Employee Benefits Trainer
OneAmerica Financial Partners
in IN

Senior Account Manager
Summit Financial Corporation
in MA

Benefit Specialist - Health and Welfare
Lee Jost and Associates
in WI

Retirement Plan Processing Supervisor
ASPire Financial Services LLC
in FL

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Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Series - Plan and Benefit Template Scenarios Demo and General Q&A
June 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Series - Agents/Brokers in the FFMs
June 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Pension Plan De-risking & Terminated Vested Buyouts: Why Now?
June 17, 2014 WEBCAST
(Findley Davies, Inc.)

Executive Compensation Basics: Anatomy of a Deferred Compensation Plan
June 17, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

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[Guidance Overview]

New Wrinkle for the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program Creates a Trap for the Unwary
"In the category of 'you can't make this up,' a problem created because of a shift to electronic filing obligations can only be resolved by filing a paper copy of the Form 8955-SSA with the IRS.... Plan Administrators who already have obtained relief from the DOL penalties under the DFVC Program under EFAST2 (generally, filings made in 2010 and thereafter) and thus reasonably thought their work was done now must file an appropriate Form 8955-SSA in paper form with the IRS no later than December 1, 2014." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)  

[Advert.]

Register for the Western Benefits Conference today!

Find out what hundreds of your peers are doing in retirement and health and welfare benefits. Attend the Western Benefits Conference in Las Vegas on July 27-30, 2014.

[Guidance Overview]

PBGC Reduces Regulatory Burdens on Multiemployer Plans
"Plans involved in a merger are required to jointly file a notice with PBGC before the transaction. The final rule shortens the notice period to 45 days from 120 days in cases where a compliance determination isn't requested.... Under current regulations, multiemployer plans are required to provide a series of notices and updates to notices to PBGC, participants, and beneficiaries if they will be insolvent. The final rule ends the requirement for annual updates to the insolvency notice." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)  

Freezing a Defined Benefit Plan
"[W]hen considering a plan freeze, a plan sponsor should carefully analyze its long-term strategies for the management and disposition of the frozen plan to avoid significant liability exposure in the future. [This] article explains: [1] Some common reasons for choosing to freeze a defined benefit plan. [2] The difference between freezing and terminating a defined benefit plan. [3] Types of plan freezes. [4] The various implications of a plan freeze. [5] The process of freezing a defined benefit plan. [6] Long-term strategies for frozen defined benefit plans." (Groom Law Group)  

How to Implement a Successful ESOP Communication Plan
"A comprehensive plan is built upon a strategy that delivers timely and effective communication about the ESOP, typically runs 12 to 18 months, and uses a combination of mediums that resonate with the audiences (print/electronic/mobile/in-person, etc.).... Determine the objective/goal ... Involve responsible parties ... Scope out your communication strategy ... Determine if you have the appropriate parties to develop it all in-house, or if you'll use vendors and other subject matter experts." (The Principal Financial Group)  

Once Again, 'It's the Fees, Stupid.'
"ERISA imposes a regulatory regime which is materially different than the regulatory regime imposed by the securities laws. Whereas the securities laws rely heavily upon the 'sunshine' of disclosure, ERISA places affirmative duties on fiduciaries with respect to the investment and monitoring of plan assets.... At a minimum ... plan fiduciaries need to examine whether in fact a plan's private equity investment is subject to ERISA. If it is, then further diligence may be necessary." (Harrison Fiduciary Group)  

[Advert.]

ERISA Audits: What We All Knew but Forgot

June 5 live webinar. Understand potential audit triggers and hot button areas, the scope of audits, what to expect in such audits, and best practices to avoid audit complications. BenefitsLink discount.

Design and Implementation of Pension De-Risking Programs (PDF)
34 presentation slides. Topics include: [1] Walk-through of de-risking approaches: (a) Liability-driven investment and annuity buy-in; (b) Limit future liabilities through soft/hard plan freeze; and (c) Eliminate liabilities through lump-sum option, annuity buy-out or plan termination; [2] Implementation issues and considerations; and [3] Lessons learned from earlier de-risking initiatives. (Morgan Lewis)  

How Not to Hire an Auditor for Your ERISA Plan
"Don't go through a competitive bidding process, but automatically go with your corporate auditor.... Always select the one with the lowest price.... Don't ask what training your auditors receive and what continuing education they get.... Don't be concerned about continuity of your audit team." (RetirementPlans.com)  

Can Asset Returns Carry Their Weight in Your DB Plan? (PDF)
"One of the biggest issues facing trustees of multiemployer [DB] plans is the concern that these plans will no longer produce the financial returns they were able to generate in the past.... While the unusually high returns of the 1980s and 1990s were probably an anomaly, the same can be said of the unusually low returns of the first decade of the 2000s. Looking at the long run, the results -- both past and projected -- are surprisingly constant." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])  

Facts About Multiemployer Pension Plan Funding
"This fact sheet explains funding issues in multiemployer pension plans and links to [Pension Rights Center] on-line calculators, which you can use to gauge the impact that possible benefit cuts or the guarantee limits set by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation could have on your multiemployer plan pension." (Pension Rights Center)  

MassMutual Is Functional Fiduciary But Ability to Remove Funds Doesn't Confer Status
"The court's ruling ... directly touched on the issue left open by [the opinion of the Seventh Circuit in Leimkuehler v. American United Life Ins. Co.] and taken up by the DOL amicus brief -- namely, whether the power to substitute funds in an investment lineup causes a record keeper to be an ERISA Section 3(21)(A)(iii) fiduciary for purposes of a challenge to its receipt of revenue-sharing payments. Appearing to disagree with the DOL, the [federal district court in Massachusetts] answered that question in the negative. However, the court emphasized that its conclusion was based partly on the fact that MassMutual never exercised this discretion." [Golden Star v. MassMutual Life Insurance, No. 3:11-30235-PBS (D. Mass. May 20, 2014)] (Bloomberg BNA)  

New Tennessee Law Requires Full Pension Contributions by Local Governments
"The Public Employee Defined Benefit Financial Security Act of 2014 ... requires local governments to contribute 100% of the 'actuarially determined annual required contribution that incorporates both the normal cost of benefits and the amortization of the pension plan's unfunded accrued liability.' The act affects local government pension funds that do not participate in the $40 billion Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, Nashville[.]" (Pensions & Investments)  

What Does the Moench Presumption Look Like in the Light of the Real World?
"The Moench presumption ... and its application may be right, or it may be wrong, but it would be a lot easier to determine that by considering the obligations as fiduciaries of corporate insiders in light of the true facts of their conduct, which the application of the presumption at the motion to dismiss stage -- and in fact even its creation without and before any court has ever fully developed and analyzed the facts of such a claim -- precludes.... Would a court reach a different conclusion than at the motion to dismiss stage on this issue if the judge was considering this type of claim after hearing a senior corporate officer who had served as the fiduciary testify as to his understanding of his obligations, conflicts, and the need to balance them?" (Stephen Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm, LLC)  

SEC Commissioner Hits U.S. Public Pension Funds for Misleading Practices
"'Trillions of dollars in liabilities -- reflecting amounts promised to state and local government workers -- are not appropriately reflected on government books, thereby seriously misleading investors about the riskiness of their investments in municipal securities,' said Daniel Gallagher, one of the five members of the [SEC] ... 'In the private sector, the SEC would quickly bring fraud charges against any corporate issuer and its officers for playing such numbers games.'" (Reuters)  

401(k) Fee Suit Litigator Discusses Best Practices
"Plaintiffs' lawyer and 401(k) fee litigation specialist Jerry Schlichter ... predicts large plan sponsors will one day be required -- or at least strongly encouraged -- to unbundle their retirement plan services and seek competitive pricing for all the moving parts in a plan, especially as more services are offered through the Internet. He says the growth of open-architecture investment platforms is another trend for sponsors to anticipate coming out of these lawsuits." (planadviser)  

[Opinion]

Wearing Two Hats: Form Over Substance?
"The potential for conflicts of interest are real; they are not the abstract musings of lawyers and academics. Many transactions squarely put the corporation and the plan on opposite sides, with competing goals. So, can these corporate offices so deftly switch hats as ERISA lawyers assume? Are fiduciary committee members so professional, so trustworthy, so ethical, that they are immune to the human impulses which gave rise to: 'No one can serve two masters.' Aren't we all engaged in a collective willing suspension of disbelief as to the artifice of the two-hat theory?" (Harrison Fiduciary)  

[Opinion]

Will the PBGC's Own Policies Trigger the Need for a Bailout? (PDF)
"PBGC has used an obscure provision of the law ... to interfere in -- and in many cases actually prevent -- critical business transactions, such as mergers, business sales, and consolidations of operations.... [N]ot only is PBGC driving employers out of the system, but the only ones that can afford to fully exit are those with stronger, better funded plans. So PBGC will be left only with unhealthy plans that are unable to pay for their own failures. In fact, the PBGC has confirmed that it has not even considered the long-term implications of current trends." (American Benefits Council)  

Same-Sex Spouse Exclusion under Health Plan Did Not Violate ERISA
"The court did not address whether ERISA preempts state laws which define spouse to include a same-sex spouse. Therefore, that question remains up in the air, particularly for insured plans. The court specifically noted that ERISA itself does not contain a prohibition on discrimination. Instead, ERISA's legislative history supports the conclusion that other Federal laws, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, apply to the provisions of benefits to employees." [Jane Roe and Jane Doe v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and St. Joseph's Medical Center, No. 12-cv-04788 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2014).] (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Prepare to Attract Rock Stars from Day One: A Framework for Considering Equity Compensation in the C-Suite
"If you know that you will grant equity to your employees, create an equity incentive plan the same day you incorporate your company.... When you initially determine the total number of shares that the corporation will have (the 'authorized capital'), don't start with a low number:... Before you even begin making equity grants, think about what amount of equity each level of employee should ideally receive." (Foley & Lardner LLP)  

Retired Executives Win Reinstatement of Terminated SERP Benefits
"[T]he district court sided with the executives, ruling that the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when it converted the benefits to lump-sum payments and terminated the SERP. Faulting the company for its procedural violations, the court found that the company employees who made the original decision to terminate the plan acted as unauthorized plan fiduciaries by engaging in actions that were discretionary in nature." [Gill v. Bausch & Lomb Supplemental Ret. Income Plan I, No. 6:09-CV-6043 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 3, 2014)] (Hodgson Russ LLP)  

Executive Compensation Basics: Anatomy of an Equity Compensation Plan (PDF)
45 presentation slides. Topics include: [1] Overview of award types: restricted stock, RSUs, options, SARs; [2] Plan terms: administration, plan and award limits, exercise price/FMV, change in control, award agreement structure; [3] Private/public company plan considerations and design trends: general securities law considerations, section 162(m), section 409A, proxy advisory firms/institutional investors, design trends. (Morgan Lewis)  

Director Pay Snapshot: Analysis Finds More Emphasis on Equity Than Cash Over the Past Year
"The median value of total direct compensation for directors in this sample is approximately $246,250, up 3% from the previous year. The pay increase was primarily driven by equity values that increased 5% at the median over 2013 levels; median total cash figures did not change.... Eighty-seven percent of all annual equity awards are granted based on a fixed-dollar amount, compared with 85% of grants at the same companies last year." (Towers Watson)  

2014 Signature Awards Deadline Extended
PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America]

MCG Grows Its Benefits Consulting Team
Marsh Consulting Group [MCG]

State of NJ Plan Re-commits to Prudential Retirement with New 6-year Contract
Prudential Retirement

Littler Launches Healthcare Reform Web Portal
Littler Mendelson

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