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March 27, 2014          Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension Plan Loan / Distribution Clerk
Retirement, LLC - Series Two
in IL, OK, SD

Retirement Plan Administrator
LoVasco Consulting Group, Inc.
in MI

Senior Administrator, Defined Contribution 401(k)
TPA Woodland Hills, CA
in CA

Assistant Administrator - 401(k) Department
TPA in Woodland Hills, CA
in CA

Plan Document Specialist
Lincoln Financial Group
in ANY STATE

Director, Retirement Plans Client Services
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
in OH

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Webcasts and Conferences

Affordable Care Act: What's Covered Under Preventive Care
April 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(MentorHealth)

Developing a Global Benefits Strategy - Recorded
April 11, 2014 WEBCAST
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Retirement Income Legislation
April 17, 2014 in IL
(ASPPA Benefits Council of Chicago)

403(b) Plan Document Update 2014
May 15, 2014 WEBCAST
(Erisafile Inc.)

The Ethics of Plan Amendments 2014
May 29, 2014 WEBCAST
(Erisafile Inc.)

27th Annual Administrators' Symposium
August 6, 2014 in CO
(Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC))

View All Webcasts and Conferences


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official guidance, jobs, webcasts and more.
[Guidance Overview]

Updated IRS Information Page: IRA One-Rollover-Per-Year Rule
"The IRS intends to follow the Tax Court's interpretation of Internal Revenue Code Section 408(d)(3)(B). However, to give IRA owners and trustees time to adjust, the IRS will delay implementation until January 1, 2015, at the earliest. Proposed Treasury Regulation Section 1.408-4(b)(4)(ii) will be withdrawn and Publication 590 will be revised to reflect the new interpretation." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  


[Advert.]

Celebrate National Employee Benefits Day on April 2

Sponsored by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP)

Motivate your employees to make retirement planning a priority! The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans has helpful resources, interactive worksheets and useful tools to get your employees thinking about their future. Learn More.



Quarterly Survey of Public Pensions: Fourth Quarter 2013
"This quarterly survey provides national summary statistics on the revenues, expenditures and composition of assets of the 100 largest state and local public employee retirement systems in the United States. These 100 systems comprise 89.4 percent of financial activity among such entities, based on the 2007 Census of Governments. This survey presents the most current statistics about investment decisions by state and local public employee retirement systems, which are among the largest types of institutional investors in the U.S. financial markets. These statistical tables are published three months after each calendar quarter and show national financial transactions and trends for the past five years." (U.S. Census Bureau)  

Approaching Registration Deadline Under FATCA for Non-U.S. Retirement Plans
"The final regulations exempt from FATCA's registration, reporting, and withholding requirements certain non-U.S. funds established to provide retirement, disability, or death benefits and treat these plans as certified deemed compliant.... [E]xempt plans are not required to report information on U.S. participants or withhold income tax on payments and are not subject to 30% withholding on U.S.-source income earned by the plan.... [T]hese exemptions do not apply automatically, nor do they apply to the reporting obligations of individual U.S. plan participants ... To claim an exemption, a non-U.S. retirement plan must file a Form W-8BEN-E, which ... is currently available in draft form only, with the U.S. withholding agent for each of its U.S.-based investments to notify the agent of its exempt status." (EisnerAmper)  

Brokerage Account Windows Shutting in 401(k) Plans
"Most experts think the DOL will: [1] Establish fiduciary guidelines and limitations for offering brokerage account windows; [2] Require more notices for plan participants who have access to brokerage account windows; [3] Bar their use as the only investment option in a retirement plan; and [4] Provide clarification on the manageable number of offerings issue raised in the Hecker vs. Deere case." (Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants)  

IRS Guidance Gives In-Plan Roth Rollovers New Life (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "This column briefly reviews the history of the Roth program, summarizes the new guidance in this area, reviews the comprehensive rules applicable to all in-plan Roth rollovers, and provides action steps for plan sponsors to take a fresh look at this optional plan design feature." (Groom Law Group, via Taxes -- The Tax Magazine)  


[Advert.]

Southern Retirement Plan Conference – Register by 4/7, Save $100

Sponsored by SunGard's Relius

Pensions on Peachtree – presented by SunGard's Relius Education and the Atlanta-based law firm of Ferenczy + Paul LLP - Sessions cover current developments, plan design, and fiduciary concerns. 15 CE hrs, incl. 2 Ethics. Register online.



Why Are So Many Different Regulators Voicing Concern Over Rollover Practices?
"Tamara Cross, assistant director of education, workforce and income security issues at the [GAO] ... points to a wide range of research showing rollovers into IRAs could top $2.1 trillion over the next five years ... With so much money flowing out of the employer-sponsored plan environment, it's no surprise multiple regulators want to head off potential conflicts of interest and make sure participant dollars are treated fairly, Cross says." (planadviser)  

Variable Annuities Trigger Big Paydays, Red Tape for Brokers
"Variable annuity sales in the U.S. totaled $142.8 billion last year, down a tad from $145 billion in 2012 ... Proponents argue that for their money, investors get those valuable tax breaks as well as a death benefit. But their clients may not realize that they are tying up their money for as long as ten years. Clients may also not understand that hefty surrender charges apply if they cash in the product earlier, sometimes as much as 8 percent." (Reuters)  

Industry-Wide Annuity Sales Rise in 2013
"Increased fixed and variable annuity total sales during the fourth quarter pushed industry-wide sales to $59.3 billion, up 3.1 percent from 2013 third-quarter sales of $57.5 billion and up 17.2 percent from 2012 fourth-quarter sales of $50.6 billion. For the full year, industry-wide sales increased 4.2 percent to $220.9 billion from $212 billion during the previous year." (Insured Retirement Institute [IRI])  

Public Pension Funds Join Together in Investment Management Fee Pushback
"Led by Girard Miller, chief investment officer of the $11 billion Orange County Employees Retirement System, six state and county pension funds have reached a tentative agreement to endorse the hiring of Pantheon Ventures, a New York firm, to invest between $300 million and $1 billion a year in various private-equity funds over the next few years. The group expects to pay management fees of between 0.26% and 0.55% of the money it invests, depending on how much is placed in funds. That compares with management fees that can be as much as 1% of committed capital to invest with a 'fund of funds' like Pantheon." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Limited-Scope Certification vs. SSAE 16 Report: Not Mutually Exclusive
"[T]he SSAE 16 report ... is required when relying on the internal controls of a subservice organization, irrespective of whether you are getting a full- or limited-scope audit. This report allows your auditor to gain an understanding of internal controls and assess the risk of material misstatement on the financial statements.... With [the limited-scope certification], the plan administrator can instruct its auditor to not perform any auditing procedures to the certified investment information." (Belfint Lyons & Shuman, CPAs)  

The Cash Balance De-Risking Solution
"For traditional defined benefit (TDB) plans, there is a well-established de-risking playbook: [1] freeze the plan, [2] migrate to a matching bond portfolio and/or pay lump sums and/or buy annuities. The benefit of reduced or eliminated uncertainty comes at a cost of higher upfront or expected contributions, but with that caveat, the playbook works reasonably well. While cash balance (CB) plans are generally less risky to employers than TDB plans, CB plan sponsors are finding that, when it comes to de-risking, the TDB playbook doesn't work, and a fresh approach is needed." (PLANSPONSOR)  

'Return-Envy' in Target Date Funds
"[T]he worst that can happen is very, very bad decisions on both the part of the fiduciaries and individual investors. Return-envy is really the root of that return-chasing behavior -- the greed and fear. And, for fiduciaries, it can make them make decisions that aren't in the best interest of their plan, that don't really marry to their philosophy of what they're trying to accomplish for the individual participants. And, for investors, it can lead them to make those self-defeating kinds of decisions that have very negative effects on their long-term retirement-saving success." (Wells Fargo)  

Target Date Funds to Capture Majority of 401(k) Contributions by 2018
"By the year 2018, target date funds will attract 63.4% of 401(k) contributions, and will constitute 35% of total 401(k) assets ... [S]tand-alone funds, which offer investment options tailored to employer's preferences, ... are most popular among an older demographic. As these investors make withdrawals for retirement, total assets in stand-alone funds will shrink." (InvestmentNews)  

Can You Really Set it and Forget It?
"[S]ponsors often fail to consider that their TDF strategy could be more conservative or aggressive than others -- even options with similarly shaped glide paths -- depending on the underlying funds and strategies.... TDFs are not static investment vehicles. Providers often make adjustments to glide paths and underlying holdings in their TDFs that can change the fund's risk and return profile." (planadviser)  

Three Easy Ways to Tune-Up Your 401(k) for Spring
"[1] Make a Rational Use of the Menu of Funds. Just because your plan offers 30 choices doesn't mean that you have to invest in every fund.... [2] Become More Passive.... Instead of loading up on actively managed funds, move as much money as possible to index funds.... [3] Focus on Simplicity. Investing doesn't have to be complicated, even though employers rarely make it easy for you." (Forbes)  

ERISA Advisory Council to Look at Outsourcing and Shift to a 'Non-ERISA' World in 2014
"[The] Department of Labor ERISA Advisory Council voted Wednesday to spend 2014 investigating outsourcing best practices for plan sponsors and the shift from retirement plans covered by [ERISA] to what council members called a 'non-ERISA world.' ... [T]he 15-member council ... will also look at pharmacy plan fee disclosure." (Pensions & Investments)  

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Lower-Income Individuals Without Pensions: Who Misses Out and Why?
"[W]hen lower-income workers do have a pension plan at work, their eligibility and take-up rates are nearly equivalent to higher-income workers.... [T]he factors associated with a higher value for each element of pension participation are very consistent: higher education and income, previous pension history, and job characteristics including firm size, occupation, job tenure, and union status.... [P]olicies such as automatic enrollment that focus on pension eligibility or take-up are unlikely to close the pension coverage gap between older, lower-income individuals and their higher-income contemporaries; instead, greater pension participation requires more jobs and, in particular, more 'good jobs.'" (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

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