Defined Contribution Administrator
Well Established South Florida Actuarial and TPA/Consulting Firm
in FL

Client Relations Manager
ING
in CA

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Managing Benefit Costs – A Top Business Priority
April 23, 2014 WEBCAST
(United Benefit Advisors)

Legislative Update of Defined Contribution Plans
April 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators)

2014 Webinar: HSA Basics
May 15, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

ERISA Audits: What We All Knew but Forgot
June 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Lorman Education Services)

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[Guidance Overview]

DOL Releases Proposed 408(b)(2) Fee Disclosure 'Guide' Regs (PDF)
"Underlying the proposed regulation is the DOL's assumption that providers have 'specialized' knowledge enabling them to more easily locate fee information... Also underlying the proposed regulation is the assumption that a provider's specialized knowledge will reside in a single 'financial ... or similar professional' through whom the provider may quickly construct the guide for any given service.... Since these guides can 'make or break' the use of the exemption, it is hard to imagine that the guide will not require several levels of review at the business, compliance and legal level, as well as a review by 'plain English' editorial staff.... Even if one assumes that a guide would take a business person and a lawyer working together three to four hours per plan, at perhaps $1000 per plan, the cost of such a requirement would be 684,000 times $1000 ($684,000,000), or more than 17 times the benefit ($40,300,000) described in the cost analysis." (Steptoe & Johnson LLP)  

[Advert.]

2014 ERISA Outline Book: NEW Website. NEW Experience. NEW EOB

The 2014 Edition of The ERISA Outline Book is now available. New Online EOB. New Experience. A must have for the serious professional, get the information you need to grow your business with the new online search platform shaped by user feedback.

Court Rejects Hospital's Church Plan Exemption, Allowing ERISA Lawsuit to Proceed
"This case presents a critical issue for church-affiliated organizations that, in reliance on the church plan exemption, have not designed or operated their pension or welfare plans in accordance with ERISA's trust, fiduciary, and other requirements. Rollins appeared to be an outlier in 2013, but this case suggests momentum may be building. Although both decisions are only at the trial court level, they are noteworthy for their narrow interpretation of the exemption, and because they cast doubt on the practice of relying on IRS determinations of church plan status." [Kaplan v. Saint Peter's Healthcare System, No. 13-2941 (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2014)] (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

SSA Letter-Forwarding Program Discontinued
"Until ... DOL and IRS guidance are updated, plans might consider supplementing the remaining required methods with additional mechanisms suggested by the agencies, such as Internet searches, commercial locator services, and credit-reporting agencies. If the cost of these additional search options will be charged to participants' accounts, plan fiduciaries must consider the size of a participant's account in relation to the cost of the search when deciding whether the search option is appropriate for that participant." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

Helpful Tips to Prepare for a Retirement Plan Financial Audit (PDF)
"What is the 80-120 Rule? ... Under what conditions can small plans waive the requirement for a plan audit? ... What are the filing requirements for 403(b) and other non-ERISA retirement plans? ... When are limited-scope audits worthwhile? ... Is your auditor helping you become IRS audit-ready?" (Belfint, Lyons & Shuman for Legg Mason)  

Heinz 'Derisks' Pension Plans
"The company recently merged [a] plan for salaried employees ... with another one that was set up for nonunion hourly employees, a move the company said simplifies administration. The two plans combined include 5,173 participants, with 521 of those still active. The rest are retired or separated from service. Effective April 30, the combined plan is to be terminated.... Heinz has also merged two other plans, known as Plan B and Plan C, which cover both active and former employees covered under collective bargaining agreements ... That second combined plan is not being terminated, but the company is offering lump sum payments for vested participants and annuities for retirees already receiving benefits." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)  

[Advert.]

Learn, Network and Sell at the SPARK National Conference

Join senior executives from leading retirement services firms for unequaled networking, educational and sales opportunities. Gain insights into the latest market trends, business strategies, regulatory and legislative issues, and product developments. June 15-17. Register now.

Pensions Still Cloud Stockton Bankruptcy Exit
"Stockton's plan to leave a huge pension debt untouched was still an issue last week as the city council, hoping to end a two-year bankruptcy, approved settlements for 95 percent of the claims. The settlements include Assured Guaranty and National Public Finance Guarantee, the main opponents of Stockton's eligibility for bankruptcy. The bond insurers argued that an early plan to cut bond debt, but not pension debt, treated creditors unfairly. Now the last major creditor that has not settled, Franklin Bonds, argues that if Stockton exits bankruptcy without cutting pension debt, the city could slide back toward insolvency like Vallejo." (Calpensions)  

Illinois Pension Law Had Costly Typo
"Universities were already worried about large-scale departures of employees who would lose benefits under the change to Illinois' public pensions if they didn't leave by June 30. The language in the bill signed into law last December was intended to ease that concern by limiting how much public university employees who didn't retire would lose. But it made the effective date June 30, 2013, rather than 2014 -- taking away a full year of benefits." (Houston Chronicle)  

Social Security to Resume Benefits Statement Mailings
"Starting this September, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will resume mailings at five-year intervals to workers who have not signed up to view their statements online ... The statements will be sent to workers at ages 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 ... [T]he agency [will] continue to promote use of the online statements." (Reuters)  

Why Asset Class Diversification Is Important (PDF)
"[S]tudies have shown that more than 90% of the variations in a portfolio's return can be attributed to the asset allocation decision.... [A table] illustrates that the major asset classes ... have experienced negative returns in approximately 25%-40% of the 120 calendar quarters covering the last 30 years. However, the table also shows that the historical probability of multiple asset classes experiencing negative returns at the same time is significantly lower." (Manning & Napier)  

New Perk Gives Federal Employees a Break on the Cost of Education
"Federal workers who live outside of Maryland can receive a 25 percent discount on all undergraduate and most graduate programs offered at the University of Maryland University College.... Federal workers' spouses and their legal dependents also are eligible for the reduced rates. The tuition break applies to in-person and online classes." (Government Executive)