ASPPA

Trust Accountant
for The Pension Group, Inc. in CA

Junior Pension Analyst
for Long Island Employee Benefits Groups, Ltd. in NY

401(k) Compliance Testing Consultant
for The Savitz Organization in PA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for American Pension Benefits, Inc. in PA

Relationship Manager
for Envoy Financial in CO

Benefits Manager
for UNITE HERE HEALTH in IL

Daily Team Associate II
for MBM Advisors, Inc. in TX

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AHIP's Compliance Forum Implementing the ACA: Evolving Requirements and Compliance Implications
in Utah on June 20, 2012 presented by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)

After the Sound Bites: An In-Depth Analysis of the Supreme Court ACA Decision
Nationwide on July 12, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Exempt Organizations and Gaming Free Phone Forum
Nationwide on July 18, 2012 presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Health Care Costs: What Can Be Done Recorded Webcast
Nationwide on June 20, 2012 presented by Alliance for Health Reform

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium - San Antonio
in Texas on July 10, 2012 presented by 401(k) Rekon

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium - Larchmont
in New York on July 11, 2012 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Assessing the Challenges Facing Multiemployer Pension Plans Webcast
Nationwide on June 20, 2012 presented by U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium - King of Prussia
in Pennsylvania on July 12, 2012 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Assessing the Challenges Facing Multiemployer Pension Plans Hearing
in District of Columbia on June 20, 2012 presented by U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee

[Guidance Overview]

Additional Thoughts on the MEP Advisory Opinion
"The DOL properly noted, as also reflected in the original opinion request, that close attention needs to be paid in a MEP (as in any arrangement dealing with multiple employers) to the manner in which the prohibited transaction rules apply to the compensation paid to the parties in interest. This, in fact, is a key element of the design of any such arrangement. The DOL did not say that the design submitted to it violated those rules. The DOL did not give any type of MEP a 'pass.' It did make clear the rules that will apply to any arrangement seeking single ERISA plan status as a way to deliver services, and where to seek guidance for the application of those rules." (Business of Benefits)

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[Guidance Overview]

New DOL Opinion States Certain 403(b) Plans No Longer Exempt from ERISA
"[Advisory Opinion 2012-02A] stated if the employer contributions to the 401(a) Plan are conditioned on the employee making pre-tax contributions to the 403(b) Plan, then there is violation of the 'completely voluntary' and 'limited employer involvement' requirements of the Safe Harbor.... This means the 403(b) Plan will be subject to ERISA's fiduciary duty, reporting and disclosure requirements.... The following options are high-level ideas on potential alternatives available for organizations to consider for purposes of restructuring these types of arrangements." (McDermott Will & Emery)

[Guidance Overview]

Section 414(d) Advance Notice of Proposed IRS Regs Raises Issues for Governmental Pension Plans
"[P]lans of purported governmental agencies or instrumentalities that have long complied with the governmental plan rules previously articulated and administered by the IRS could, if their sponsors fail the new factor test for determining governmental entity status, have thrust onto them the costly burdens of ERISA and PBGC compliance at a time when they can ill afford them. [Further,] individual participants in qualified retirement plans sponsored by governmental entities of all types whose personal status as governmental employees may be in question, for example some charter school teachers, could, absent adjustments to the draft proposed regulations, find themselves excluded from future participation in such plans because of the requirement of the draft proposed regulations not to include any nongovernmental employees." (Strasburger)

SEI's Pension Lifecycle Meter Shows Almost Half Of Corporate Pensions Remain Open to New Hires
"SEI ... released the results of its third Pension Lifecycle Meter, a biannual survey representing the current plan design stages of more than 150 U.S. corporate defined benefit plans. Often considered a declining employee benefit, the survey showed that almost half (47 percent) of pension plans are still active and open to new hires. Furthermore, nearly three quarters (71 percent) of all plan participants are still accruing benefits, while the remaining plans (29 percent) have frozen accruals." (SEI)

Can.ada Raises Retirement Age to 67
"Can.ada's Conservative government said Thursday that it is raising the retirement age to 67 from 65 for pension benefits as the finance minister introduced a federal budget features the biggest cutbacks since the mid-1990s.... 'Canadians are living longer and healthier. There are fewer workers to take their place when they retire. Can.ada has changed. Old Age Security must change with it,' said [Finance Minister Jim Flaherty]." (AARP)

Retirement Plan Solutions for Pension Professionals   [Advert.]

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New Study Adds Fuel To Auto-Enrollment Issue
"Workplace 401(k) plans that auto enroll participants at higher contribution levels lead to greater plan participation and lower opt-out rates, according to an analysis by New York Life Retirement Plan Services. The analysis found that 30% of participants in plans with default deferral rates greater than 3% increased their contribution level within a year of being auto enrolled.... Employees enrolled in plans at lower rates had lower levels of engagement, with only 26%-27% of employees increasing their contributions over the 2006-2012 time period." (Financial Planning)

IRS Survey of 401(k) Plans Reveals Trends in 401(k) Plan Design
"The IRS sent a questionnaire to over 1,000 sponsors of 401(k) plans in 2010. The questionnaire elicited responses on a number of design elements, including those relating to eligibility, contributions, loan, and withdrawal features. Ninety-eight percent of the plan sponsors responded." [Chart lists percentage of respondents with each specific design feature.] (Nixon Peabody LLP)

Roth Contributions to Federal Employees Thrift Savings Plan to Start July 1
"More than 1 mil.lion federal employees who have experienced a delay in their ability to make Roth-style investments in their retirement savings program will have that option available to them starting July 1, according to the government's largest payroll service provider. The Thrift Savings Plan began accepting Roth investments May 7, but the Defense Finance and Accounting Service was not ready to process that form of investing at the time." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

State of Florida Disputes Judge's 'Meat-Cleaver' Pension Ruling Rebuffing Attempt to Require Employee Contributions
"Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford incorrectly interpreted the state Constitution when striking down the law requiring that state workers contribute to their taxpayer-funded pension, contend attorneys for [Florida] Gov. Rick Scott. Former Justice Raoul Cantero, representing the state, wrote in the 44-page brief for the Florida Supreme Court that legislative appropriations supersede collective bargaining or that the state plan shouldn't be considered a taking—as Fulford ruled on March 6—because individuals' benefits remain untouched." (Sunshine State News)

Fixing Montana Pension Funds Could Be Expensive
"If nothing else is done, state and local governments, community colleges, school districts and the university system together would have to come up with about $116 mil.lion more annually for the next 30 years to make up potential deficits in Montana public employee pension funds.... The two largest funds, the Teachers' Retirement System and Public Employees' Retirement System, have still not gained their 'actuarial soundness' ... The Montana Constitution requires that public pension systems be funded on an actuarially sound basis over 30 years." (Helena Independent Record)

Denmark Agrees to Ease Pension Rules to Cut Liability Burden
"The Danish move follows similar changes in Sweden, where 10-year yields surged 30 basis points on June 7 after the country's regulator put a floor on the discount rate pension funds use to calculate liabilities. Nordic pension funds had come under pressure to increase their asset purchases as the region's haven status from the debt crisis sent bond values higher and swelled the value of their liabilities." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Using Your 401(k) to Buy A Small Business
"Companies [will] facilitate the process of rolling over funds from a 401(k) to purchase stock in your own company. 'Rollovers do not operate on a debt model,' [a spokesman for Guidant Financial] explained. 'They allow a person to invest in a business without paying interest, making payments or having a payback window.' The plans frequently go by acronyms like BORSA (Business Owners Retirement Savings Account) or ROBS (Rollovers as Business Start-ups), and they do not incur the taxes and penalties associated with early distributions from a 401(k).... In any transaction, the funds from a 401(k) rollover may be sufficient to complete the purchase, or they can be used in conjunction with other sources of financing like cash, Small Business Administration loans or other debt instruments." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Americans Feel More Physically Fit than Fiscally Fit
"Despite taking proactive steps to keep their finances in check, only a third of workers (34 percent) believe they are saving enough money in order to live comfortably in retirement. Slightly over half (51 percent) report they are making good progress toward achieving their long-term financial goals. ... Not saving enough (49 percent), debt (27 percent) and not starting retirement savings early in their careers (23 percent) are the top factors workers believe prevent them from being financially successful." (The Principal Financial Group)

Apple's All-ETF 401(k) Plan? Not!
"Reports of Apple moving to an 'all ETF 401k plan' are either imaginary thinking, or really terrible journalism.... So let's just set the record straight. Apple has a completely normal $1.6 bil.lion 401(k) plan, according to their last filing on the subject at the end of 2010. $1.3 bil.lion is in traditional mutual funds. The remainder is in collective trusts, and a small $23 mil.lion brokerage window. So yes, Virginia, there might be a few ETFs in that brokerage window, but that's it." (IndexUniverse)

[Opinion]

Should Pension Plans Introduce 'Pension Plan Internal Rate of Return'?
"[Leo Kolivakis argues] that even on the investment side, pension plans should provide the internal rate of return, net of fees and foreign exchange transaction for internal and external public and private market investment portfolios. [This article contains] an animated video which provides an explanation of the differences between time and money-weighted returns to measure the performance of investment portfolios." (Pension Pulse)

IRS Clarifies 'Substantial Risk of Forfeiture' Under Section 83
"The IRS issued proposed regulations to clarify the application of Code section 83, which provides that property transferred in connection with the performance of services is included in the service provider's income once it is transferable or no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. The proposed regulations clarify that: (i) a substantial risk of forfeiture may be established only through a service condition or a condition related to the purpose of the transfer, (ii) both the likelihood that the forfeiture event will occur and the likelihood the forfeiture will be enforced need to be considered in determining whether there is a substantial risk of forfeiture, and (iii) transfer restrictions do not create a substantial risk of forfeiture except as specifically provided under Code section 83(c)(3) or related regulations." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

Kevin Trangle Named Medical Director At Benefit Advisors Network
(Benefit Advisors Network)

Alltrust Insurance Names Davis Senior Employee Benefits Consultant
(Alltrust Insurance)