ERISA Attorney
Williams Parker
in FL

Account Manager - Retirement Services
Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC
in CA

401 [k] / Retirement Plan Administrator / Consultant
SuperiorUSA Corporation
in IA, MN

Pension Administrative Consultant (PAC)
Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
Leading Retirement Solutions
in ANY STATE, WA

Regional Pension Sales Manager
Nationwide
in CA

Retirement Plan Analyst
United Retirement Plan Consultants
in WA

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

What Keeps You Up At Night? - Atlanta
May 6, 2014 in GA
(King & Spalding LLP)

What Keeps You Up At Night? - Houston
May 6, 2014 in TX
(King & Spalding LLP)

What Keeps You Up At Night? - New York
May 6, 2014 in NY
(King & Spalding LLP)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

OMB Approves New PBGC Forms and Instructions for Standard and Distress Terminations
"OMB has approved revisions to the standard termination, distress termination, and missing participants forms and instructions. The new forms and instructions can be found on the Plan Terminations page of PBGC's website. The new forms must be used for terminations for which the first Notice of Intent to Terminate is issued on or after June 1, 2014. If the first Notice of Intent to Terminate is issued before June 1, 2014, either the new or old forms may be used." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[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.

[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Request for Comments and OMB Review of Revisions to Annual Reporting (Form 5500 Series)
"PBGC is requesting that OMB approve modifications to the 2014 Schedule MB (Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Information) and the 2014 Schedule SB (Single Employer Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial In formation) and related instructions.... PBGC is requesting that OMB approve modifications to the 2014 Schedule MB (Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Information) and the 2014 Schedule SB (Single Employer Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Information) and related instructions." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

Plan Administrators Face Beneficiary Hurdles After IRS Windsor Guidance
"[M]any plan participants might not even know that their spouse -- whether opposite-sex or same-sex -- is automatically considered to be the rightful beneficiary upon a participant's death ... An example of a situation in which beneficiary designation rules can now be problematic ... is one in which a participant designated his or her child as a beneficiary four years ago, then married a same-sex spouse within the past year. In the post-Windsor world, the beneficiary designation of the child is trumped[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

District Court Holds a Surcharge Is Not a Contribution for Purposes of Determining a Withdrawn Employer's Payment Schedule
"While 'contribution rate' is undefined, ERISA defines 'obligation to contribute' as an obligation to contribute arising 'under one of more collective bargaining (or related) agreements,' or 'as a result of a duty under applicable labor-management relations law.' [ERISA section 4212(a).] Given this, the court found that a surcharge required by the PPA arises under ERISA, not a collective bargaining agreement or labor-management relations law. Thus, the surcharge could not be considered part of the contribution rate." [Board of Trustees of the IBT Local 863 Pension Fund v. C&S Wholesale Grocers/Woodbridge Logistics LLC, No. 12-7823 (D.N.J. Mar. 19, 2014)] (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)  

Repayment of Plan Loans on Termination of Employment Can Be Difficult
"If a participant is not able financially to repay a plan loan on termination of employment, it's unlikely she is able financially to come up with the funds to contribute the loan offset amount into an IRA or other employer plan. In Private Letter Ruling 201407027, the financial institution providing administrative services for the plan did not inform the participant of the tax consequences of the loan default. Therefore, the IRS granted him a waiver of the 60-day rollover requirement to allow him to rollover the loan offset amount. That's good news for this taxpayer, but it still leaves many participants caught in a tough spot when they terminate employment with an outstanding plan loan." (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

How Much Savings is Needed for Retirement?
"If Social Security income is around $30,000 per year (about the maximum in 2014) and no other retirement income sources exist, then total annual gross retirement income (Social Security and withdrawals according to the approach outlined in this website) for an individual retiring at age 67 with $1 million of accumulated savings will be about $75,000 to $80,000 depending on how much of the $1 million is used to purchase an immediate annuity (based on current annuity purchase rates) and/or whether the retiree delays receipt of Social Security benefits. This level of retirement income will probably be enough for many individuals who retire in the near future." (Kenneth A. Steiner, FSA Retired)  

Making the Case for Variable Annuity Pension Plans
"There is a benefit stabilization strategy that is able to offer all the features of a basic VAPP and practically eliminate benefit declines. A stabilization reserve is built to keep benefits level during down markets.... When benefits would otherwise decrease, use a portion of the stabilization reserve to prevent benefit reductions. The intent is to protect each retiree's high-water mark (i.e., the highest level of monthly benefit received in retirement) to the greatest extent possible." (Milliman)  

Is Your Company a Good Fit for an Employee Stock Ownership Plan?
"First consider if your company is large enough to justify the costs involved in establishing and operating an ESOP. If the value of the stock you're planning to sell to the ESOP is not at least $2 million to $3 million, an ESOP is probably not a good option for your firm. If your company is worth just $2 million or $3 million, you would likely need to sell all the stock to the ESOP to make it worthwhile. If your company is worth $10 million or more, a sale of just 30 percent of the stock would be sufficient." (Howard J. Levine, in Entrepreneur)  

Savings Fitness Online: Interactive Worksheets
"This online version of Savings Fitness: A Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future includes interactive worksheets. You can download the fully illustrated 44-page Adobe PDF narrative or call toll free 866-444-3272 to order copies." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)  

Effects of State Pension Plan Changes on Retirement Security
"Pension reforms reduced the amount of retirement income new employees can expect to receive.... Hybrid plans adopted in five states produce a wide range of estimated retirement incomes. Holding investment returns constant, the determining factor in the size of the hybrid benefit is employee and employer contributions.... Changes to retirement plans include an increase in the number of years included in the final average salary calculation (21 states); a reduction in the multiplier (12 states); and a change to both of these variables (nine states)." (Center for State & Local Government Excellence)  

Senate's EXPIRE Act Includes IRA Rollover Provision
"The IRA Charitable Rollover provision, which allows donors age 70-1/2 and older to exclude from their taxable income any IRA funds up to $100,000 that have been withdrawn and transferred to a charity ... is one step closer to being reinstated back into law. The rollover provision expired on Dec. 31, 2013. It has been included in the Senate's Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act, a tax extenders package introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee ... [T]he provision would be reinstated through Dec. 31, 2015 if the bill is enacted into law." (Association of Fundraising Professionals [AFP])  

Canadian Government Proposes Target Benefit Plan Design as New Option for Employers
"Canada's Conservative government [has] proposed a new voluntary pension plan ... that would shift investment risks to employees in a bid to make pensions more sustainable, touting it as a third option to the two main types of plans now in place. The proposal heats up the debate over the best way to ensure a financially secure retirement for an aging population as pensions struggle with poor returns after the financial crisis and employers try to rid themselves of the burden of pension liabilities." (Reuters)  

[Opinion]

Incredibly, the SEC Sets Forth Its View: Suitability Standard Is the Same as Fiduciary Standard
"The SEC is on a path to adopting regulations which gut the fiduciary duty of investment advisers, in favor of suitability. In fact, in an incredible statement from an SEC staffer, the fiduciary duty has been equated with the much lower suitability standard. In nearly the same breath the 'advantages' of FINRA have been seemingly touted." (Ron Rhoades)  

[Opinion]

Dear SEC: About Your Proposal for Target Date Retirement Fund Names and Marketing
"This particular item is the mutual fund regulator's equivalent of the Maginot Line. You surely realize this. As the default option for 401(k) plans, target-date funds are justifiably the most politicized of all fund categories.... You had to take action. You had to show that you could win the last war. Which you did. Even without this proposal, you will win the next war, too. Target-date funds have among the lowest redemption rates of any mutual funds. Thus, enhancing disclosure so that target-date investors better understand their portfolios, thereby avoiding panic and untimely redemptions, is addressing a problem that largely does not exist." (Morningstar Advisor)  

[Opinion]

Industry Heavyweight SPARK Misses the Mark on 408(b)(2) Fee Disclosure Reform
"SPARK takes issue with the DOL's proposed amendment. Not the amendment, but its underlying need. They assert the DOL failed to properly support the need for 408(b)(2) reform and to quantify its burden under Paperwork Reduction Act ... Too many disclosures are simply way too complex.... If you are a small business 401k sponsor, you already recognize the problem. Even the DOL says the darn thing needs a table of contents." (Employee Fiduciary)  

PSCA's 2014 Signature Awards Call for Entries
PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America]

View All Press Releases