statistics counter
To BenefitsLink home page

BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter

To EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com
June 9, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Offers Tips on How to Avoid Making Mistakes with VCP Submissions
"In the latest issue of the Retirement Plans for Employers newsletter, the IRS has provided some tips to sponsors on how to avoid processing delays for their VCP submissions." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)


DATAIR Defined Contribution Plan Software [Advert.]

Sponsored by DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

Software for proposals, compliance testing, statements and periodic administration for "DC" plans. System handles 401(k), Profit Sharing (including Cross Testing), 403(b), ESOP, and NQ plans. Cost-effective PC-based system for TPAs and consultants.


[Guidance Overview]
Supreme Court Retools ERISA Remedies for Misleading Summary Plan Descriptions
"The Supreme Court's opinion provides insight into what equitable remedies may be available to participants under Section 502(a)(3) of ERISA. These remedies include judicial reformation of a plan's terms, so that it conforms to representations made to plan participants." (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Supreme Court CIGNA Ruling Allows Workers to Reverse Harmful Pension Changes
"That case held that ERISA authorizes a court to reform a pension plan that an employer had changed so that employees receive the benefits they had been promised. The article considers the key implications of this decision for employees and employers, focusing on relevant communications of the employer and the applicable standard of proof." (Social Science Research Network)

[Guidance Overview]
No Waiver of 60-Day IRA Rollover Limit to Help Mom
"The taxpayer requested a waiver of the 60-day limit under Rev. Proc. 2003-16, claiming that he used the IRA distribution for a short-term purpose but that he always intended to roll over the same amount back into his IRA, and that his failure to accomplish a timely rollover was due to numerous and unreasonable processing delays by the bank which were beyond his control." (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)

Pension Plan Termination Investment Strategies
"Benefits may be fully-funded when the termination decision is made, but significant contributions will be required if assets are not invested conservatively and a market downturn occurs prior to paying benefits." (Van Iwaarden Associates)


The biggest event of the year! [Advert.]

Sponsored by ASPPA

70+ interactive sessions on hot topics shaping the industry, meet with your Member of Congress, earn up to 25 ASPPA CPE credits/23 ERPA and JBEA CPE credits, 80+ displays in the exhibit hall and much more! Early birds save up to $500 on registration.


403(b) Plans Information Sharing Data Elements Questions & Answers, Updated June 8, 2011
"The SPARK Institute maintains and updates this site periodically with answers to questions regarding the Best Practices. We encourage anyone in the 403(b) plans community that has technical questions about these documents to submit them to us at data-elements.questions@sparkinstitute.org." (The SPARK Institute)

The Future of Retirement and the Pension System: How the Public's Expectations Vary Over Time and Across Socio-Economic Groups
"Exploiting the fact that we have data until September 2010, we also analyze the effect of the recent financial and economic crisis. We find significant differences in expectations of different socio-economic groups, mainly suggesting that groups who are probably better informed were also more pessimistic." (Social Science Research Network)

'Retirement Security: Challenges Confronting Pension Plan Sponsors, Workers, and Retirees'
The hearing is scheduled for June 14, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn H.O.B. Witnesses to be announced. (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions)

The Top Four Things to Look for When Shopping for a 401(k)
"1. Keep your employees' fees less than one percent." (Forbes.com LLC)

A Closer Look at Passive Investment Options for 401(k) Plans (PDF)
"Like index mutual funds, ETFs a) effectively track their benchmark, b) have a good degree of tax efficiency and c) have low expense ratios. In fact, the two investment vehicles have so much in common it's often hard to tell them apart." (Lincoln Trust Company)

The Secret to Sharply Cutting 401(k) Fees
"The secret to sharply cutting 401(k) fees is no secret at all, [Jim McCool at Charles Schwab] says. It would come from building 401(k) plans that rely extensively, if not exclusively, on passively managed funds that track major investment indexes. These match-the-market funds could be index mutual funds or their cousins, exchange-traded funds . . . ." (U.S. News & World Report)

Governor Urges Broad Limits to N.Y. Public Pensions
"Among the most significant changes the governor proposes is to raise the minimum retirement age to 65 from 62 for state workers, and to 65 from 57 for teachers." (The New York Times; free registration required)

DOL Gets $10.5M for DirecTECH ESOP Plan Participants
"[DOL] has obtained six consent judgments requiring payment of $10,454,545 in restitution to the DirecTECH Holding Co. Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan [and] $1,045,454 in civil penalties to the federal government." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

FASB Changes Position on Multiemployer Plan Disclosures
"At its May 31, 2011 meeting, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) tentatively decided not to require employers that contribute to multiemployer plans to disclose the estimated withdrawal liability, as it had proposed in an Exposure Draft." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

DC System Passes Its Stress Test
"[A paper titled 'Reshaping Retirement Security: Lessons for the Global Financial Crisis' explores] how private employer defined contribution plan sponsors and participants responded to the dramatic financial events beginning in the fall of 2007." (Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)

2011 NCPERS Public Fund Study (PDF)
"The study's primary findings are strongly positive. Public pension funds are experiencing a robust recovery from the historic market downturn of 2008–2009—reporting strong investment returns, growing assets and funding levels on track to meet obligations." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)

New Atlanta Pension Proposal in the Works
"[A City Councilwoman] plans to introduce a proposal that she has worked out with the city's employee unions to solve Atlanta's unfunded pension liability of more than $1.5 bil.lion." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Dodd-Frank Act Looms over Retirement Plan Sponsors and Administrators
"[I]t appears the Act could impact the ability of defined benefit plans to use swaps to manage funding volatility, and of defined contribution plans to offer stable-value funds as investment alternatives." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

Federal Pension Assets Are Used to Extend U.S. Borrowing Authority
"According to the Treasury Department, the United States reached the statutory debt limit on May 16, 2011. However, the Treasury Secretary has taken certain actions—including utilization funds in the Federal employees' retirement system—to forestall exhaustion of the nation's borrowing authority for nearly another three months." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

[Opinion]
Industry Groups Oppose Proposals to Increase PBGC Premiums for Employers (PDF)
"Changes of the type and magnitude being discussed would undermine the private sector defined benefit pension system, hinder the economic recovery and could create an ill-advised precedent of government intrusion into normal business activities." (The ERISA Industry Committee)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Benefits Communications Benefit from Plain Language
"'Plain language is all about making the right decision to give the right information to the right audience at the right time,' . . . ." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Press Releases

Employee Benefits Jobs

Client Service Specialist
for Charles Schwab in TX

Part-time Onsite Participant Counselor - Orange County, CA
for Diversified in CA

Client Services Manager
for Charles Schwab in TX

Retirement Plan Recordkeeper
for Progressive Employee Benefits Firm in Atlanta in DC, FL, GA

Bi-lingual Retirement Education Specialist - South Florida
for MassMutual Financial Group in FL

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


We also publish the BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter (free): Subscribe



BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151

Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
Copyright 2011 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but feel free to forward this newsletter in its entirety.

More useful links: