[Guidance Overview]
IRS Maintains Favorable Position on IRA Owner's Payment of 'Wrap Fees' (PDF)
"[The ruling] does not cover issues such as (1) whether payment of the fee from the IRA would be taxed as a distribution to the owner (presumably not), or (2) whether the owner can reimburse the IRA for the wrap fee and get the same favorable 'non-contribution' outcome [presumably not] . . . "
(Groom Law Group)
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[Guidance Overview]
Benefit Plans with Foreign Financial Accounts Must File FBAR Reports
"The FBAR regulations apply to every United States person who has a financial interest in, or signature authority over, any foreign financial accounts that have an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during a calendar year."
(McGuireWoods LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Schedule SSA Replacement
"If a plan administrator happens to have submitted an actual Schedule SSA to the IRS for the 2009 and/or 2010 plan year, or submits one not later than April 20, 2011, that filing will be accepted, and another Form 8955-SSA need not be filed. However, beginning April 21, Schedule SSA filings will no longer satisfy the Section 6057(a) requirement."
(Ford & Harrison LLP)
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Maine's Governor Says Pension Cutbacks Aren't Easy
"Maine Governor Paul LePage says his recently unveiled package of public employee pension cutbacks will hurt government workers, but the move is necessary to get a handle of Maine's ballooning pension shortfall."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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Judge Approves Class in Tribune ESOP Suit
"The suit against the trustee of the Tribune Co. Employee Stock Ownership Plan during the company's takeover by billionaire Sam Zell has been certified a class action."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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Trend Toward Plan Sponsors Adopting More Paternalistic Approach with Regard to Plan Distribution Policies
"Both plan sponsors and participants are likely to be well-served if plan assets are retained in the plan beyond retirement or separation from service. Participants benefit from fiduciary oversight of an ERISA plan and lower expenses. Plan sponsors looking to act in the collective best interests of participants should opt for portfolios with professional, independent oversight with fee transparency."
(401khelpcenter.com, LLC)
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At ASPPA 401(k) Summit, IRON Financial's Friedman Addresses Fiduciary Risk Mitigation
"Friedman is referring to section 3(38) of [ERISA], which provides that a plan sponsor can delegate the responsibility and liability of the selection, monitoring and replacing investment options and functions to an ERISA describe[d] investment manager who then takes on the fiduciary responsibilities -- and therefore liabilities."
(AdvisorOne)
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Pension/OPEB Accounting: Understanding Changes Expected from the IASB
"The IASB is nearing completion of various amendments to its standard on accounting for defined benefit pensions and other postretirement benefits (OPEB). The amendments are not the result of joint deliberations with the FASB. However, the objective of the IASB and FASB is to adopt a converged standard on this topic and both boards have stated their intent to make further changes to their respective standards to achieve this."
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)
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IRS 401(k) Plan Questionnaire: Non-Responders Will Be Subject to Full-Scope Audit
"In the most recent issue of Retirement News for Employers [dated Feb. 23, 2011] the IRS announced it will be conducting full-scope examinations of plans whose sponsors did not return the 401(k) Questionnaire it sent them in May 2010 as part of an IRS initiative to better understand 401(k) plan compliance."
(Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
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[Opinion]
Getting a Handle on 403(b) Plans and Investments
"The 403(b) system is coming under increased scrutiny. The Los Angeles Times recently wrote an article about flaws in the public employee 403(b) programs in California."
(Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)
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[Opinion]
Time for 401k Plan Sponsors to Admit Target Date Funds Too Broke to Fix?
"The GAO provides a litany of TDF problems but a study by a Georgia State doctoral student may have uncovered the answer to the cause of the problems. [A 2010 research paper by Vallapuzha Sandhya of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at the Georgia State University,] 'Agency Problems in Target-Date Funds' shows, while TDFs are while increasingly popular as a default option in 401k plans, they underperform balanced funds, a DOL sanctioned alternative default option."
(Fiduciary News)
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[Opinion]
American Benefits Council Amicus Brief in State Street Stock Drop Case (PDF)
"Federal law strongly favors employee stock ownership. Unfortunately, plan investments in company stock are threatened by lawsuits that can be filed at any time that an employer's stock price declines or performs below expectations. These 'stock drop' lawsuits lead to expensive discovery and practical pressures to pay for settlements. They are having a severely detrimental effect on the voluntary employment-based retirement system and are undermining the public policy favoring investments in company stock."
(American Benefits Council)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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How Glass Lewis Weighs Say-on-Pay Proposals
"In assessing 2011 say-on-pay proposals, proxy adviser Glass, Lewis & Co. focuses on compensation structure and disclosure, pay-setting practices, and pay-for-performance policies. A recent briefing for Glass Lewis clients shed more light on how the company identifies poor compensation practices that present unnecessary risks and are not in shareholders' best interests."
(Mercer LLC)
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The Return of Incentive Travel
"Incentive trips -- all-expenses-paid excursions offered as a reward for outstanding performance -- almost disappeared after the American International Group was widely criticized for the lavish spending on one such trip . . . . But it now appears incentive travel is coming back."
(The New York Times; free registration required)
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Press Releases
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