ASPPA

Account Manager
for Lincoln Financial Group in IN

Implementation Specialist - Retirement Plans
for ExpertPlan, Inc. in NJ

Manager of Investment Operations
for MBM Advisors, Inc. in TX

Account Manager
for Nova 401(k) Associates in TX

Account Executive II
for Principal Financial Group in IL

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Wellness Programs: What Works and What Doesn't?
Nationwide on May 17, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Webinar - Understanding and Processing Transfers and Rollovers
Nationwide on June 5, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - Introduction to QRP Distributions
Nationwide on June 19, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - QRP Beneficiary Rollovers to Inherited IRAs
Nationwide on June 21, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - IRA Required Minimum Distributions
Nationwide on July 17, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - IRA Basics
Nationwide on July 19, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - Traditional IRA Distributions
Nationwide on August 2, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - Conversions and Recharacterizations
Nationwide on August 9, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - HSA Basics
Nationwide on August 7, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Webinar
Nationwide on May 23, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Adapting and Complying in the New 403(b) Environment Webcast
Nationwide on April 12, 2012 presented by NAGDCA (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)

Town Hall Meeting for Governmental Plans
in Ohio on May 3, 2012 presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

CFDD

Text of IRS Notice 2012-29: Proposed Guidance on In-Service Distributions from Governmental Retirement Plans (PDF)
"This notice ... invites public comment [on potential IRS guidance that] (a) would clarify that governmental plans that do not provide for in-service distributions before age 62 do not need to have a definition of normal retirement age and (b) would modify the age-50 safe harbor rule for qualified public safety employees. The notice also provides that the IRS and Treasury Department intend to extend the effective date of the regulations relating to distributions from a pension plan upon attainment of normal retirement age for governmental plans." (Internal Revenue Service)

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Using the IRS' Voluntary Correction Program to Correct Errors Discovered During a Determination Letter Application
"[Question:] Can I reserve the right to use VCP to correct errors found during the determination letter application process by including a disclaimer in the application, stating, for example, that 'I elect to be treated under the VCP program if the IRS finds an error?' [Answer:] No.... [that] statement wouldn't be acceptable because it's too broad and fails to describe a specific error." (Internal Revenue Service)

Early Retirement Supplement Found to Be a 'Protected Benefit' Due to Plan Drafting
"An employer's defined benefit pension plan defined 'accrued benefit' to include early retirement supplemental benefits. However, the plan was amended to eliminate the early retirement supplemental benefit. A participant erroneously received payment of the early retirement supplemental benefit after the amendment and was asked by the employer to repay it to the plan. The employee claimed that elimination of the supplement violated ERISA's 'anti-cutback' rule." (Haynes and Boone)

After 404a-5 Fee Disclosure Kicks In, When and How to Tell Participants About Changes to the Disclosed Information?
"For most plans, the plan administrator will need to make its first annual disclosure under the participant fee disclosure regulations by August 30, 2012 (some fiscal year plans will have additional time). The first quarterly disclosure for most plans will need to be made by November 14, 2012 (again, a little later for some fiscal year plans). If the plan makes certain mid-year changes to the disclosures, the plan administrator will need to provide a change notice to participants. In this Technical Update, [SunGard] will discuss the nature and timing of the change notice." (SunGard Relius)

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Illinois House Panel Wants to Make It Harder for State, Local Plans to Juice Up Pensions
"[The] plan would require a three-fifths vote of the General Assembly to approve any bill that enhances pension benefits for workers covered by the five state-funded pension systems. The supermajority requirement also would apply when local governments consider bonuses or other financial benefits that would enhance employees' pension benefits." (SJ-R.com)

Impasse over Highway Bill Holds Up Pension Funding Relief
"[E]ven if the highway bill stalls indefinitely, the pension interest rate provisions could be attached to other tax-related legislation that Congress would consider during its lame duck session that is likely to be held after the November elections.... [T]he pension provisions ... would boost federal revenue by several bil.lion dollars ... because employers' pension plan contributions are tax-deductible, so reducing pension contributions would increase employers' taxable income." (Pensions & Investments)

401(k) Excessive Fees Lawsuit against John Hancock Will Proceed
"In Santomenno v. John Hancock Life Insur.ancee Company [3d Cir. April 16, 2012], the [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit] vacated the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of John Hancock regarding the plaintiffs' ERISA claims and remanded the case back to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for further proceedings." (The Pension Protection Act Blog)

Tax Breaks for U.S. Retirement Saving Should Be Simpler, Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee Says
"[The Chairman] and House Republicans have called for lowering tax rates and reducing breaks, prompting supporters of tax incentives for retirement, housing, charity and other items to defend their place in the code. Republicans are searching for ways to raise $4.6 tril.lion over 10 years to meet revenue targets and turn the six-bracket system with a top rate of 35 percent into a two-bracket structure with rates of 10 and 25 percent." (Bloomberg)

Bringing Annuities to 401(k)s: Comments by Mark Iwry
"The federal government is proposing new regulations to make it much easier for annuities and other forms of steady income to be included in 401(k) retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).... By pooling those who live shorter and longer than average, everybody can essentially put away what's necessary to reach the average life expectancy, and those who live longer than average will be protected. The longevity risk pooling means that an annuity might provide an annual income of more like 6 percent or 7 percent, rather than 4 percent, depending on interest rates and the terms of the annuity." (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

New Suits over Do-It-Yourself IRAs: Custodial Accounts vs. Trust Accounts
"Custodian firms administer the accounts, sending investment statements and transferring money from investors to investment managers. It isn't clear how successful the suits will be, since even regulators note that custodians don't choose the investments or take fees based on the investments' success." (The Wall Street Journal)

U.S. Senate Considers Postal Service Pension Reform
"[The Senate has] began considering the 21st Century Postal Service Act, which would allow for cash buyouts up to $25,000 among incentives to get as many as 100,000 postal employees to retire early." (Pensions & Investments)

Study Examines Use of Loans and Hardship Withdrawals in Defined Contribution Plans by Black, Hispanic Participants
"In a sample of seven large defined contribution (DC) plans, blacks and Hispanics were more likely to take a loan or hardship withdrawal than whites or Asians. Yet the fraction of savings 'at risk' through loans was only slightly higher for blacks and Hispanics and, in the case of hardship withdrawals, was actually lower for blacks." (Vanguard)

Advisers Recommend Review of Non-Profit Employers' 403(b) Programs Before IRS Auditor Comes to Call
"The 2009 tax year is the first year that ... new regulations for documentation are truly in effect. And, of course, there's no guaran.tee that your plan will be audited. The plain fact of the matter is that the IRS gave plan sponsors more than sufficient time to bring their plans into compliance. And the simple truth is that it's the plan sponsor's responsibility to be in compliance, not the IRS's to enforce it." (The NonProfit Times)

Measuring 'Tax Expenditures'—Tax-Favored Retirement Plans Not as Expensive as Some Say
"Retirement savings provisions provide a deferral of tax, rather than an exemption from tax. Current tax expenditure estimates for retirement savings provisions overstate the size of these provisions relative to other tax expenditures because the current method for measuring tax expenditures measures retirement savings provisions on a cash flow basis rather than on a present-value basis." (ASPPA)

Testimony of American Benefits Council at Hearing on Tax Reform and Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts (PDF)
Presented to the House Committee on Ways and Means on April 17, 2012. "[The Council urges] this Committee to continue its leadership in pursuing policies to improve our Nation's retirement system. But any changes that are made should build upon our existing and successful tax incentive structure so that it works even more effectively to facilitate retirement plan coverage and savings by American families [so as to] advance the goal of retirement income adequacy for American workers." (American Benefits Council)

Statement of 29 Business, Investment and Plan Administration Associations at Hearing on Tax Reform and Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts (PDF)
Presented to the House Committee on Ways and Means on April 17, 2012. "The undersigned organizations ... urge the Committee on Ways and Means to preserve the current tax treatment that both encourages employers to offer and workers to contribute to retirement plans." (The SPARK Institute)

Statement of American Council of Life Insurers at Hearing on Tax Reform and Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts (PDF)
Presented to the House Committee on Ways and Means on April 17, 2012. "ACLI urges the Committee, first and foremost, to do no harm to the existing retirement system as it is considered in the context of tax reform. Policymakers should avoid disrupting a retirement system that works well for most Americans and instead focus on enhancing the system so that it works well for more Americans." (American Council of Life Insurers)

House Ways and Means Committee Chair's Opening Statement at Hearing on Tax Reform and Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts
April 17, 2012. "As this Committee considers tax reform, [chairman Dave Camp says he believes] there are three important principles to keep in mind when evaluating tax-favored retirement vehicles: (1) simplification; (2) increased participation, particularly by low- and middle-income taxpayers; and (3) whether the tax benefits are effective and properly targeted." (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means)

Testimony of ASPPA at Hearing on Tax Reform and Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts (PDF)
Presented to the House Committee on Ways and Means on April 17, 2012. "The goals of simplification, efficiency, and increasing retirement and financial security for American families are goals [ASPPA shares] with the Committee. The primary message [ASPPA wants] to convey today is that the current tax incentives are working very efficiently to promote retirement security for millions of working Americans. The most important factor in determining whether or not taxpayers across the income spectrum save for retirement is whether or not there is a workplace retirement plan. If increasing retirement and financial security is the goal, increasing the availability of workplace savings is the way to get there, and modifications to the current incentives should be evaluated based on whether or not the changes will encourage more businesses to sponsor retirement plans for their employees." (ASPPA)

Three Myths and a Fact about Public Pension Systems
"Myth 1: Public pension systems are about to run out of money.... Myth 2: A few good years in a bull market will bring the fund back to health.... Myth 3: Since the states are going to dramatically increase their contributions over the next few years, this should take care of the underfunding problem, as happened in the 1980's.... Which leads us to a cold hard fact: the fix which worked in the past is unlikely to succeed in the future. Putting public pension systems on firm footing is going to require significant and unpopular changes to current policy." (LPL Financial)

Executive Compensation Disclosure Scaled Back under JOBS Act for Certain Companies
"The JOBS Act allows [emerging growth companies] to meet [SEC] executive-compensation disclosure requirements (under Item 402 of Regulation S-K) by providing the abbreviated form of disclosure otherwise permitted for companies with a market value of outstanding common equity held by nonaffiliates of less than $75 mil.lion." (CFO)

Perk Available Only to Retirees Was Not a 'Pension Plan' Subject to ERISA Requirements
"Plaintiffs brought an enforcement suit against defendants under [ERISA alleging] that defendants' practice of offering reimbursements for telephone services to retirees who lived outside of defendants' service region constituted a 'pension plan' under ERISA." (Justia.com)

Most Citigroup Shareholders Oppose $15 Mil.lion Pay Package for CEO
"The shareholder vote, which comes amid a rising national debate over income inequality, suggests that anger over pay for chief executives has spread from Occupy Wall Street to wealthy institutional investors like pension fund and mutual fund managers. About 55 percent of the shareholders voting were against the plan, which laid out compensation for the bank's five top executives[.]" (The New York Times; free registration required)

What's Working Around the World: Global Insights on Employee Engagement
A "flipbook" that should open in your web browser. "The e-book provides a ... look inside the minds of today's employees, featuring insights and trends on benefits, retirement, pay, career, company, job and life. The e-book also discusses how survey findings vary by region and employee age group. Key findings of the research reveal a significant drop in employee engagement worldwide, a serious challenge to productivity and company performance." (Mercer)

First Trust Funds Added to CPI Retirement Platform
(CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.)

Littler’s Chicago Office Lands A Group Of Three Strengthening Firm’s National Employee Benefits And Executive Compensation Practice
(Littler Mendelson)

Littler Lands Benefits Litigation Attorney Daniel E. Wille In Its Pittsburgh Office
(Littler Mendelson)

New Research Finds Health Care Remains a Key Concern for Americans
(Krames StayWell)