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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter
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[Official Guidance]
IRS Determination Letter User Fee Exemptions
"Notice 2011–86 (October 20, 2011) treats an eligible employer's determination letter application as having been filed by the last day of the plan's remedial amendment period beginning within the first five plan years if . . . ."
(U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
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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.
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[Guidance Overview]
What's the Impact of 2012 IRS Retirement Plan Limits?
"[W]e're finally going to see some (very) modest increases after 3 years of flat rates. What does it all mean for employer-sponsored retirement plans? This post analyzes the practical effects for both [DC] and [DB] plans, followed by a table summarizing the limit changes."
(Van Iwaarden Associates)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Revenue Ruling 2011–7 Clarifies Plan Termination Rules (PDF)
"The [IRS issued the Revenue Ruling] in early 2011, providing additional guidance on how to successfully terminate ERISA and non-ERISA 403(b) plans using individual and group annuity contracts as well as individual and group custodial accounts as funding vehicles."
(Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company)
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[Guidance Overview]
Second Circuit Adopts Moench Presumption for Plans Mandating Investment in Employer Stock
"The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Gray v. Citigroup, Inc. that where plan language mandates an employer stock fund, the plan fiduciaries are entitled to a presumption of prudence; and their actions should be reviewed, using an abuse of discretion standard in allowing participants to continue to invest in the fund after a significant drop in price."
(Practical Law Company)
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The Current State of Retirement Document Drafting (PDF)
"This article [includes] an overview of IRS-recognized document types and recommendations for improvement to the IRS determination letter program. Suggestions include allowing new types of plans into the pre-approval program and modifying the required interim amendment procedures. The article also discusses when to request a determination letter and provides general drafting tips."
(Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
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Defined Benefit Pension Plans at Risk
"Pension plans sponsored by the S&P 1500 companies have an aggregate deficit of $512 bil.lion and a funded ratio, again in the aggregate, of just 72%, according to consulting firm Mercer. And that funded ratio, as of month end September, represents a post-World War II low."
(MarketWatch, Inc.)
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[Opinion]
Fort Worth Pension May Look Great, but Hold on to Your Wallets
"If the fund takes a beating on Wall Street, if policemen retire early with higher pay (thank you, overtime), and if retirees live longer — all of which happened — there's a big hole. And the city has to fill it. That sounds like a government bailout to me, except that it's not just a one-time hit. The most painful expense is the additional $35 mil.lion per year that goes on for as long as Fort Worth does."
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. Draft 2012 Policy Changes (PDF)
"On October 18, ISS issued draft policy changes for the 2012 proxy season for public comment. Four changes to its U.S. executive compensation policies were proposed, one of which affects ISS' evaluation of pay-for-performance alignment and will have significant implications for public corporations."
(Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
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IRS Announces Key Benefit Plan Limits for 2012 (PDF)
"The IRS has issued . . . the retirement plan limits for 2012, and [the] 2012 limits for qualified transportation fringe benefits, adoption assistance programs, long-term care products, and medical savings accounts."
(Buck Consultants, LLC)
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2011 Private Company Equity Compensation Survey Results
There are many equity compensation surveys for public companies, but almost none for closely held companies, and these focus just on executive equity in single industries or pre-IPO companies. The NCEO Private Company Equity Survey fills this gap. It is based on 201 completed surveys from private companies with equity plans and 32 responses from service providers in a separate survey designed to corroborate the broader survey results. (National Center for Employee Ownership
(NCEO))
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Press Releases
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Lois Baker, J.D., President
Holly Horton, Business Manager
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