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[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Notice 2011–86: Eligibility for Exemption from User Fee Requirement for Employee Plans Determination Letter Applications Filed After January 31, 2011 (PDF)
"This notice amplifies Notice 2002–1, 2002–1 C.B. 283, by explaining how to determine, for purposes of eligibility for exemption from the user fee requirement, if such an application has been filed within a remedial amendment period with respect to the plan beginning within the plan's first five plan years. . . . [It will be so treated if] (1) the application is filed with the Service by the last day of the submission period for the plan's current remedial amendment cycle, and (2) the plan is first in existence no earlier than January 1 of the tenth calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the submission period for the plan's current remedial amendment cycle begins."
(U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Changes and Clarifies Rules for Pre-approved Plans
"Because of the late issuance of the new guidance, the IRS extended to January 31 the deadline for mass submitters . . . to submit their plans. Previously, the deadline was October 31, 2011. The primary purpose of the revised Rev. Proc. was to resolve and clarify issues that arose under the Rev. Proc.'s predecessor."
(SunGard Relius)
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[Guidance Overview]
A Guide to the New Participant Investment Disclosure Rules (PDF)
"This paper is not intended to give a legal opinion or substitute for personalized advice from your advisor. Our goal is to raise your awareness of your responsibility as a plan sponsor, and help you understand how these new regulations might affect both plan sponsors and participants."
(Conrad Siegel Actuaries)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS's New Form 5300 and Instructions
"[Application for Determination for Employee Benefit Plan] requests the IRS to determine whether the documentation of an individually designed retirement plan meets tax qualification standards under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code."
(McDermott Will & Emery)
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[Guidance Overview]
Second Circuit Decisions Favor Fiduciaries in 401(k) Company Stock Cases
"The dissent's argument that the 'Moench' standard represents an 'alarming dilution of [ERISA] . . . and a windfall for fiduciaries' may suggest that its opponents (includi[ng] the DOL) may try to fight another day, including before the Supreme Court, but for now, the Second Circuit's ruling raises the bar for class action attorneys bringing 401(k) employer stock cases."
(Dorsey & Whitney LLP)
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IRS Examinations Are Adversely Affected by Information Dropped from Electronic Form 5500 Filings, According to Report
"[The IRS]'s Employee Plans unit asked the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to review whether the ability of the Employee Plans division to achieve its tax administration responsibilities has been affected by the reduction in information gathered from employer-sponsored retirement plan annual filings. TIGTA issued its final report, The Employee Plans Function Should Continue Its Efforts to Obtain Needed Retirement Plan Information, a few weeks ago."
(Verrill Dana, LLP)
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The Value of Tax Deferral
"The key is that in a taxable account, you lose some of the power of compound interest every time you're taxed on your contributions and investment earnings."
(Van Iwaarden Associates)
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An Efficiency Comparison of DB Pension Plans and DC Retirement Savings Plans (PDF)
"Because of . . . three factors, we find that a DB pension plan can offer the same retirement benefit at a steep discount to a DC retirement savings plan. Specifically, our analysis indicates that for workers in the five New York City DB plans that were studied, the cost to deliver the same level of retirement income ranges from 36 percent to 38 percent lower than the cost of a DC plan."
(New York City Comptroller's Office, Budget & Policy Bureau)
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Federal Retirees Will See COLA Boost in 2012
"Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System as well as Social Security recipients will receive the full 3.6 percent COLA increase. Those in the Federal Employees Retirement System will receive a 2.6 percent bump in 2012."
(Government Executive)
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A Look at Defined Contribution Match Reinstatements
"As the economy began picking up a little steam and company balance sheets stabilized, employers began reinstating their matching contributions -- usually at the same level, but sometimes higher or lower than the original match."
(Towers Watson)
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Bankrup.tcy Judge Close to Decision in Tribune Co. Case
"Both [the IRS and the DOL have] claimed that the company violated [ERISA] when an employee stock ownership plan purchased company stock as part of Chicago billionaire Sam Zell's complex 2007 buyout of Tribune Co."
(Chicago Tribune)
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2011 Mercer Workplace Survey: Executive Summary for Employers
"Hard times are usually hard on retirement savings. Breaking this longstanding pattern, participants this year are putting aside their recessionary anxiety, which is real, and recommitting themselves to saving for retirement. They are both more concerned about job security than ever and are planning to increase the total amount they contribute to their retirement plan in the coming 12 months."
(Mercer LLC)
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House Plans New Hearing on Delphi Pension Plans
"The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to hold a new hearing on the plight of thousands of Delphi salaried retirees who lost up to two-thirds of the value of their pension plans. The hearing will be held Nov. 14 in Dayton, Ohio, where many of the salaried retirees live . . . ."
(The Detroit News)
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[Opinion]
Change Alabama's Pension Plan for New State Hires
"The basic problem is that currently employees can retire and start to receive pension benefits at any age, as long as they have 25 years of service. That needs to be changed."
(www.montgomeryadvertiser.com)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Bad Health and Pension News for SAG Members
"The Screen Actors Guild's Pension and Health Plans just informed members that minimum earnings to qualify for health coverage are increasing 2% effective January 1, 2012."
(PMC)
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Time and Education Tools Important to Employees during Open Enrollment
"The research shows that 97% of employees who had three-plus weeks to review their benefits education materials said it was enough time—but just 50% of respondents were given that much time. Those who had three or more weeks to enroll were more likely to rate their benefits and their benefits education as excellent or very good, compared to those with less than three weeks to enroll."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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Press Releases
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