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March 15, 2011 Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Defines 'Readily Tradable' Employer Securities for ESOPs
"Unless action is taken, plans with employer securities that are not readily tradable under the new definition (e.g., shares traded over-the-counter) will potentially be subject to the pass-through voting, independent appraisal, and put-option requirements when the new definition becomes effective with the plan year beginning in 2012." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)


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[Guidance Overview]
DOL Delay of Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure Rule Until 2012
"[I]t will be delayed until Jan. 1, 2012, while the DOL works on a 'final' rule. The final rule will then apply to both new and existing service provider contracts." (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Timely Correction of a Qualified Plan Failure
"There are three paths for correcting plan failures under the IRS's Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System . . .: the Self-Correction Program, the Voluntary Correction Program, and the Audit Closing Agreement Program . . . ." (Chang, Ruthenberg & Long PC)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Issues Funding Relief Guidance for Single-Employer Plans (PDF)
"These developments affect sponsors of and participants in single-employer and multiple employer defined benefit plans. They do not affect multiemployer plans, governmental plans or church plans that do not elect to be covered by ERISA ('non-electing church plans')." (Pension Analyst)


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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Issues Additional Multiemployer Funding Relief (PDF)
"These developments affect sponsors of and participants in multiemployer defined benefit plans. They do not affect single-employer plans, multiple employer plans, governmental plans or church plans that do not elect to be covered by ERISA ('non-electing church plans')." (Pension Analyst)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Rules for Filing New Form 8955-SSA, Including Special Rules for 2009 and 2010 Filings
"When these new forms are available, the transition to the new all-electronic filing of the Form 5500 will be complete. Plan administrators will want to be alert for the release of the 2009 and 2010 forms . . . and to add this additional filing requirement to their annual plan administration checklists." (EBIA Weekly Archives)

[Guidance Overview]
Tax Year 2010 Earned Income Calculation
"For 2010 individuals can now deduct [health insurance] premiums from both income tax AND self-employment tax. This change will result in an increase in earned income, which will increase a self-employed individual's eligible retirement plan compensation." (McKay Hochman)

A Look at 2010 Defined Contribution Investors (PDF)
"ING examines retirement investors in private and public sector employer Defined Contribution plans, looking at recent account experience, loan and hardship withdrawal patterns and investor demographics." (ING Retirement Research Institute)

The 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey (PDF)
"The [survey] finds that Americans' confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement has plunged to a new low at the same time that the recent declines in other retirement confidence indicators appear to be stabilizing." (ebri.org)

Text of EBSA Proposed Individual Prohibited Transaction Exemption
"This document contains notices of pendency before [DOL] of proposed exemptions from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of [ERISA] and/or [the Code]. . . . [The exemptions would affect] The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation Retirement Savings Plan . . . and the Krispy Kreme Profit-Sharing Stock Ownership Plan the KSOP; Together, the Plans or the Applicants[.]" (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Customer Service Pays Off for Plan Providers
"Insurance companies and investment firms offering retirement services to large and small employers are learning that attention to detail, an improved communication with the plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can dramatically improve their customer retention and satisfaction rates." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Worker Confidence on Having Enough Money for Retirement Hits 20-Year Low, According to Survey
"About 27 percent of workers lacked confidence about their retirement savings, up from 22 percent last year. The increase was driven by those with less than $100,000 in savings, according to the report." (Bloomberg)

Illinois Teachers' Retirement System Receives Full Contribution from State for Fiscal Year 2011
"A news release said the state contribution for FY 2011 was generated by the recent sale of $3.7 bil.lion in bonds by state government. Of the total bond proceeds raised for all state-operated pension systems, TRS received $2,000,918,488." (PLANSPONSOR)

Alexandria, Virginia, Ponders Pension Plan Changes
"In the midst of a contentious dispute over whether city employees should contribute more toward their own retirement, the Alexandria City Council appointed a new advisory group to study potential changes to the city's pension fund." (Washington Examiner)

Senior Activity Rate, Retirement Incentives, and Labor Relations
"In order to face the aging of their populations governments of developed countries reformed their retirement systems during the last two decades, by discouraging early retirement and increasing incentives to work for older workers. Senior participation rates to the labor force not only differ strikingly in level from one country to another, they also differ in their reaction to retirement incentives set by governments." (Social Science Research Network)

Saving for a Bleaker Tomorrow as the Millennial Generation in the U.S. Faces Greater Expected Retirement Needs
"We propose improved disclosure that allows investors to see how their savings translates into an annuity stream at retirement, simplified investment options that allow the average investor to make better choices and more realistic employer participation rates that will lead to a more progressive, portable retirement savings system that is more likely to provide an adequate retirement income for a greater proportion of today's young investors." (Social Science Research Network)

Atlanta Mayor Told He Can Change City Pensions
"Atlanta firefighters can receive up to 80 percent of their salary when they retire. Mayor Reed said the city can no longer afford the pension plan . . . ." (My Fox Atlanta)

Pensions, Household Saving, and Welfare: A Dynamic Analysis
"Empirical analyses of the effects of public and private pensions on household saving [assume] fixed retirement and pension claiming ages, no borrowing constraint, little or no uncertainty, and no institutional restrictions on pension claiming." (Social Science Research Network)

Putting Public Pension Plans in Plain English
"[The Wisconsin Retirement System] operates like an annuity. Employees who work more than 600 hours a year get a retirement system benefit. After retirement, employees receive a monthly pension or lump sum payment depending on length of service and the amount paid in." (GazetteXtra.com)

Amid Furor Over State Pensions, Congress Gets Much Bigger Ones
"Since 1984, members of Congress have enjoyed both a defined-benefit plan and a defined-contribution plan. The defined-benefit plan gives them a fixed pension in retirement that's scaled to their number of years in office." (Politics Wires via The Miami Herald)

[Opinion]
Setting the Record Straight About Public Pensions (PDF)
"Public pension plans are not in crisis, and they are not seeking any federal financial assistance in connection with their funding needs. . . . [S]tate and local governments are moving aggressively to address sustainability challenges confronting their pension plans . . . ." (Government Finance Review)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Official Guidance]
Text of General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in the 111th Congress
"For each provision, the document includes a description of present law, explanation of the provision, and effective date." (U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation)

[Guidance Overview]
Restrictive New IRS Ruling Affects Tax-Free Exchanges of COLI
"Many companies have substantial amounts of corporate-owned life insurance . . . on their books. Typically, the policies were purchased to fund future liabilities for deferred compensation, retiree health or other significant corporate liabilities. When the policies do not perform as expected, companies may shop around for better ones." (Groom Law Group)

Lawmaker Seeks 10 Percent Pay Cut for Congress and White House
"Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., [introduced a bill] that would cut lawmakers' salaries by 10 percent, effective in January 2013." (Government Executive)

Private-Sector Employees' Anger Over Perks for Government Jobs May Hit Pay, Pension
"Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms [that] public-sector workers enjoy better benefits but earn lower wages. Government, when compared with private business, spends about 1.7 times as much on health care per employee-hour worked and nearly twice as much on retirement." (BuffaloNews.com)

National Employee Benefits Day, April 4, 2011
"This year National Employee Benefits Day has a special focus on Communicating Employee Benefits. We encourage you to use the day to evaluate your current communication efforts and to take time to educate you employees on the valuable benefits you offer." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Benefits Outsourcing Is Not Just for Large Organizations (PDF)
"The outsourcing market has become more mature and now presents an attractive alternative to internal benefits administration, even for smaller firms. Not only has the cost comparison changed, but the increasing complexity, limited flexibility, and inherent risk of internal administration may also combine to make outsourcing a better option." (Milliman, Inc.)

Press Releases

Benefit Advisors Network Admits Three Firms as Newest Members
(Benefit Advisors Network)

US Labor Department Action Recovers Nearly $52,000 From Trustees of Premier Properties USA 401(k) Plan
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

US Labor Department Sues Trustee of Defunct Maine Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan to Restore Losses to the Plan
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

US Department of Labor Obtains Judgment Restoring $18,000 to Burnsville, Minn.-based Slate Cement's Health, Dental and 401(k) Plans
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

National Employee Benefits Day to Be Celebrated on April 4, 2011
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Firm Is Certified To Recordkeeping And Investment Advisor Best Practices
(Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX))

Vision Care in the Workplace
(Pennsylvania Association for the Blind)


Employee Benefits Jobs

HR Communications Team Lead in TX for Milliman

ERISA Plan Specialist in MA for Sentinel Benefits and Financial Group

Non Profit Market Specialist-Eastern United States in MA for MassMutual

Account Executive II - Retirement Services in MA for Principal Financial Group

Senior Account Manager in GA for Bryant Wharton

Onsite Participant Counselor in NY for Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc.

Distribution Associate in MA for Sentinel Benefits and Financial Group

Plan Consultant in MA for Sentinel Benefits and Financial Group

Relationship Support Specialist in MA for Financial Engines

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

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Webcasts and Conferences

Cafeteria Plan Election Changes: A Seminar Based on Your Scenarios
Nationwide on April 14, 2011 presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters

CT NIPA: Fiduciary Definition Impact to Broker-Dealer, FINRA
in Connecticut on March 30, 2011 presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators-CT Chapter

Mid-Atlantic Benefits Conference
in Pennsylvania on May 5, 2011 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

Webcast: 403(b) Plan Termination Guidance: Distributing & Managing Transactions In Orphan Accounts
in California on April 21, 2011 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

Webcast: 408(b)(2) Update - Putting the Pieces Together
Nationwide on April 26, 2011 presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators

Webcast: Everything Old is New Again – Revisiting the Prohibited Transaction Rules
Nationwide on March 29, 2011 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

Webcast: Form 5500 Update
Nationwide on May 17, 2011 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

Webcast: IRS Corrections: How to Fix a Broken Plan
Nationwide on March 23, 2011 presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators

Webcast: Who is a Fiduciary under the New Proposed DOL Regulations?
Nationwide on April 12, 2011 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)


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