ASPPA

Individual Insurance Advisor
Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA

DC Implementation Specialist
Milliman
in CA, OR, WA

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Required Minimum Distributions
March 20, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASC Institute)

Basics of Qualified Retirement Plans
April 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASC Institute)

HIPAA Privacy & Security
April 11, 2014 in GA
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
April 22, 2014 in CA
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

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[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Interest Rates for Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans, for March 2014
"The March 2014 interest assumptions under the benefit payments regulation will be 1.50 percent for the period during which a benefit is in pay status and 4.00 percent during any years preceding the benefit's placement in pay status. In comparison with the interest assumptions in effect for February 2014, these interest assumptions represent a decrease of 0.25 percent in the immediate annuity rate and are otherwise unchanged." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)  

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Federal Court Overturns IRS Determination of Church Plan Status
"For the time being, the Dignity Health decision is an outlier, running counter to more than 30 years of regulatory and judicial precedent.... The stakes are significant. The lawsuits demand that the plans be brought into compliance with ERISA. Among other things, doing so could require the plan sponsor to make additional contributions to comply with minimum funding standards (Dignity Health's pension is allegedly underfunded by $1.2 billion), pay significant penalties for failing to comply with ERISA's notice requirements and pay other fees." [Rollins v. Dignity Health, No. C13-1450 TEH (N.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2013)] (Towers Watson)  

Even a Tax Lawyer Can Get the IRA Rollover Rules Wrong
"The tax lawyer claimed that the 12 month rule should apply separately to each IRA. The IRS countered that all IRAs should be treated as a single IRA for this purpose and the tax court agreed. Therefore, the lawyer had to include in income the amount of the second rollover distribution since it was not a proper rollover.... Because the amount of the failed rollover exceeded 10% of the lawyer's gross income for the year, the lawyer was also subject to a substantial underpayment penalty of 20% of the amount involved.... Although not mentioned in the court's opinion, in its Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements for use in preparing 2013 tax returns, the IRS embraces the tax lawyer's position[.]" (Stinson Leonard Street)  

EBSA to Focus on Conflict-of-Interest Rule, Prohibited Persons, Audits
"The civil enforcement efforts of [EBSA] achieved nearly $1.7 billion in monetary results during the 2013 fiscal year, Phyllis C. Borzi, Assistant Secretary of Labor for EBSA [said] ... The agency also closed 320 criminal investigations in fiscal year 2013, with these cases resulting in 88 indictments ... Borzi said that the agency's 'most important regulatory priority' continues to be the re-proposal of the conflict-of-interest rule, which is expected to redefine the term fiduciary." (Bloomberg BNA)  

Average 401(k) Balance Nearly Doubles Since Downturn
"[T]he average 401(k) balance continued its growth trend to end the fourth quarter of 2013 at a new record high of $89,300, up 15.5 percent from one year earlier, and nearly double what is traditionally considered the market low of March 2009 when it was $46,200. For pre-retirees age 55 and older, the average balance is $165,200. While 78 percent of the year-over-year increase was due to positive stock market momentum, a full 22 percent of the growth came from employee and employer contributions[.]" (Fidelity)  

Retirement Readiness Rises in 2013, But Varies by Income and 401(k) Access (PDF)
"Eligibility for participation in an employer-sponsored 401(k)-type plan remains one of the most important factors for retirement income adequacy.... The risks of a long life and high health-care costs drive huge variations in retirement income adequacy.... Annuities and long-term care insurance could mitigate much of the variability in retirement income adequacy at or near retirement age.... Future Social Security benefits make a huge difference for the retirement income adequacy of some households, especially Gen Xers in the lowest-income quartile." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

Why EBRI Retirement Readiness Vary: Results from the 2014 Retirement Security Projection Model (PDF)
32 pages. Summary: "This Issue Brief begins with a brief overview of [the EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model] and then updates the results for 2014. It then provides basic sensitivity analysis of the model to show the impact of changing assumptions with respect to rate of return, utilization of housing for financing retirement, and potential modifications to future Social Security retirement benefits. The final section focuses on how the probability of not running short of money in retirement (measured by the EBRI Retirement Readiness Ratings ...) varies with respect to longevity, investment return, and potential long-term health care costs in retirement (e.g., nursing home costs)." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure Is Game of Hide-and-Seek
"The fee burden ... that thousands of employees take on when they are encouraged to defer part of their salary into company-offered retirement plans is not likely to go away any time soon.... According to an April 2012 report by the [GAO] nearly 90 percent of employers surveyed either had not assessed their plan fees using [DOL] resources or did not know their fee levels.... This is not how things were supposed to be after the DOL brought out its fee disclosure regulation... following years of criticism about high fees from a range of stakeholders, including investor groups and the GAO. This latest regulation is likely to be just another step on the long journey to a rationalized retirement income system in the U.S." (Institutional Investor)  

Retirement Plans for the Millennial Workforce: New Values Need New Plan Designs (PDF)
"Baby Boomer managers are likely to take traditional approaches to designing retirement and savings plans. That may not resonate with Millennials, those born after 1980, resulting in lower appreciation for these programs.... The marked differences in communication style and expectations about the availability of cutting- edge technology and multiple career paths provide a roadmap for design.... How to engage Millennials in retirement saving: Web portal; Automated features; Managed accounts; Socially responsible investments; Push communications; ROTH option; 'Smart' feature." (Buck Consultants)  

Puerto Rico Qualified Retirement Plans: Deadline Fast Approaching
"The deadline is now the due date of the employer's Puerto Rico income tax return for the first taxable year commencing on or after January 1, 2013, i.e., April 15, 2014 for employers with a calendar year tax year and July 15, 2014 if the sponsoring employer timely requests an extension to file its 2013 income tax return and pays an additional $150 administrative fee." (Quarles & Brady LLP)  

Public Pension Cash Balance Plans: A Primer (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "Cash balance plans move the annuity promise to the end of an employee's career rather than requiring the plan sponsor to estimate the cost of a lifetime benefit while the employee is still working -- an important feature to consider as the average U.S. life expectancy increases... [E]arly and mid-career employees are able to build retirement savings, independent of age or whether they stay with their current employer until retirement.... As a result of the fairly even accrual pattern, cash balance and defined contribution plans distribute benefits more equally across the workforce than a traditional defined benefit plan." (Pew Center on the States)  

[Opinion]

2014 Facts: State and Municipal Bankruptcy, Municipal Bonds, and State and Local Pensions (PDF)
"State and local employee retirement systems do not seek federal financial assistance. One-size-fits-all federal regulation is neither needed nor warranted and would only inhibit recovery efforts at the state and local levels.... On average, the portion of combined state and local government spending dedicated to retirement system contributions is less than five percent." (National Association of State Retirement Administrators [NASRA])  

[Opinion]

Is the Fiduciary Standard at a Crossroads?
"[T]he fiduciary standard is not a Johnny-come-lately to the investment scene. It has endured numerous trials throughout history. Just as water finds its own level, it is far more likely that the powerful Wall Street lobby will find that any success they may have in their effort to dilute the present standard will be limited and transitory." (fi360)  

Deadline Looms for Quality Stores FICA Refund Claims for Severance Payments
"[E]mployers may have a separate deadline for situations in which the IRS has issued a notice of claim disallowance for FICA refund claims. In such cases, an employer must either: (i) bring suit to contest the disallowance within two years after the issuance of the notice or (ii) obtain an extension of the time to file such a suit with the IRS. This process can be initiated by filing IRS Form 907, Agreement to Extend the Time to Bring Suit. However, because the IRS is not required to grant an extension requested pursuant to an employer filing Form 907, employers may also wish to file suit." (McDermott Will & Emery)  

The Fiduciary Exception to the Attorney-Client Privilege: What It Is, and Why It Matters
"[T]he magistrate judge dealt, in a very clean and easily understood manner, with the key issues that come into play under [the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege in ERISA litigation], which have to do with its borders: to be exact, what attorney-client communications are subject to disclosure under this exception, and what ones are not.... Plans and their outside ERISA lawyers ... need to remember that their communications can end up in a courtroom in later litigation that cannot even be foreseen at the time of the communications in question, and should be careful with regard to the accuracy, context, phrasings and tone of such communications as a result." [Kenney v. State Street Corp., No. 9-10750-DJC (D. Mass. Dec. 2013)] (Stephen Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm, LLC)  

Weighing in on Executive Comp
"The intersection of executive pay with the company's performance is seen as a critical element in say-on-pay votes, but Georgeson's research shows that total shareholder return relative to a company's peers is a bigger factor than absolute return, [said Rajeev Kumar, senior managing director for corporate governance and research at Georgeson, a proxy solicitation and corporate governance consulting company].... Smaller companies are more likely to fail to win majority support than large companies, he said, attributing that fact to large companies' greater experience with shareholder engagement and greater resources to support outreach." (Treasury & Risk)  

OneAmerica Recognized for Best Practices in Behavioral Finance
OneAmerica Financial Partners

MassMutual Retirement Services Adds Five Industry Professionals to Sales Team
MassMutual Retirement Services

BlackRock Launches CoRI Funds
BlackRock, Inc.

Alegeus Technologies Announces eClaims Manager to Automate Benefit Account Adjudication Processes and Improve the Participant Experience
Alegeus Technologies, LLC

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