BNA

Plan Consultant
for 401(k) Advisors, Inc. in CA

Consulting Actuary, EA
for Libman, Kadavy & Co., Inc. in OH

Region Service Mgr
for The Standard in OH

401(k) New Business Omni/Systems Advisor-IRC17407
for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) in VA

Participant Contact Center Specialist
for Transamerica Retirement Services in OH

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Defined Contribution Plans: New Approaches for the Current Economic Climate
Nationwide on October 20, 2011 presented by Thompson Publishing Group

Text of IRS Notice 2011–85 Postponing Effective Dates for Certain Hybrid Defined Benefit Plan Interest Crediting Rules (PDF)
"IRC section 411(b)(5) proposed hybrid plan regulations, when finalized, will be effective for plan years beginning on or after a date to be specified in the regulations that is not earlier than January 1, 2013, and related provisions of final hybrid plan regulations that are effective January 1, 2012 will be postponed." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Advance Your Career with ASPPA this Fall   [Advert.]

Whether working towards an ASPPA credential or just growing knowledge in specific areas, ASPPA exams offer CPE credits (valid for ASPPA, JBEA and ERPA). Proctored exam window is open November 1 to December 14 - register early and have time to prepare.

IRS Employee Plans News, October 12, 2011 (PDF)
This edition covers: 2011–2012 Priority Guidance Plan — includes over 37 retirement benefit items; ESOP Phone Forum — technical and determination issues; Contributions: After 70 ½ — continuing to contribute for employees who receive RMDs; Two Plans, Two Employers — limits for your plan at work and your self-employed plan; Just Released Guidance: Hybrid Plans — Notice 2011–85; Opinion and Advisory Letters — updated procedures. (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

EBSA FAQs on Multiemployer Plan Leasing Arrangements
"These FAQs are meant to serve as guidance and as a reminder to fiduciaries of multiemployer plans that prohibited transaction violations of [ERISA] may arise in leasing or service provider arrangements. The FAQs also describe certain statutory or administrative exemptions that may be available." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Text of Updated PBGC Interest Rates for Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans (PDF)
"This final rule amends the [PBGC's] regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in November 2011." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

IRS Compliance and Governmental Retirement Plans Explored: LIVE Webcast   [Advert.]

Understanding proposed governmental retirement plan guidance from the IRS will be a challenge in 2011 and beyond. If the proposals become law, plan sponsors must prepare for the increased likelihood of audit. Use code kcwebcast88 for $50 discount.

Two Courts Reject 401(k) Fee Claims Based on Plans' Use of Retail Share Classes of Mutual Funds (PDF)
"In light of these two Court of Appeals decisions, the fee claims being asserted against plans certainly face an uphill battle (though Hecker does caution that including a vast number of investment options will not automatically protect fiduciaries from breach of duty claims)." (Groom Law Group)

A Practical Guide to the 401(k) Participant Disclosure Requirements (PDF)
"This column . . . is intended to serve as a practical guide, or a checklist, for plan administrators as they prepare for compliance with the regulations. The first part will be a brief, high-level overview of the regulations. Then, for each of the two major categories of disclosure under the regulations, plan-related information and investment-related information, there is a chart setting forth (1) what information is required to be disclosed, (2) by when and how often the information must be provided, and (3) in what form or document may the information may be provided." (WoltersKluwer Company via Winston & Strawn LLP)

Overview of Required Minimum Distributions for Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
"This information applies to sponsors of qualified defined benefit plans, including governmental plans and non-electing church plans." (Prudential Retirement)

GASB Exposure Drafts: Impact on Cost-Sharing Employers and Governmental Nonemployer Contributing Entities (PDF)
"The proposed standards represent a sharp departure from the current government pension accounting rules and would amend the current GASB 27 . . . and GASB 25 . . . ." (Milliman, Inc.)

The Abandoned Plan Rule in Bankrup.tcies (PDF)
"[On May 26, 2011, the DOL announced] it would expand the 'abandoned plan' rule to include liquidating bankrup.tcy trustees. It reasoned that using the abandoned plan rule in bankrup.tcy liquidations had the potential to substantially reduce burdens on abandoned plans, their participants and bankrup.tcy trustees." (Aspen Publishers, Inc. via Winston & Strawn LLP)

IRS Delays Cash Balance Pension Plan Rules to at Least 2013
"The proposed rules involve a provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that allows plan sponsors to use a 'market rate' to credit interest to participants' account balances. When the rules were unveiled last year, the IRS said they would take effect on Jan. 1, 2012. But in Notice 2011–85, the IRS said Wednesday that finalized rules would be effective no earlier than Jan. 1, 2013." (Business Insurance)

Creator of Multiple Employer Plan Running Into Flak
The Associated Press is asserting that Matthew Hutcheson, founder of the National Retirement Security Plan, exaggerated claims he made in connection with his bid for an Idaho resort property, and that the Department of Labor has asked questions but will not comment. (AP via Canadian Business)

Independent Fiduciary Faces Questions, Says Answers Coming
"The [U.S. Department of Labor] investigation surfaced after at least two people — a North Carolina dentist and an investment adviser in Hawaii — complained to the Labor Department because of difficulty they and others had accessing or locating nearly $300,000 in 401(k) funds under [Matthew D. Hutcheson's] care. Hutcheson acknowledged being aware of the investigation but said he doesn't think he is the focus." (IdahoStatesman.com)

Principal Survey Finds Plan Sponsors Willing to Make Changes to Would Improve Retirement Readiness
"This paper offers a more comprehensive measure of retirement readiness plus specific ways financial professionals and plan sponsors can move the savings needle through affordable plan design changes." (Principal Financial Services, Inc.)

Fiduciary Quality Management System Requires Checking Investment Performance
"[Monitoring the performance of money managers] requires that performance be reported, evaluated, and acted upon through the application of watch list procedures and rebalancing protocol. So, monitoring is not just about what happened, but why and what to do about it." (fi360 Blog)

Delta Pilots to File Appeal with PBGC
"The Delta Pilot's Pension Preservation Organization . . ., a group representing the interests of over 6,000 retired Delta pilots, is preparing to file an administrative appeal with [PBGC] aimed at recovering approximately $600 mil.lion in lost qualified pension benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Annual Survey of State & Local Public Employee Retirement Systems
"The 2009 survey covered fiscal years that ended between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009 and does not reflect data for the entire calendar year of 2009." (U.S. Bureau of the Census)

PBGC to Fight Friendly Ice Cream Corp. over Pension Dump
"[Friendly] Ice Cream Corp. filed for bankrup.tcy protection on October 5. The company also announced it is closing 63 restaurants. Friendly's is owned by Sun Capital Partners. Sun Capital intends to use the bankrup.tcy process to abandon the pension plan, but keep its ownership of Friendly's, according to the PBGC announcement." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

American Benefits Council Asks Members to Urge Lawmakers to Reject PBGC Premium Increases Based on Federal, Agency Deficits
"Action Requested: Contact your congressional delegation, especially those members serving on the Joint Special Committee on Deficit Reduction . . . and the other committees of jurisdiction, urging them to reject [PBGC] premium increases as part of federal deficit negotiations or based on the PBGC's supposed deficit. The formal deadline for submitting comments to the Supercommittee is Friday, October 14." (American Benefits Council)

The Global Financial Crisis and the Performance of Target-Date Funds in the United States (PDF)
"We analyze asset allocations and performance of target-date funds in the United States from 2006 to May 2009. The good news is that the performance of target-date funds is consistent with greater risk and better performance for longer-dated funds." (Rotman International Centre for Pension Management)

Highlights of Results from PSCA's 54th Annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans
"The average plan has approximately 63 percent of assets invested in equities. Assets are most frequently invested in actively managed domestic equity funds (25.1 percent of assets), target-date funds (13.0 percent), stable value funds (9.9 percent), indexed domestic equity funds (8.8 percent) and actively managed international equity funds (8.4 percent)[.]" (Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America)

A Post-Crisis Assessment of Retirement Income Adequacy for Baby Boomers and Gen Xers
"The analysis in this paper was designed to answer two questions: What percentage of U.S. households became 'at risk' of insufficient retirement income as a result of the financial market and real estate crisis in 2008 and 2009? Of those who are at risk, what additional savings do they need to make each year until retirement age to make up for their losses from the crisis?" (Better Days)

The 2011 MetLife Retirement Income IQ Survey of Pre-Retiree Knowledge of Financial Retirement Issues
"Americans have quite a way to go to learn what they need for a financially secure retirement. Of the 1,213 pre-retirees aged 56 to 65 who took the quiz, the majority answered only five of the 15 questions correctly, displaying continued misunderstanding of a number of core areas, such as life expectancy, inflation, retirement income/savings, long-term care insurance and, to some extent, Social Security." (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company)

Will 401(k) Fee Disclosures Bring Clarity to Perplexed Workers?
"[M]ore workers are already going after companies that they allege are taking advantage of those retirement accounts. Ameriprise Financial Inc. employees participating in the company's 401(k) plan filed a suit last month against the company, alleging the financial services firm invested employee retirement money into its own untested funds and charged expensive, uncapped fees." (ABC News Internet Ventures)

Pension Woes Are Complicating Retirement for Many
"Deteriorating conditions in the pension system are jeopardizing the lump sum payouts workers count on, and pushing some workers to retire ahead of schedule." (Reuters via The Baltimore Sun)

Allocation of Responsibility for Pension Benefits between the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Government
"The current methodology used by OPM for allocating responsibility for CSRS benefits between USPS and the federal government is consistent with applicable law." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

Richard Thaler Says Employers Should Do More about Retirement Financial Planning
"His harshest criticism was reserved for employers that continue to invest 401(k)s primarily in their own company's stock." (Trustees of Boston College, Center for Retirement Research)

Retirement Account Balances, Updated October 2011
"This fact sheet follows trends in retirement account balances since the beginning of 2005." (Urban Institute)

Pain of Pension Community Shows Most Obviously in Funded Status Estimates from Equity Strategists and Consultants
"More worrisome is the rise in the implied risk premium and its current level. For comparison, we can use Pastor and Stambaugh's estimates of equity risk premia from 1834–2000: They find a range of 3.9–6.0% over that long period. Current estimates for consultants and asset allocation practitioners vary quite a bit depending on models and biases, but are largely spanned by a 3%–7% range." (PIMCO)

4th Quarter Complication for 409A Plans (PDF)
"This article describes a relatively new 409A rule that applies to all covered plans and contracts which require employees and independent contractors ('service providers') to sign releases or other employment-related commitments as a condition of payment." (Davis, Malm & D'Agostine, P.C.)

IRS Guidance on Tax Treatment of Employer-Provided Cell Phones
"Given the welcomed clarity offered by the Notice and by the Examination Memo, this is an excellent time for employers to review their policies related to the usage of cell phones by employees (whether via employer-provided cell phones or through employer reimbursement of expense incurred by employees related to the usage of their personal cell phones)." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)

Deferred Compensation Plans: When They're a Great Choice, and When They're Not
"Nonqualified deferred compensation plans are a common feature of executive pay packages. They're a great choice in the right conditions, i.e. when: The executive's share of company profits is very small, and The executive is willing to shoulder the employer's credit risk, and Providing the benefits through a qualified plan would be too expensive." (Van Iwaarden Associates)

The Global Added Value of Flexible Benefits (PDF)
"Several companies in Asia plan to implement flex in the next few years, and a number of emerging best practices in flexible benefits design are being developed. This article discusses the many advantages of flex, flex best practices emerging across Asia, and important considerations for employers when designing flexible benefits." (International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists)

Agency Opposes Friendly’s Attempt to Dump Pension Plan; Pledges Fight for Workers and Retirees
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Employee Benefits Security Administration Issues Questions and Answers on Prohibited Transactions and Exemptions
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

412(e)(3) Fully Insured DB Plan Software for Design and Administration from DATAIR
(DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.)

Hardy Reed, LLC Is Certified For Fiduciary Excellence
(Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX))

US Pension System Holds onto Top 10 Ranking in Global Index - but Reform Needed
(Mercer)

American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund Denounces Plan by the Philadelphia Orchestra to Withdraw
(American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund)

Retired Delta Pilots to File Unprecedented Appeal with PBGC
(Delta Pilot's Pension Preservation Organization (DP3, Inc.))