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What Does OPR Require of ERPAs? [Advert.]
Live at the ERPA Conference, June 2-3 in LA: Karen Hawkins, Dir. IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, answers ALL your questions about obtaining and maintaining the ERPA credential - continuing ed., OPR requirements, ethics expectations, more!
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Guidance on Public Sector Defined Contribution Plans
"Over the past several months, the [IRS] has published helpful guidance on two important issues for governmental plans: Revenue Ruling 2011-7 clarifies certain issues related to the termination of § 403(b) plans. Revenue Ruling 2010-27 provides additional examples of permissible 'unforeseeable emergency' distributions from a § 457(b) plan."
(The Segal Group, Inc.)
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Who Never Receives Social Security Benefits? (PDF)
"We estimate that about 4 percent of individuals aged 62-84 in 2010 will never receive Social Security benefits. This article describes the prevalence, demographic characteristics, and economic well-being of this group."
(U.S. Social Security Administration)
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The Governance Components of the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (PDF)
"This article reviews management and governance aspects of the NRRIT as they relate to its political independence by focusing on the Trust's legal status, mandate, governing board characteristics, investment policy, and oversight. If Social Security were to adopt such an investment policy, examining the NRRIT's design and experience in these areas could provide useful guidance."
(U.S. Social Security Administration)
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California Teachers' Pensions Fall Short of Other Public Workers' Pensions, According to Study
"The study found that public school teachers' retirement benefits -- at least the part taxpayers pay for -- are smaller than those of virtually any other type of public employee, despite frequent claims that teachers' pensions are excessive and diverting precious dollars from education and other essential government services."
(The New York Times; free registration required)
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Website: Financial Security Project at Boston College
"The Financial Security Project was established in 2009 through a grant from the U.S. Social Security Administration and is an initiative of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Our mission is to help people make smart decisions throughout their lives so they are financially secure at retirement."
(Center for Financial Security at Boston College)
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How Business Officers Use Expanded Fiduciary Responsibilities to Improve Benefits (PDF)
"Most plans at independent schools are in excellent shape in two of five critical investment fiduciary functions: high enrollment and appropriate contribution rates. However, there is often a need for improvement in plan asset allocation, plan income preparation, and in helping the board understand its responsibilities."
(Net Assets magazine, a publication of the National Business Officers Association)
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Five Things You Must Be Aware of as a Plan Fiduciary
"Knowing that you ARE a fiduciary is, obviously, the first thing you need to be aware of, because there are legal requirements that need to be followed. Many fiduciaries do not know that by not following the basic standards of conduct, they are likely to be personally liable to restore any losses to the plan."
(401khelpcenter.com)
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Assessment of Retirement Plan Coverage by Firm Size, Using W-2 Tax Records (PDF)
"Interestingly, although substantial differences exist in pension coverage and participation by firm size, employees in small firms are not that different with respect to take-up of pension plans than their counterparts in large firms. Finally, after correcting for reporting error, a substantially larger proportion of workers in small firms have access to some type of pension than commonly believed based on survey reports."
(U.S. Social Security Administration)
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Hearing on the Transparency and Funding of State and Local Pension Plans, May 5, 2011
"The hearing [focused] on the measurement and transparency of funding levels of State and local pension plans and will explore whether improvements to those plans' actuarial assumptions - and enhanced transparency in the reporting of the financial health of those plans - are warranted. Among the approaches to these issues that the Subcommittee will review is H.R. 567."
(U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means)
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Experts See Problem for San Francisco in Union Pension 'Smoothing' Proposal
"In a final push to get a consensus pension-reform measure on the ballot this fall, San Francisco's public-employee unions are lobbying hard for a change in accounting procedures that experts say is legally dubious and would cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run."
(The New York Times; free registration required)
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Pension Plans' Funding Ratios Keep Rising, Reports Say
"The typical U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plan's funding ratio improved 0.7 percentage points to 89.2% in April, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. The funding ratio has improved 4.9 percentage points since Dec. 31."
(Pensions & Investments; free registration required)
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Atlanta Public Pension Fund Documents Missing from City Hall
"Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is proposing major changes in the city's three pension funds -- for police, firefighters and general employees. The city approved generous increases for all three funds in 2001 and 2005, but most of the documents that were legally required before those changes could be approved -- are now nowhere to be found."
(WSBTV)
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[Opinion]
Can Anglocentrism Save Social Security?
"Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, argues that The Century Foundation and other progressive institutions mislead the public when we note that U.S. Social Security benefit levels rank near the bottom among the public pensions of economically advanced countries."
(The Century Foundation)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Electronic Disclosure of Benefit Plan Information
"Over the years, clients have conveyed their frustrations with the current safe harbor rules on electronic disclosure, stating while that they have the technology to efficiently and adequately deliver electronic information to participants, the safe harbor limitations effectively prevented them from doing so."
(Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
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Press Releases
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