Going Forward, Year Two of Electronic Filing with EFAST2: A Compliance Assistance Webcast
"Sponsored by [DOL's EBSA and to be held on April 27, 2011, 1:00 - 2:30 PM EDT. . . . This webcast will address what has changed since the launch of EFAST2 through today." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

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Text of IRS Final Regs on User Fees Relating to Enrolled Agents and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents (PDF)
12 pages. The IRS has decided to adopt without substantive modification the proposed regulations reducing the enrolled agent and enrolled retirement plan agent initial enrollment and renewal of enrollment user fees to $30 and separating the enrolled retirement plan agent user fees from the enrolled agent user fees. (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Failure to Withhold Elective Deferrals
"This article will discuss the suggested IRS correction when an employer fails to withhold deferrals from an individual's bonus pay." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

7th Circuit Revives Class Action by Kraft Employees Alleging Mismanagement of Company's 401(k) Plan
"The complaint, filed in 2006, claimed that plan managers had incurred 'excessive expense and generate insufficient returns.'" (Courthouse News Service)

Current Pension Accounting Practices Are Not Giving States a True Picture of Their Debt
"Andrew G. Biggs, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, contended that economist are almost universal in believing that the accounting rules governing state and municipal governments' pension contribution rates understate plans' true liabilities. 'As bad as the current pension funding situation may look, the reality is likely far worse,' he said." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

SPARK Finds DC Participants Paying Attention
"According to the 2011 Retirement Market Update by the Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers (SPARK), defined contribution plan participants give the most attention to their current balance (42%) in their plans." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Abusive Retirement Plans Make IRS 'Dirty Dozen' List
"The IRS says it continues to find abuses in retirement plan arrangements, including Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). Moreover, the IRS says it is looking for transactions that taxpayers use to avoid the limits on contributions to IRAs, as well as transactions that are not properly reported as early distributions." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Plan Sponsors Favor Limited Scope Investment Advisors Over Investment Managers, Survey Finds
"Under such limited scope arrangements, the plan sponsors and investment advisors have co-fiduciary responsibilities with respect to plan investments and share in the attendant liability." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Specialized RIAs Likely to Win Middle-Market 401(k) Plan Battle
"A small group of intensely specialized independent RIAs are emerging as key players as fee-only, fiduciary advisors begin what's likely to be a decades-long takeover of the retirement market, a new Cerulli Associates study shows." (RIABiz LLC)

Webcast, Video, and Paper on Survey of Defined Benefit Plan Sponsors
"[This webcast] highlights the concerns, strategies, and attitudes of survey participants, along with changes they are making and why." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)

Providing Sound Retirement Planning Education and Advice Means Use the Formula of DOL + CYA
"In other words, if someone is putting money into a company-sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plan and doesn't really know what's going on, you are a fiduciary and liable personally. CYA used to mean Cover Your 'you-know what.' Now, it stands for 'Call Your Attorney.'" (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Uncertain About Future Benefits, Many Veteran Wisconsin Teachers Are Retiring Early
"At a time when the governor's plan to eliminate most collective bargaining for teachers and increase state employees' payments for health care and pension costs looms overhead, some school districts are seeing record numbers of senior teachers . . . turn in their retirement paperwork." (Journal Sentinel Inc.)

Private Pensions and Policy Responses to the Financial and Economic Crisis
"This paper discusses responses to current financial and economic crisis by regulators, supervisors and policy makers in the area of private pensions. These responses are examined in the light of international guidelines, best practices and recommendations to improve the design of private pensions." (Social Science Research Network)

Congressional Republicans Letter to DOL Regarding Proposed Fiduciary Definition Regulations (PDF)
"The regulatory proposal issued by the Department completely rewrites the regulatory structure to broadly define and substantially expand who would be considered a fiduciary." (U.S. Congress via American Benefits Council)

Discounting Public Pensions: Reports of Trillions in Shortfalls Ignore Expected Returns on Assets (PDF)
"In the real world, the question of how much risk pension funds should assume depends not so much on whether projected liabilities are uncertain or on the very small risk of insolvency, but rather on the political implications of volatile funding ratios. Difficult as it is to imagine in the current context, fund managers prefer to avoid both low and high funding ratios since the latter may tempt elected officials to neglect required contributions. If pension critics were truly concerned about pension underfunding, they would address this political problem rather than attempting to make pension funds appear grossly underfunded when they are not." (Economic Policy Institute)

IRS Extends, Modifies Program Allowing Truncated Social Security Numbers on Information Returns
"The IRS announced that it is extending and modifying a pilot program designed to deter identity theft (Notice 2011-38)." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

DOL Seeks Comments on Electronic Disclosure by Employee Benefit Plans
"It has been almost ten years since the DOL issued its electronic disclosure regulations. As noted in the RFI, there have been substantial changes in technology since then, both in the workplace and at home." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

President Names Mader to PBGC Advisory Committee
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

401(k) Assets Hit Record Level, Topping $3 Trillion, Says New SPARK Report
(SPARK Institute)

LOA Specialist
for The Golden 1 Credit Union in CA

Qualified Plan Consultant
for Dedicated Defined Benefit Services LLC in CA

ESOP Administrator
for Swerdlin & Company in GA

Senior Transitions Account Manager
for LPL Financial in CA

Marketing Manager, Defined Contribution Marketing
for Prudential in NJ

Consulting Actuary
for Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc. in MA

Actuarial Analyst
for Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc. in MA

Associate - Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation - Job #A20101102
for Perkins Coie LLP in WA

Account Executive- Southeast, IRC26895
for Lincoln Financial Group in FL, GA

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

HIPAA Privacy Post HITECH Act: Managing Risks & Responsibilities
Nationwide on May 16, 2011 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits