[Guidance Overview]
Court Dismisses Claim for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
"A federal court has dismissed claims that Halliburton Inc. miscalculated pension benefits . . . . Halliburton Company acquired Dresser Industries, and Halliburton became the sponsor of the Dresser Industries, Inc. [plan] in February 2000."
(PLANSPONSOR.com)
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[Guidance Overview]
Correcting 403(b) Plan Errors—The Current State
"As a result of having gone through the process of the first financial statement audit of their 403(b) plans last year, many 403(b) plan sponsors have been confronted with operational errors discovered during the audit and are now wondering how to correct these errors without jeopardizing the tax favored status of their plans."
(EisnerAmper)
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[Guidance Overview]
FASB Modifies Proposed Multiemployer Plan Participation Disclosures
"At its meeting on May 31, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) tentatively agreed that it will not require employers to disclose an estimate of withdrawal liability for each material multiemployer defined benefit plan in which they participate, as it had previously proposed."
(Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Newsletter Highlights Common VCP Submission Errors and Service Provider Reports
"Under the IRS's Voluntary Correction Program (VCP), a plan sponsor, at any time before audit, may pay a limited compliance fee and receive the IRS's approval for correcting a qualification failure. One article highlights five common VCP submission mistakes that IRS reviewers have encountered recently . . . ."
(Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
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DOL Report: Employee Benefit Plan Auditing and Financial Reporting Models
"The Council elected to narrow its consideration to . . . audit and auditor quality, limited scope audits, and the audit and financial reporting requirements for 403(b) plans. . . . Based on its discussions and debate concerning these issues, the Council submits ten recommendations to the Secretary of Labor for consideration."
(Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor)
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PBGC Premium Proposal Booed By Business Groups
"PBGC Director Joshua Gotbaum's quest to cut the premiums paid by financially healthy plan sponsors and raise those paid by companies at risk of insolvency is under attack . . . ."
(Pensions & Investments)
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The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans
"Although only about 22% of savings plan participants who are allowed to borrow from their 401(k) have such a loan at any given point in time, almost half had used a 401(k) loan over a longer, seven-year horizon."
(National Bureau of Economic Research)
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Study: Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers Savings Are Scarce
"Even if they bite the bullet and stay on the job well past retirement age and late into their 70s, most Baby Boomers and the Gen-Xers who follow them will not have enough savings to cover their basic retirement expenses and out-of-pocket health costs."
(Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)
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Retirement at 65? But It's The New 45!
"[T]he national 'retirement age' of 65 has remained unchanged for 75 years, but the lifespan of the average American has gone up by 16 years."
(The Christian Science Monitor)
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Revealing Hidden Costs of Your 401(k)
"[T]he costs are embedded in the expenses of many of the mutual funds you pick. In a practice known as revenue sharing, fund companies refund some of the expenses to the service provider running your plan to pay for its administrative costs."
(The New York Times; free registration required)
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[Opinion]
Text of ASPPA Comments to IRS on 2011–2012 Guidance Priority List
Among the comments: "ASPPA recommends that the IRS revise the due date for filing the 2009 and 2010 Form 8955–SSA . . . . ASPPA recommends that the IRS provide additional guidance on permissible mid-year changes to plans utilizing [ADP test safe harbor provisions, ACP test safe harbor provisions, or qualified automatic contribution arrangements] and issue final regulations on suspending or decreasing safe harbor 401(k) contributions." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries
(ASPPA))
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[Opinion]
Text of ASPPA's Suggestions to IRS for Improvements in the Pre-Approved Plans Program
"ASPPA recommends that the IRS modify its procedures to lessen the need for 'protective' determination letter applications. . . . ASPPA recommends that the IRS modify its existing Program to approve trust documents separately in order to avoid multiple IRS reviews of the same trust document. . . . ASPPA recommends that the IRS modify the Program to incorporate the best current practices of both the 'nonstandardized' Master and Prototype ('M&P') and volume submitter programs into each pre-approved plan program." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries
(ASPPA))
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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California Cities Carry Out Pension Changes While Governor Still Negotiating
"Brea is among about 90 cities in the most populous state that have made changes to their pension plans . . . while Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers wrestle over ways to lower costs. . . . Taxpayers who have seen local government services cut are demanding that elected officials take action on the rising costs of public-worker benefits . . . ."
(Bloomberg.com)
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Press Releases
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