[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Employee Plans News, March 23, 2011
This issue covers updates on the following: Preparer Tax Identification Number; ESOPs: Definition of Readily Tradable Employer Securities; New 6-Year Cycle for Pre-Approved Defined Contribution Plans; Employee Plans Compliance Unit's Funding Deficiency Project; 403(b) Plans; Compliance Checks; and, the Latest 401(k) Questionnaire Developments. (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

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[Guidance Overview]
Form 8955-SSA and 403(b) Plans
"Code 6057(a) provides that retirement plans subject to ERISA's vesting requirements must report participants with deferred vested benefits to the IRS. Nothing in the Code or regulations exempts a 403(b) plan subject to ERISA from this requirement." (SunGard Relius)

[Guidance Overview]
PBGC Proposed Regs on Unpredictable Contingent Event Benefit Phase-In Rules
"The proposed regulations include eight examples that show how the ['unpredictable contingent event benefits'] phase-in rules would apply in certain specified fact situations." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Compliance Tips for Employers with Pre-Approved Retirement Plans
"The IRS urges employers to periodically review their plan document and plan operations to determine whether: The existing plan is still right for the employer's business; There are there other features that can be added to the plan, such as an auto enroll feature or a designated Roth account; The plan is operating according to the plan document's terms; and The plan has been updated for current law." (Wolters Kluwer)

Public Employees Rush to Retire
"The retirements mean employers can shelve some planned layoffs. And some of the departing workers, generally more senior and higher paid, are being replaced by lower-paid employees with less-generous retirement benefits . . . ." (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

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Identifying Plan Fiduciaries Under ERISA Section 408(b)(2): A Must Ask Must Tell Protocol (PDF)
"A Fiduciary Acceptance and Acknowledgement form is a prudent part of a due diligence process to identify fiduciaries, their roles and their liability. By having this disclosure on file, service providers have the information they need to verify fiduciary status to meet their disclosure obligations." (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)

Fiduciary Benchmarking of Retirement Plan Fees: A Q&A (PDF)
"ERISA standards hold fiduciaries accountable for what they know or what they should have known. So while trends are always worth evaluating, a trend that deals with a fiduciary's obligation is particularly important to evaluate and understand." (The SPARK Journal and the Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers)

Public Pension Fund Squeeze: Actuaries vs. Local Governments
"The issue highlights a debate that has caught fire in recent months: whether the underfunding at many public pension funds is partly a result of unrealistic investment expectations as well as accounting methods that underestimate the true size of liabilities." (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

[Opinion]
A Fiduciary Approach to Risk Management
"One of the most often overlooked steps to Risk Management is that of not fully identifying the Risk. Very often the conversation is focused on the product but upon further discovery the Risk has not been fully articulated with its related or attached nuances." (fi360 Blog)

[Opinion]
The Impact Financial Education Has on Plan Participant Saving and Investing Behavior
"It is about time for us to begin to track the statistical success of these programs, to evaluate them on the bottom line numbers and to ask the tough questions, namely: Are deferral rates increasing? Are employees better allocating their assets? Are loans and hardship withdrawals declining? And of course, the ultimate bottom line: Are employees on track to retire?" (Financial Finesse via 401khelpcenter.com, LLC)

[Opinion]
The High Cost of Not Knowing Retirement Plan Fees
"Every plan should be independently priced every one to three years by an outside vendor to ensure that fees for services are in line with industry standards." (AdvisorOne)

[Official Guidance]
ERRATA: 'General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in the 111th Congress'
Two changes submitted on March 23, 2011. (U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation)

Executive Compensation Year in Review: Looking Back on 2010 and Implications for 2011 (PDF)
"This letter provides a recap of major regulatory and technical developments that were detailed in our alert letters published in 2010, and comments on the issues companies are currently facing with regard to executive compensation design and corporate governance reform." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

Say-on-Pay 2011: How Shareholders Are Voting (PDF)
"Buck's analysis of voting results in shareholder meetings conducted by nearly 60 companies that have occurred after [January 21, 2011] indicates that a majority of shareholders voted AGAINST management's recommendation when it came to the frequency of say-on-pay voting (by choosing a more frequent vote than the majority of the companies' management teams had recommended), but primarily voted FOR the executive pay programs themselves." (Buck Consultants)

NQDC Plans Still a Valuable Benefit, According to Survey
"The findings also suggest that NQDC plans are becoming a 'mainstream' benefit both for senior and mid-level key employees. The number of mid-level managers participating in NQDC plans increased to 36%, up from 17% last year." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Benefits Were 30.3% of Total Compensation in December 2010, BLS Finds
"According to the BLS, private industry benefits costs averaged $8.11 per hour, accounting for 29.2% of total compensation costs, which averaged $27.75 per hour worked." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Opinion]
American Benefits Council/AHIP Letter Regarding Code Section 162(m)(6) Issues: The Deduction Limit Applicable to Deferred Compensation (PDF)
"In any event, given the variety and complexity of compensation arrangements (including in particular defined benefit SERPS), and regardless of the number of safe harbors provided, guidance should provide that any reasonable method for allocating earnings would be permitted." (American Benefits Council / America's Health Insurance Plans)

Buck Consultants Launches Global Investment Advisors Service
(Buck Consultants)

Plan Fee Study

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Easy, Low Cost Ways to Start Your Small Business Retirement Plan
Nationwide on April 7, 2011 presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)