Retirement Plan Administrator / Conversion Specialist
TPA in Tampa, FL
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retirement advisory services corp
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Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Series: Agent/Broker Policies and Procedures
May 13, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Series: Group BSD Updates and Group XML Transactions
May 20, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Series: Companion Guide Updates and 834 Enrollment Transactions
May 27, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

2013 Form 5500 SB: What You Need to Know
May 28, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

The Five Most Dangerous Trends in Employee Wellness and What You Can Do to Avoid Them
June 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thompson Interactive)

Advanced Top Heavy Testing and Plan Design
June 11, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2014-34: May 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])  

[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.

[Guidance Overview]

Slim Chance for PBGC Coverage of Shutdown Benefits Under Final Rule (PDF)
"The fact that a plan administrator's determination is not controlling does not mean that plan administrators can ignore creating and maintaining records about the additional benefits provided when [unexpected contingent events (UCEs)] occur. Administrators of plans undergoing a distress termination are required by ERISA to limit payment of benefits to estimated guaranteed benefits and estimated nonguaranteed benefits funded though the section 4044 allocation beginning on the proposed termination date. This determination will need to consider the date the UCE occurs under the final regulation." (Buck Consultants)  

[Guidance Overview]

Timeline for Retirement Plan Compliance with Windsor Ruling
"Regardless of whether your plan needs to be amended, you should clarify administrative procedures according to a timeline that shows how your plan handled same-sex spouses before and after the Windsor ruling. The timeline should specifically address the period between June 26, 2013 (the date of the Windsor ruling) and September 16, 2013 (the effective date for the IRS recognition)." (McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP)  

[Guidance Overview]

Guide to Withdrawal Liability for Multiemployer Pension Plans Under ERISA (2014 Update)
20 pages. Excerpt: "This paper is intended as a general guide to the withdrawal liability provisions of ERISA, which were added in 1980 by the Multi-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) for practitioners and executives. It discusses the MPPAA's background and the operation of its major provisions, with some emphasis on litigation procedures." (Vedder Price)  

[Guidance Overview]

Understanding the IRS Audit Process for Your 403(b) Plan: A Primer
"Mention the IRS and the word 'audit,' and most employers become immediately concerned. For sponsors of 403(b) plans it is important to note that audits of the plans are occurring, especially with the changes to the 403(b) regulations that have transpired over the last several years. With the right amount of planning and proper administration, plan sponsors can avoid audit pitfalls and provide for an employer-sponsored plan that effectively meets IRS guidance and regulations." (National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA])  

[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.

[Guidance Overview]

Final Rules Govern Tax Treatment of Distributions to Pay Accident or Health Insurance Premiums
"The final regulations treat distributions from retirement plans as taxable unless a statutory exclusion applies. One of the exceptions is the exclusion under Sec. 402(l) of up to $3,000 annually for distributions paid directly to an insurer to purchase accident or health insurance or qualified long-term-care insurance for an eligible retired public safety officer and his or her spouse or dependents. A second is the exclusion under Sec. 401(h) for payments for similar coverage for retired employees." (Journal of Accountancy)  

Accident and Health Insurance Premiums Paid by Retirement Plans Become Taxable in 2015
"Payments by qualified retirement plans for accident or health insurance will be taxable distributions to participants in most cases, starting with the 2015 tax year, according to new IRS final regulations.... The final regulations do not make taxable premiums for disability insurance that replaces retirement plan contributions if a participant is disabled[.]" (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

IRS Employee Plans News, May 9, 2014 (PDF)
Topics include: [1] Pilot penalty relief program for some late Form 5500-EZ filers; [2] Changes to IRS Penalty Relief for DOL DFVC Filers of Late Annual Reports; [3] Related employers phone forum (May 22 at 2 p.m. EDT); and [4] PBGC: What's new for practitioners? (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

Being Blameless Is Not Enough When Benefits Have Been Miscalculated
"The [federal district] court ... dismissed the negligence and negligent misrepresentation claims against the actuaries on ERISA pre-emption grounds.... There was a suggestion in the decision, however, that if the plaintiff solely focused her suit on a claim that the negligence of the actuaries had led the plaintiff to give up her job and caused her damage other than the loss of the higher benefit, she might be able to state a claim which would survive an ERISA preemption challenge." [Groves v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., No. 13-CV-2259 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 24, 2014)] (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)  

Court Finds Catholic Hospital Plan is a Church Plan, Dismisses Plaintiff's Claim
"[T]he court here found that the use of the phrase 'includes' rather than 'subject to' made the difference in the court's interpretation that Section (A) [of ERISA section 3(33), codified at 29 U.S.C. 1002(33),] was not a 'gatekeeper' to Section (C). Notably, the court did not directly address the fact that the word 'established' is missing from the second part of Section (C), which was so important to the previous two court's decisions." [Overall v. Ascension et al., No. 13-11396 (E.D. Mich. May 9, 2014)] (FRA PlanTools and The Lowenbaum Partnership)  

Text of Michigan District Court Opinion: Church Plan Exemption Correctly Applies to Retirement Plan for Employees of Catholic Hospital (PDF)
"As the Court said at oral argument, the term church plan should be in quotations as the statutory exemption is broader than to over just churches. A church plan is a plan that is [1] established by a church or [2] established by an organization that is controlled by or associated with a church. The St. Johns and Ascension Health pension plans are the latter. As such, the plans are properly exempt from ERISA's requirements. Plaintiff's ERISA based claims therefore fail to state viable claims for relief. Plaintiff's contingent constitutional claim fails for lack of standing." [Overall v. Ascension et al., No. 13-11396 (E.D. Mich. May 9, 2014)] (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan)  

County Pension Funds in California Continue to Be Able to Withdraw 'Excess Earnings'
"[A California state] Assembly committee last week approved a bill aligning the state law covering 20 county retirement systems with federal tax law, disappointing some who want to bar the use of 'excess' investment earnings for retiree health care and other purposes.... The 1937 act covering the 20 county systems, ranging in size from Los Angeles to Mendocino, allows investment earnings in excess of 1 percent of total assets to be used for retiree health care, retiree pension bonuses or lower employer contributions.... The excess earnings option, unique to counties, dates back to when all pension investments were in bonds, and a 1 percent reserve was a significant cushion[.]" (Calpensions)  

QDROs for Unmarried Cohabitants in Alaska?
"The [Supreme Court of Alaska] court cited a Ninth Circuit decision relating to Washington law but concluded that Alaska law also provided 'marital property rights' to cohabitants and provided for property distributions when a cohabitant relationship dissolved. The court then concluded that the woman qualified as an alternate payee because she was a 'dependent' of the participant.... However, the court's interpretation of Alaska law might not be an interpretation accepted by the pension plan, which would need to approve a QDRO before it was implemented." Boulds v. Nielsen, No. 6901 (Alaska Apr. 25, 2014)] (Stinson Leonard Street)  

Pension Funds Wrestle with What to Do with Cash from Private Equity
"Strong markets have given the private-equity firms backed by pension money the ability to sell companies, which generates cash for investors. These funds last year returned $134.6 billion to pension funds and other investors ... But all that cash coming back from private-equity investments is upsetting the careful balance of investments that pension funds must maintain to achieve steady returns over decades to pay thousands of retirees." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Potholes Litter Road to ETF Investment by DC Plans
"With the increase of litigation around core menu choice in the age of greater fee disclosure, it's possible that the cost of the ETFs themselves, as well as fiduciary concerns around bringing daily trading and liquidity products into a plan, might give plan executives and advisers additional discomfort." (Pensions & Investments)  

Fiscal Year 2015 Revenue Proposals Affecting Retirement Plans and IRAs
"The Administration has released its Revenue Proposals for Fiscal Year 2015. Five of them affect retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. Two are relief provisions, two would substantially reduce the benefits of retirement plans and IRAs and one would limit the extent to which participants and IRA owners could take advantage of retirement plans and IRAs." (WealthManagement.com)  

A Case for Private Equity in DC Plans
"A handful of key structural factors inherent in private equity need to be addressed in order to meet the requirements of DC plans and the expectations of plan participants. Putting money to work quickly.... Providing accurate daily valuations.... Managing liquidity.... Creating transparent and auditable operational processes." (InvestmentNews)  

Feels Like a Long Time Since Defined Contribution Was the Soft Fiduciary Option
"[S]ection 401(k) of the IRS code originated as an add-in to the Revenue Act of 1978 -- and, according to one of the principal authors of that section, was only included as part of the political horse-trading needed to gain support for an act primarily designed to cut taxes. It was not expected to change the world.... [We] have seen DC moving toward the institutional investment model with changes such as auto-enrollment and the use of target date funds in order to make the 401(k) plan more effective as the primary retirement vehicle for a huge section of the American workforce." (Russell Investments)  

ERISA Litigation and the Use of Economic and Fiduciary Experts
"[O]ne way to keep costs in check is to engage an expert on an incremental analysis basis with each work segment tied to a limited scope. Another idea is for an expert and supporting number crunchers to put together a budget.... [T]he engaging attorney and his or her litigation team reap benefits when the expert provides suggestions about further data and document evaluation." (Pension Risk Matters)  

Hong Kong Joins List of Countries with FATCA Agreements with U.S.
"As we move towards the July 1 launch of FATCA, Hong Kong [on May 9] became the latest country to partner with the United States in our effort to increase global tax transparency and stop tax evasion. In just the last two weeks, Singapore, Kuwait, Indonesia and Peru among others, all reached IGAs in substance with the U.S." (U.S. Department of the Treasury)  

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by Retirement Advisor Council to DOL Regarding Proposal to Conduct Focus Groups to Evaluate Effectiveness of Fee Disclosure Regs (PDF)
"[T]he universe you intend to study consists of small pension plans with fewer than 100 participants. Although this size segment is large in numbers of plans, participants of plans in this segment are a fraction of the universe affected by regulation 408(b)(2).... [F]ocus groups are qualitative in nature, meant to discern a range of attitudes or behaviors, not their frequency. Quality of the research is less a factor of the number of focus group attendees than of the variety of recruits.... [We] recommend that you solicit input and feedback not only from plan sponsors but also from Professional Retirement Plan Advisors whom plan sponsors have hired in a fiduciary capacity.... We believe you will collect more complete information asking about the role of the Advisor in the relationship throughout the discussion." (Retirement Advisor Council)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Makes It More Difficult to Defer Taxation of Restricted Stock and Similar Awards
"Even though these final regulations tighten the definition of substantial risk of forfeiture, and make the analysis of whether such property is subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture more complex, if the transaction is properly structured, restricted stock and similar awards continue to be powerful compensation tools that provide for meaningful opportunities to defer tax." (Fox Rothschild LLP)  

Texas Supreme Court Holds That Severance Arrangements Relating to an ERISA Plan Are Preempted by ERISA
"The first group [of plaintiffs] was promised severance pay under a schedule that referenced the ERISA Plan, copied and used terms from the ERISA Plan, and purported to supersede 'any prior plan.' The second group was promised severance pay in written and oral promises that referenced the schedule, but did not refer to the ERISA Plan. The Texas Supreme Court held that (i) ERISA preempted the contract claims with respect to the first group because the schedule that contained the severance benefits clearly referenced the ERISA Plan, depended on that plan for interpretation of terms, and amended that Plan, and therefore related to an ERISA plan; and (ii) ERISA preempted contracts claims with respect to the second group because those promises referenced the schedule, which in turn referenced the ERISA plan." [Arsenio Colorado v. Tyco Valves & Controls, L.P., No. 12-0360 (Tex. Mar. 28, 2014)] (Haynes and Boone, LLP)  

Restrictive Covenants in Stock Award Agreements: Important Lessons for Employers and Stock Plan Administrators
"[1] Courts will enforce restrictive covenants contained in stock award agreements.... [2] Courts will enforce electronic agreements.... [3] Courts may enforce all remedies set forth in the stock award agreement, including remedies that go beyond simply the forfeiture of the stock award, such as an injunction against the former employee." [Newell Rubbermaid Inc. v. Storm, No. 9398-VCN (Del. Ch. Mar. 27, 2014)] (Winston & Strawn LLP)  

WageWorks Tapped as Provider of Consumer-Directed Benefits for Liazon Private Exchanges
WageWorks Inc.

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