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Hand-picked links to the web's best news articles, official guidance, jobs, webcasts and more.
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[Guidance Overview]
Investment Advisers to Plans May Be Required to Deliver 'Disclosure Guide' Under ERISA
"[U]nless revised or clarified, the Proposed Amendment would presumably prohibit a covered service provider from including the guide as an exhibit or attachment to another document ... [It] is possible that a covered service provider would need to deliver a guide even in situations where it had already sent out 408(b)(2) disclosures in compliance with the Final Regulations. Further, even those covered service providers that have already delivered a form of guide might need to deliver a new one if the original delivery did not comply with the requirements of the Proposed Amendment ... [A] failure to deliver the guide in accordance with the requirements of the Proposed Amendment would be treated as a failure to comply with the requirements of the ERISA Section 408(b)(2) 'necessary services exemption', potentially resulting in a non-exempt prohibited transaction if no other exemption is
available."
(Proskauer Rose LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
Better Late Than Never: IRS Issues Long Awaited Guidance for Retirement Plans Regarding Application of Windsor Decision
"The FAQs clarify that the Notice applies to 403(b) plans; however, the Notice has limited application to 403(b) plans that are not subject to ERISA.... [F]or those plans ... the term 'spouse' is relevant for the required minimum distribution and direct rollover rules but not the qualified joint and survivor annuity and qualified preretirement survivor annuity rules ... The timeline [in this article] summarizes the applicability of the Windsor decision and the supplemental guidance with respect to retirement plans[.]"
(Quarles & Brady LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Releases Guidance for Effective Date of Same-Sex Spousal Retirement Rights
"[T]he limits on retroactivity described in IRS Notice 2014-19 only apply for tax qualification purposes. As such, the IRS guidance does not provide relief from any individual claims that a same-sex spouse may seek to bring asserting spousal rights for retirement plan benefits accruing before the Windsor decision. Absent any subsequent administrative relief (which is not expected), it appears that any such claims must be handled through a plan's claim and appeals procedures and, perhaps ultimately, the courts."
(Morgan Lewis)
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[Guidance Overview]
New IRS DOMA Guidance for Retirement Plans (PDF)
"[P]lan sponsors can elect to extend the retroactive effective date of the Windsor decision to any date earlier than June 26, 2013 (but presumably no earlier than 1996). Such a retroactive amendment can be limited to certain purposes, provided that the amendment complies with applicable qualification requirements (e.g., it must be nondiscriminatory). For example, the plan sponsor can elect to apply the Windsor decision earlier solely for purposes of the QJSA and QPSA requirements, and only for annuity starting dates (or dates of death) on or after a specified date."
(Groom Law Group)
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Why Every Retirement Committee Needs a Custom Charter
"A well-written charter should advise the retirement committee of the sponsor's overall retirement planning philosophy, where the organization's retirement plan should be heading and what path it should take. It should also provide helpful review milestones and directions for handling situations where something may go wrong. Moreover, a charter can maximize the retirement plan's outcomes for both the organization and the plan participants by supporting the organization's workforce-planning objectives and helping the participants prepare for a financially secure retirement."
(Sibson Consulting)
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Coming Soon (Thanks to the SEC): More Adviser Review Sites
"While the new guidance clarifies that advisers don't have to worry about whether third-party review sites will get them in trouble with regulators ... the notable aspect of the SEC's guidance is that it also clears the way for adviser review sites as well, effectively showing such sites exactly what advisers can and cannot control without running afoul of the rules. In other words, get ready for a whole lot more 'adviser review' websites to start springing forward."
(InvestmentNews)
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Public Pensions and the Lessons of Success
"Given all the headlines about Illinois' seemingly endless struggle to reform its pensions ... the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the state's second-largest public pension, is a model of fiscal responsibility. What distinguishes the IMRF from Illinois' other three statewide plans, which are struggling, is that all 2,969 governments that participate in it are required to pay 100 percent of their annual required contribution. As a result, the IMRF has remained more than 80 percent funded, even after the investment losses that public and private plans suffered from the 2008 recession."
(Governing)
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401(k) Index Observations, March 2014
"March was a light trading month for investors in their defined contribution plan ... Overall, the daily transfer volume in March averaged 0.021% of the total daily balances, slightly lower than February's value of 0.023%. In addition, there were zero days in March with above normal transfer activity levels, marking the first month of zero above normal trading days since August 2013."
(Aon Hewitt)
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U.S. FATCA Form Released, Deadline Deferred and IGAs Implemented
"The new Form W-8BEN-E is fairly complex. Sponsors of retirement plans that are exempt from FATCA should examine the form and prepare to file it with their payors of U.S. investment income. Unfortunately, the IRS has not yet released form instructions ... Sponsors of retirement plans that are not exempt from FATCA and therefore need to register with the IRS and agree to identify U.S. account holders to avoid default FATCA withholding on such plans will have a modest extension to do so, until May 5, 2014."
(Towers Watson)
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No FTSE 100 Company Offers a DB Plan for New Employees
"In 2005, one in every five employers in the FTSE 100 had an open defined benefit pension fund. Today, however, no employer offers this to new employees.... In 2005, one in every five employers in the FTSE 100 had an open defined benefit pension fund. Today, however, no employer offers this to new employees.... 'This is the first year that no final salary schemes (are being offered) in the FTSE 100,' said Will Aitken, senior defined contribution consultant at Towers Watson[.]" [The FTSE 100 is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization.]
(Pensions & Investments)
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Critical Mass: Defined Contribution Can Transcend State of Crisis
"[J]ust a few key variables drive a DC plan participant's ability to achieve a comfortable retirement: the asset-allocation mix of the glide path, the savings rate before retirement, the spending rate after retirement, and age at retirement. When plan sponsors and participants make relatively small changes at the same time to the settings of these variables, retirement outcomes can improve dramatically. But under current capital-market conditions, without altering these variables, participants are losing ground -- fast."
(Alliance Bernstein)
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Illinois Senate OKs 'Secure Choice' Retirement Plan
"Secure Choice would give portable savings accounts -- similar to traditional IRAs -- to all employees of businesses with 25 or more workers that have been in existence for at least two years and don't already offer retirement plans. Other businesses could participate voluntarily. Automatic withdrawals would invest three percent of workers' paychecks in their accounts each pay period, but employees could change their contribution rate or opt out at any time. Participants would also be able to select from higher-risk and lower-risk investment options."
(Evanston Now)
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[Opinion]
Four Biggest 401(k) Conflicts of Interest
"There's often a boat load of conflicts hidden in the fine print of your 401(k) or pension plan. Many of these conflicts are hidden from plain sight because your employer and fund managers don't want you to know about them. The bottom line on all of these hidden fees is that they are costing you money and imperiling your ability to finance a dignified retirement.... [1] 12b-1 Fees.... [2] Revenue Sharing.... [3] Cross-trading.... [4] Broker Proprietary Funds"
(Forbes)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Press Releases
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