[Official Guidance]
Correcting Common Plan Errors: Compensation Errors in Defined Contribution Plans
"Your plan document (or adoption agreement if you use a pre-approved plan) may have multiple definitions of compensation, including definitions for purposes of calculating: salary deferrals, matching contributions, and discretionary contributions. The plan is not required to use the same definition of compensation for all contribution types."
(U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
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[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Extension for Disclosure Rules for Qualified Plans
"As applied to a calendar year plan, a plan now must furnish the first set of initial disclosures required by the Participant Disclosure Regulations no later than May 31, 2012 (i.e., 60 days after the effective date of the Section 408(b)(2) Regulations). For a calendar year plan, the first set of quarterly disclosures must be furnished no later than August 14, 2012 (i.e., 45 days after the end of the second quarter in which the initial disclosure was required).'
(Snell & Wilmer L.L.P,)
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[Guidance Overview]
What CIGNA v. Amara Means for You (PDF)
"There have been a number of cases in which circuit courts found in favor of the plaintiff because the plaintiff relied on erroneous information in the SPD. In rejecting reliance on an erroneous SPD, the Supreme Court also put aside the Department of Labor's position, presented in an amicus brief, that the terms of the SPD were the terms of the plan."
(Thompson Publishing Group via ERISAdiagnostics Inc.)
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[Guidance Overview]
PBGC Issues First Appeals Decision on Downsizing Liability
"In recent years, many employers who have downsized or sold businesses have faced a PBGC demand for liability under ERISA Section 4062(e) . . . . [T]he PBGC Appeals Board issued its first determination regarding Section 4062(e) downsizing liability. The Board's 30-page determination sets forth the agency's views regarding several significant statutory and regulatory interpretative issues, and PBGC may rely on it in an effort to support its negotiating positions. [Click on the link under 'Items of Interest' on the target page.]"
(Keightley & Ashner LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
Appeals Court Dismisses Pension Fund's Suit Against American Express
"In a unanimous ruling, [the court] dismissed the suit filed against [American Express and Officers]. According to a news report, the appeals court rules the plaintiff in Local No. 38 International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Pension Fund v. American Express Co. did not properly state its claim."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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[Guidance Overview]
Service Provider Fee Disclosures Under ERISA
"Although these fee disclosure requirements apply to the service providers, employer sponsors of retirement plans will be obligated to determine whether or not the service providers to their retirement plan have complied with the fee disclosure requirement. In addition, employers must be prepared to evaluate the information they receive to more closely scrutinize the fees being paid to service providers."
(Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley LLP)
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Cause and Effect: The Influence of 401k Fee Litigation (PDF)
"For better or worse, the proliferation during the last five years of class-action litigation challenging the fees and expenses paid by 401k plans is not only the industry's most serious challenge but also a spur to greater prudence and reform."
(planadvisor via The Wagner Law Group)
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Review of DOL Amicus Filings' Effect on an Investment Advice Fiduciary (PDF)
"When the Department of Labor issued proposed regulations in October 2010, it expanded the definition of an investment advice fiduciary. The DOL indicated that one of its reasons for proposing the update was to support its enforcement efforts by making it easier for its litigators to prove the five elements necessary to confer fiduciary status. Sometimes, this works the other way around, and the DOL's litigation arm can be seen as supporting and, in the eyes of some observers, enlarging the consequences of policy objectives." (401
(k) Advisor via The Wagner Law Group)
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The Use of ERISA § 3(38) Investment Managers in Defined Contribution Plans
"Does a 401k 'named' fiduciary, usually a committee appointed by the Plan Sponsor, reduce its liability when the committee's investment consultant continues to perform essentially the same role, but with discretion for decisions that the consultant otherwise would have merely recommended?"
(Herbert A. Whitehouse via 401khelpcenter.com, LLC)
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Savers Get Burned by Fed's Zero Interest Rate Policy
"Savers of all stripes have had to make other plans since the Federal Reserve embarked on its zero interest rate policy more than two years ago. They have little tolerance for the gyrations of the stock market, choosing instead to save through federally insured bank accounts and government-backed bonds. And that has meant less and less income as rates tumbled."
(The Kansas City Star)
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Pensions and Retirement Security 2011 (PDF)
"The key research findings are as follows: When it comes to retirement, Americans continue to have high anxiety. . . . Americans have low retirement expectations. . . . The U.S. retirement system is under stress and in need of reform."
(National Institute of Retirement Security)
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Another California County Publishes Retiree Benefit List
"El Dorado County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn on Friday announced that the list of county retirees receiving retirement benefits greater than $100,000 per year is now available on the county's website. The county's unfunded obligation to its retirees has become a major problem, Harn said, according to a report on the Lake Tahoe News."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Official Guidance]
IRS List of Nonbank Trustees and Custodians (PDF)
"The [target page] is a list of entities that have been approved by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, pursuant to § 1.408-2(e) of the Income Tax Regulations, to serve as a nonbank trustee or custodian."
(U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
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[Guidance Overview]
New York's Marriage Equality Act and Employee Benefits Plans
"Employers with New York employees should review their benefit plans to determine the impact of the Marriage Equality Act. In addition, employers should contact their payroll administrators to confirm that New York state taxes are being properly withheld and reported."
(Dorsey & Whitney LLP)
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Upgrade Employee Benefit Plan Auditing, Says ERISA Advisory Council (PDF)
"The ERISA Advisory Council issued a report on employee benefit auditing and financial reporting models. The primary findings include: some auditors require more training despite available information; limited scope audits may be understood; the DOL should continue educational outreach efforts."
(Thompson Publishing Group via ERISAdiagnostics Inc.)
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Press Releases
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