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April 9, 2014          Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Cash Balance Actuary
Trinity Pension Consultants, Inc.
in OH

Client Service Representative
Associated Pension Consultants
in CA

Regional Sales Manager
Pension Consultants, Inc
in TN

Retirement Plan Case Manager
Professional Service Firm
in FL

Relationship Manager
Trinity Pension Consultants, Inc.
in OH

Actuarial Analyst
Trinity Pension Consultants, Inc.
in OH

Senior Pension Administrator
Primark Benefits
in CA

DC Investment Specialist
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Sr Mgr, Product Management & Development
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Jr. Benefits Analyst
Directors Guild of America - Producer Pension and Health Plans
in CA

Benefits Account Manager
Progressive Benefit Solutions, A Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC company
in NC

Retirement Plan Analyst
Trinity Pension Group, LLC
in NC

Manager, Retirement Plans Administrative Services
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
in OH

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Webcasts and Conferences

Multi-State Taxation: What Every Payroll Professional Needs to Know
April 8, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clear Law Institute)

Complying with COBRA
April 8, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clear Law Institute)

Employee Benefits for Same-Sex Partners
April 8, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clear Law Institute)

Intermittent Leave Under FMLA
April 16, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clear Law Institute)

2014 Ethics Case Studies One
April 16, 2014 WEBCAST
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Unleash Your Own Superpowers
April 17, 2014 WEBCAST
(Women in Pensions Network)

Affordable Care Act Compliance Assistance - Part II: Notice to Employees of Coverage Options -- Recorded
April 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), U.S. Department of Labor)

Legislative and Regulatory Update - What's New Out of Washington, DC
April 22, 2014 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council of Central Texas)

Retirement Plans Trifecta
April 23, 2014 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council of Texas Gulf Coast)

PPA Pre-Approved Plans Workshop - Corbel and PPD Documents - Minneapolis
May 7, 2014 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Syracuse
May 8, 2014 in NY
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Cincinnati
May 8, 2014 in OH
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Minneapolis
May 8, 2014 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

Realizing Greater Value: Building on Private Sector Successes
May 9, 2014 in DC
(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - Syracuse
May 9, 2014 in NY
(SunGard Relius)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - Cincinnati
May 9, 2014 in OH
(SunGard Relius)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - Minneapolis
May 9, 2014 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

Navigating the ADA Interactive Process
May 13, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clear Law Institute)

Health FSAs and HRAs After Health Care Reform
May 30, 2014 WEBCAST
(Lorman Education Services)

Performance-Based Executive Compensation: Governance and Litigation Considerations for Employers, Directors, Institutional Investors and Their Counsel
June 25, 2014 WEBCAST
(Practising Law Institute)

Western Benefits Conference
July 27, 2014 in NV
(American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA))

2014 NAGDCA Annual Meeting
September 14, 2014 in TX
(National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators)

View All Webcasts and Conferences


  LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook Hand-picked links to the web's best news articles,
official guidance, jobs, webcasts and more.
[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2014-27, April 2014 Update for Weighted Average Interest Rates, Yield Curves, and Segment Rates (PDF)
"This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve (and the corresponding spot segment rates), ... the 24-month average segment rates[,] ... the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities ... as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008, the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate ... and the minimum present value segment rates ... as in effect for plan years beginning after 2007. These rates reflect certain changes implemented by [MAP-21]." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  


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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Windsor Guidance Limits Retroactivity for Retirement Plan (PDF)
"Any action taken on or after June 26, 2013 must comply with the Windsor decision and any failure after that date must be corrected in accordance with the IRS published correction procedures (EPCRS). For example, a plan subject to the survivor annuity rules that failed to obtain spousal consent from a same-sex spouse to pay benefits in a form other than a qualified joint and survivor annuity must go back to the same-sex couple and get the spouse's consent. If the spouse does not consent, then the benefit must be paid as a qualified joint and survivor annuity." (Buck Consultants)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Releases Additional Post-Windsor Guidance on Same-Sex Marriage (PDF)
"This is unusual for the IRS to allow employers to decide individually whether they will apply guidance retroactively and, if they will, which provisions the specific relief will apply to -- and how far back.... In its latest guidance, the IRS has created seemingly simple and direct rules. But it has ignored the pleas of many in the retirement plans industry to give specific responses and examples to numerous operational concerns." (Ascensus)  

[Guidance Overview]

New Same-Gender Marriage Guidance; Part 2: Amendment Need and Deadlines
"Some employers may wish recognize same gender marriage, at least for some purposes, prior to June 26, 2013, the date of the Windsor decision. Those employers must amend their plans to accomplish this. The amendment should specify an effective date and should list the specific purposes for which same gender marriages are recognized. Adoption after Windsor. For other employers, an amendment may or may not be required. The key issue is whether the existing terms of the plan are inconsistent with the Windsor decision and subsequent IRS guidance." (SunGard Relius)  

[Guidance Overview]

Windsor Compliance Dates Clarified
"What to do now? [1] Review your qualified retirement plan's definition of 'spouse' and 'marriage' to determine if your definition is consistent with Windsor and Notice 2013-17. [2] Determine whether your qualified retirement plan will apply the Windsor decision to a period prior to June 26, 2013. [3] Review the summary plan description and other plan materials to ensure that any description of spousal rights does not exclude same-sex spouses. [4] Speak with your plan recordkeeper and plan vendors to confirm that the plan has been operated in compliance with Windsor beginning on June 26, 2013. [5] Adopt any necessary amendments prior to December 31, 2014." (Nixon Peabody LLP)  


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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Issues New Guidance on Treatment of Same-Sex Couples Post-Windsor to Qualified Retirement Plan Sponsors
"Certain single-employer defined benefit plans are subject to funding-based restrictions under Code Section 436, including limitations on amendments that increase plan liabilities under Code Section 436(c).... [A] plan amendment that is required to conform plan terms to Windsor and Revenue Ruling 2013-17 and takes effect on June 26, 2013, is exempt from the Code Section 436(c) restrictions. However, a plan amendment providing for the application of Windsor prior to June 26, 2013 is not exempt from the restrictions. Such an amendment may require a plan funding contribution to offset the added plan liabilities and, if the contribution is not timely made, cause plan disqualification." (Jackson Lewis LLP)  

[Guidance Overview]

Building a Safe Harbor Escape Clause
"An important consideration in deciding whether to suspend employer contributions is that the plan will then be subject to nondiscrimination testing which could cause the highly compensated employees to receive a distribution of excess salary deferral and matching contributions. Additionally, a required top-heavy contribution could force the employer to make a 3% top-heavy minimum contribution, almost identical to the nonelective safe harbor contribution that is suspended in the first place." (Belfint Lyons & Shuman, CPAs)  

Three Things You Didn't Know About IRA Prohibited Transactions
"[1] Buying collectibles with your IRA money is not a prohibited transaction.... [2] Transactions with parents or children aren't okay, but transactions with brothers or sisters are... sort of... but not really... [3] A prohibited transaction can cost you bankruptcy or creditor protection." (The Slott Report)  

Best Practices in Design for 401(k) and 403(b) Plans
"A progressive plan design supports plan objectives which the plan sponsor regularly communicates. Employer profit sharing contributions are less valuable in terms of motivating participants to contribute than employer matching contributions.... Many larger plan sponsors re-enroll all participants in the QDIA option (usually target date funds) every year. This practice increases plan participation while ensuring that participants are invested appropriately for their age." (Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants)  


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The Fiscal Health of State Pension Plans: Funding Gap Continues to Grow
"This fact sheet has been revised since initially issued to reflect updated data and feedback from five states (ID, MD, NH, NJ, SD). As a result, total pension debt facing state pension plans has been revised to $915 billion from $914 billion. Pew analysis also shows that 15 states made their full contributions rather than 14." (The Pew Charitable Trusts)  

Retirement Tax Considerations for Middle-Income Americans
"More Americans have an accurate understanding of how lottery winnings are taxed (94%) than the mainstays of their retirement income: Social Security benefits (39%), traditional IRAs (35%), Roth IRAs (31%) and 401(k) plans (29%). When asked to choose which activity they dislike the most, respondents say that doing taxes (23%) is almost equally as disliked as the unpleasant experience of going through airport security (29%). In fact, getting a flu shot is preferable to doing taxes for many middle-income Americans over age 50. Only 6% ranked flu shots as their most disliked task." (Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement)  

FATCA Deadlines Approaching for Sponsors of Non-U.S. Retirement Plans
"If a plan that is required to register as a [Foreign Financial Institution (FFI)] fails to so register or otherwise fails to comply with its reporting and withholding obligations under FATCA, the plan will be subject to a 30% withholding tax on any US source income paid to the plan. 'US source income' would include any income earned from assets invested in US-based stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles.... [N]ot all non-US retirement plans will qualify as FFIs, as there are several useful exemptions available. However, in order to take advantage of any exemption, the plan must affirmatively claim it through the filing of a Form W-8BEN-E[.]" (Winston & Strawn LLP)  

Target-Date Funds Draw Assets in Retirement Plans
"Target date funds ... drew 14.6 percent of asset flows in retirement plans tracked by Northern Trust in 2013, the strongest flows of any investment category. It was the second year of strong flows into target date funds, which comprised 15.7 percent of all assets in the Northern Trust universe of DC plans, the second-largest share of any category." (Northern Trust)  

The President's 2015 Budget and Retirement Benefits
"On March 4, 2014 the Obama Administration released its 2015 fiscal year budget. The retirement benefits-related provisions of the 2015 budget are generally similar to those in the 2014 budget.... Increase PBGC premiums... Prohibit individuals from accumulating over $3.2 million in tax-preferred retirement accounts... Reduce the value of itemized deductions and other tax preferences to 28 percent... Automatic workplace pensions... Repeal the deduction for dividends paid with respect to employer stock held by an ESOP that is sponsored by a publicly traded corporation. Eliminate stretch-IRA treatment (including 'stretch' payments under defined benefit plans).... Eliminate age 70-1/2 required minimum distributions for balances of $100,000 or less.... Give IRS authority to require electronic filing of certain employee benefit plan tax information." (October Three Consulting)  

The Emerging Role of Defined Contribution Plans for California Public Employees (PDF)
"This paper uses hypothetical CalPERS member scenarios to: [1] Estimate Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013] impacts to DB plan retirement benefits; [2] Estimate target replacement savings to offset the PEPRA impact; [3] Estimate monthly DC plan contributions to achieve target replacement savings; [4] Estimate the number of additional years of service needed to offset PEPRA impacts; and [5] Demonstrate the benefits of sustained long-term saving." (CalPERS)  

CalPERS Retirement Benefits: Assessing Compensation Changes (PDF)
"Comparatively, California state and local government spent 0.06 percent less than the national average on total employee compensation, 0.37 percent less on salaries and 0.30 percent more on retirement benefits. In 2010, California government expenditures supporting public employee compensation were consistent with other states. PEPRA, however, changes overall compensation by decreasing benefits for new employees and by requiring some employees to contribute toward their DB plan's normal cost." (CalPERS)  

Differential Mortality and Retirement Benefits in the Health and Retirement Study
"This analysis uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the sources of variation in mortality for individuals of varying socio-economic status (SES). The use of the HRS allows a distinction between education and a measure of career earnings as primary determinants of socio-economic status for men and women separately. [The authors] use those predictions of mortality to estimate the distribution of annual and lifetime OASDI benefits for different birth cohorts spanning the birth years from 1900 to 1950. [They] find differential rates of mortality have had substantial effects in altering the distribution lifetime benefits in favor of higher income individuals." (The Brookings Institution)  

[Opinion]

The Rube Goldberg Theory of 401(k) Plan Fee Disclosure
"The fee disclosure rules enacted in 2012, which were intended to plug the leak, are flawed. Reminiscent of the infamous 'it depends on what the definition of the word "is" is,' one flaw depends on what the definition of 'disclosure' is. Some service providers apply the Einstein theory of disclosure, while others use the Rube Goldberg theory." (Paladin Research & Registry)  

[Opinion]

'Unsafe' in Any Fund Line Up: Dominated Funds in 401(k) Plans
"It can always be argued that the losses from Dominated Funds are the result of participant investment decisions. It's an obvious truism that but for the participant's decision, there would be no losses. But, does that seem to be a reasonable application of ERISA's fiduciary standard of prudence in choosing to include/retain a fund in the line up that is ex ante a poor investment choice?" (ERISA Fiduciary Administrators)  

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Aging Workforce Requires New Strategies for Employee Retention
"In a case study of the state of Missouri's Deferred Retirement Option Provision (BackDROP), [Angela Curl, assistant professor in the University of Missouri School of Social Work] concluded that states may need to restructure deferred retirement incentives to encourage more employees to remain on the job longer and minimize the disruption to government operations." (News Bureau, University of Missouri)  

Spring Cleaning Series: Self-Auditing by Employee Benefit Plans
"A self-audit should, at a minimum, focus on issues of particular importance to the IRS and DOL. While the actual retirement or health plan documents and records are very important, the IRS and DOL are also expanding their retirement plan focus to the people behind the plans by looking closely at internal controls in plan operations (on the IRS side) and fiduciary training (on the DOL side). The IRS and DOL will generally pursue a more thorough audit or examination of plans with weak or unclear internal control and fiduciary structures." (Quarles & Brady LLP)  

IRS Releases Revised Form W-8BEN-E
"W-8BEN-E is now six pages long and includes more than 20 new FATCA entity classification types with the corresponding FATCA certification for each type. The updated Form W-8BEN-E is designed to assist the U.S. payor with classifying a foreign payee for purposes of property applying the withholding and reporting rules for both existing U.S. withholding rules under Chapter 3 [of the Internal Revenue Code] and the FATCA-enacted withholding rules under Chapter 4." (Schneider Downs)  

Proxy Season 2014 Update: Proxy Vote Injunction Lawsuits
"While the number of filed proxy injunction lawsuits appears to be dropping and one would think that the unbroken string of court decisions against plaintiffs alleging breaches of fiduciary duty with respect to proxy vote disclosures might bring an end to these types of actions, it is not clear that this will be the case, based on the number of investigations that have been launched and the number of non-public demands for settlement that have been made this year. So again this proxy season, companies, especially those submitting equity plan proposals to shareholder votes, need to continue to be vigilant[.]" (The Conference Board)  

The Case for Executive Benefits Benchmarking (PDF)
"This shortcoming in benchmarking strategies occurs when benefits are left out of the Total Rewards conversation, perhaps because providers of executive benefit services, and the consultants who help companies sort through their plans, historically haven't offered analytics for measuring benefits and their outcomes as part of retirement income. Yet this oversight begs the question: 'If benefits aren't compensation, what are they?'" (Fulcrum Partners, LLC)  

Rebalancing Risk in Executive Reward
"[T]he phenomenon of 'loss aversion' (people's tendency to fear loss more than they appreciate gains) ... helps to explain why an executive compensation package that carries little risk can have a higher perceived value than one where both the gains -- and the risks of not achieving those gains -- are higher. Given that employers generally want to pay for performance, their challenge is to find that sweet spot where the perceived value of the package they're offering is higher than that of the competition. The way to do this is to base the comparison on a single number: the certainty equivalent." (HayGroup)  

Press Releases

Parker Brown Macaulay & Sheerin Welcomes Melanie Aska
Parker Brown Macaulay & Sheerin , P.C.

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