassMutual’s ERISA Advisory Services team is truly a group of industry experts. While our clients benefit from a broad range of services, you can benefit from our expertise as well. For more information on how MassMutual’s ERISA consulting experts can help your company, contact EASConsulting@massmutual.com.
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
Employee Ownership Update for January 3, 2011
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses the following: One of the most comprehensive and convincing studies to date on the effect of broad-based stock options on company performance was released in November. The DOL will hold a hearing on the proposed rule amending the definition of 'fiduciary' and defining ESOP appraisers as fiduciaries. Mystockoptions.com has a valuable analysis of the new tax law's effect on equity compensation. You can get a free ShareComp conference registration. (National Center for Employee Ownership
(NCEO))
IRS's 2011 Version of Publication 15-B: Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "Publication 15-B, which is a supplement to IRS Publication 15 (more commonly known as Circular E), is a useful reference for employers on the tax treatment of fringe benefits. But it is important to remember that this publication does not provide full coverage of the many rules applicable to the fringe benefits it summarizes. Instead, Publication 15-B refers readers to other IRS publications, guidance, and websites for more detailed coverage of certain aspects of these fringe benefits."
(Employee Benefits Institute of America)
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