DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

Senior Account Manager
Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc.
in IL

Senior Legal Counsel, ERISA Title I
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Compensation under Qualified Plans
February 20, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASC Institute)

2014 NIPA Annual Forum & Expo (2014NAFE)
April 27, 2014 in NV
(National Institute of Pension Administrators)

IRI Retirement Plan Summit
July 2, 2014 in DC
(Insured Retirement Institute (IRI))

Retirement Plans Legislative Update
March 27, 3014 WEBCAST
(TRI-AD)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Provides Guidance on In-Plan Roth Rollovers
"Adding the ability to rollover non-Roth account balances is considered a discretionary amendment that ordinarily must be adopted by the end of the plan year in which it is effective. The IRS, though, has allowed for the following extended deadlines for the adoption of plan amendments: [1] 401(k) and governmental 457(b) plans must adopt the amendment by the later of the end of the plan year in which it is effective or December 31, 2014. [2] Safe Harbor 401(k) plans have a temporary period to adopt this amendment mid-year that ends on December 31, 2014. [3] 403(b) plans have until the later of the last day of the plan's remedial amendment period (a future date not yet announced by IRS) or the last day of the plan year the amendment is effective." (EisnerAmper)  

[Advert.]

Earn Your Certificate in Retirement Plans

The Certificate in Retirement Plans examines defined benefit and defined contribution plans and covers the latest trends and the current legal environment. Learn the strategies plans are implementing today and considering for tomorrow. Register Now!

[Guidance Overview]

Suspension of 401(k) Safe Harbor Contributions
"Beginning after 2014, employers may want to consider revising their safe harbor notice to specify that the safe harbor contribution may be reduced or suspended and that a supplemental notice will be provided in such case. By making such revisions in the safe harbor notice, employers can avoid having to demonstrate that they are operating at economic loss should they desire to reduce or suspend their safe harbor contributions." (Herrick, Feinstein LLP)  

[Guidance Overview]

Dodd-Frank, Swaps Clearing and Compliance for Pension Plan Asset Managers
"A pension plan, whether a corporate ERISA plan or government employee benefits plan, must have an account with a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) in order to enter into swaps trades that are subject to clearing. This requires diligence and negotiation of important documentation about the clearing relationship. Pension plans should also consider the trade-offs between using swaps and nearly equivalent futures contracts." (Pension Risk Matters)  

[Guidance Overview]

Actuarial Standards Board Revises ASOP No. 4 for Measuring Pension Obligations and Determining Pension Plan Costs or Contributions
"Under ASOP No. 4, in evaluating a prescribed assumption or method set by another party, the actuary should consider whether, in the actuary's professional judgment, it is reasonable for the purpose of the measurement and, if there is a conflict, the actuary should disclose it. Also, ASOP No. 4 reemphasizes that the party responsible for each material assumption or method should be disclosed." (Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company)  

Can a Covered Service Provider Assess Its Own Services and Fees under ERISA Section 408(b)(2)?
"With no specific DOL prohibition, ... a CSP is free to provide an 'initial assessment' of their fees and services to a Responsible Plan Fiduciary (RPF) as long as the substance and the spirit of the 408(b)(2) regulations and other ERISA fiduciary duties are followed. However, a RPF must ultimately be the one to who signs off on the 'final assessment.' ... An initial assessment would be the process of gathering all of the information necessary to make a determination whether 408(b)(2) has been complied with.... The final assessment involves a review of this compiled information, as well as making the ultimate fiduciary decision of whether 408(b)(2) is satisfied." (FRA PlanTools, LLC)  

[Advert.]

401(k) Plan Duties and Liability Update: What You Need to Know and Do

This Jan. 28 webinar will provide a best practices review and overview of ERISA fiduciary concepts, with a focus on fees and expenses, and what you need to do now to stay ahead of the curve. Special BenefitsLink discount.

A New, Safer Asset Allocation Strategy for Investing During Retirement
"[T]hose who start retirement with 20% to 30% in stocks and end up with 50% to 70% in stocks can withdraw 4% of their portfolio per year and give themselves annual raises to compensate for inflation over 30 years, even in the worst market scenarios. (The authors examined 10,000 simulations and assumed average annual returns of 6.5% for stocks and 2.4% for bonds.) In contrast, those who keep 60% in stocks throughout retirement or who taper to a 30% equity allocation from 60% are likely to run out of money after 28 years in the 5% of worst-case scenarios[.]" (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

401(k) Plan Committee Meetings: Preparation, Execution and Agenda Suggestions
"Any number of individuals can be asked to serve on your 401k plan committee.... [A]ll members share the unique fiduciary responsibility for making decisions on behalf of the current and future beneficiaries of the plan. This fiduciary responsibility entails a long list of tasks, duties and obligations to be perform each year. The following plan committee meetings agenda suggestions offer you a starting place to ensure that the committee is performing those tasks, duties and obligations." (401kHelpCenter.com)  

Be Mindful of ERISA Section 404(b) When Investing ERISA Plan Assets in International Markets
"If the plan's trustee is responsible for maintaining compliance with Section 404(b), plan fiduciaries should take care that the trustee has a robust diligence process for selecting and monitoring international sub-custodians, particularly in emerging and frontier markets, and confirm that the trustee will remain liable for any sub-custodians' actions or omissions to the same extent as if the trustee made such actions/omissions. If a plan fiduciary retains an investment adviser that is not organized under the laws of the U.S. with its principal place of business in the U.S., the plan fiduciary should take care to confirm that its Section 404(b) obligations are satisfied through an arrangement with the plan's trustee (or other qualified provider) because the investment adviser likely could not meet the requirements of the DOL exception ... due to its non-U.S. status." (Winston & Strawn LLP)  

Considering, Controlling Risk Become Crucial to Prepare for 'Derisking' (PDF)
"A derisking plan starts with a funding policy, usually the greatest risk exposure for plan sponsors. This policy's purpose, in addition to fulfilling a fundamental ERISA principle, is to ensure that there are enough plan assets to pay benefits when due. Other risk factors inherent in potential derisking: [1] investment risk; [2] mortality or longevity risk; [3] plan demographics; and [4] regulatory environment." (ERISAdiagnostics, Inc., via Thompson Pension Plan Fix-It Handbook)  

Why Not Make That Pension Plan Lump-Sum Window Permanent?
"With PBGC premium rates scheduled to increase over the next several years ... it will be more expensive for a plan sponsor to maintain its terminated vested liability.... By making a lump-sum feature permanent a plan sponsor has the opportunity soon after a participant terminates employment to cash them out, which eliminates the possibility they will ever become a missing participant.... [However,] there are issues that will need to be considered before amending a plan to add a lump-sum feature." (Milliman Retirement Town Hall)  

Odds Raised Slightly SEC Will Knock on Your Advisory Firm's Door This Year
"Based on some simple math, we can boil down the odds of a never-audited firm being visited by the SEC in either 2014 or 2015 as a 1 in 9 chance. This is based on the pool of 4,400 advisory firms that have never been inspected, and the assumption that 500 will be visited each year, or 11.4 percent, over the next two years. Since the current examination cycle was already at 9 percent of all RIAs, or a 1 in 11 chance of being randomly selected for an audit, the odds for the 'uninspected' should only increase 1 or 2 percentage points in 2014-15." (fi360)  

2014 Planning for Governmental Retirement Plan Operations (PDF)
"The calendar provided in this [article] will help sponsors of governmental plans that are not subject to ERISA set up a calendar of activities to address as the year progresses to avoid missing important deadlines. As you evaluate the various tasks, you can confirm suitable deadlines with your vendors for getting them done.... [In] addition to the calendar deadlines, [the article includes] a number of key issues for you to consider addressing as we head into 2014." (Buck Consultants)  

Be an Elephant with Your Defined Benefit Plan -- Don't Forget About the Risk!
"[D]e-risking a DB plan is not an all-or-nothing proposition. There are many strategies that can be taken to stabilize a plan's funded status and reduce the risk and volatility of a DB plan without incurring the cost of a final risk transfer. Plan sponsors can also take steps to remove risk from the table incrementally." (The Principal Blog)  

Year-End Budget Law Includes PBGC Single-Employer Premium Increases for 2015 and 2016
"PBGC premiums can be a sizeable ongoing expense cost for defined benefit plans. For older plans, a significant portion of the annual flat-rate premiums may be attributable to participants who are no longer actively employed. Consequently, defined benefit plan sponsors may want to consider approaches for reducing the number of participants in the plan, which will also reduce the plan's annual flat-rate premium obligations." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)  

[Opinion]

SIFMA Seeks to Protect Business Model Where Client Serves Broker, Not the Fiduciary Model Where the Broker Protects the Client
"SIFMA has proposed to SEC a 'universal fiduciary standard,' which according to SIFMA's own blueprint is nothing more than their current lower sales or suitability standard, but masquerading as 'fiduciary.' No mention of the fiduciary principles [described earlier in this article]. SIFMA says extending the fiduciary standard to brokers would limit access to advice, limit access to securities products and cost investors more. None of those assertions is true." (Kathleen McBride via Fiduciary News)  

ERISA Plaintiffs' Attorneys Find Small Victories Can Be Winning Lottery Tickets
"Plan sponsors should consider adopting the following practices to avoid or limit potential exposure for plaintiffs' fees and costs: [1] If voluntarily reversing a benefit denial, obtain a release of attorneys' fees in exchange for agreeing to grant the benefit. [2] Emphasize that fees are unwarranted or should be reduced substantially to reflect any unsuccessful claims.... [3] Vigorously defend against allegations of bad faith ... [4] When amending plan language, state the reasons for the change, so that a participant can't argue that the plan was amended as a result of a lawsuit." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)  

To What Extent Can an ERISA Fiduciary Rely on Legal Advice?
"Though the D.C. Circuit panel sought to clarify 'when' ERISA permits plan fiduciaries to act in reliance on the advice of counsel, it did not provide particularly clear guidance on this issue. Rather, citing the common law of trusts, the court noted that a fiduciary may rely on the advice of counsel when 'reasonably justified under the circumstances.' The court reasoned that the 'propriety' of that reliance must be judged 'based on the circumstances at the time of the challenged decision,' and 'whether a prudent trustee in those particular circumstances would have acted in reliance on counsel's advice.'" [Clark v. Feder Semo and Bard, P.C., No. 12-7092 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 7, 2014)] (Alston & Bird, LLP)  

Supreme Court Overturns 4th and 11th Circuit Rule Governing Finality of Judgment
"When a United States District Court judge enters judgment in a case, but postpones for a later date determination of a party's motion for attorneys' fees, when is the Court's decision 'final' ... particularly when counting the 30 days by which to appeal under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure? Until last week, the answer in the Fourth and Eleventh Circuit was: 'It depends.' ... [T]he U.S. Supreme Court resolved the split, unanimously holding that a District Court's decision on the merits was 'final' and started the clock running for the appeal deadline, even if an attorneys' fees award had not yet been determined, regardless of whether attorneys' fees were sought pursuant to statute or by contract." [Ray Haluch Gravel Co. v. Central Pension Fund of Int'l Union of Operating Engineers and Participating Employers, No. 12-992, 2014 WL 127952 (S. Ct. Jan. 15, 2014)] (Womble Carlyle)  

Annual ISO and Employee Stock Purchase Plan Information and Reporting Requirements
"Participant information statements may either be delivered or mailed to the participant's last known address or, if the participant has given his or her consent to receive the statement electronically, provided in electronic format. The consent to receive the statement electronically must be made in a way that demonstrates that the participant can access the statement in the electronic format in which the statement will be provided." (Orrick)  

2014 Executive Pay Challenges in Europe: Coming Soon to Boardrooms in the U.S.?
"Given the recent trend of European practices increasingly finding their way to the U.S., companies in the United States should be aware of ... [1] The bifurcation of say-on-pay votes in the U.K. into votes on pay policy (binding) and implementation (nonbinding), and the likely impact on pay practices; [2] The increased prevalence of longer-term vesting and performance periods on both short- and long-term incentives; and [3] The diminishing role of relative TSR plans, particularly in the U.K." (Towers Watson)  

Wilkins Finston Law Group LLP is Pleased to Welcome Misty A. Leon to the Firm
Wilkins Finston Law Group LLP

Chairman Camp Announces Hearing on the Impact of the Employer Mandate’s Definition of Full-time Employee on Jobs and Opportunities
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee

UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust Finalizes Transactions Providing $4.35 billion in Funding for Retiree Health Care
UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust

Willis Launches Global Human Capital & Benefits Practice Led by Willis International CEO
Willis

$10M Settlement Reached with People Care and DOL: Agreement Includes More Than $9M to Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), U.S. Department of Labor

View All Press Releases