Plan Administrator
BlueStar Retirement Services, Inc.
in FL

Retirement Plan Manager
Sonepar USA
in SC

Account Representative
A&I Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc.
in OR

Member Services Representative
A&I Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc.
in OR

Operations Manager
A&I Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc.
in OR

Benefit Specialist - Pension
A&I Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc.
in NE, OR

Financial Planning Assistant
Fiduciary Partners Retirement Group, Inc.
in FL

Temporary Benefit Analyst
Milliman
in CA

401(k) Consultant
Creative Retirement Systems, Inc.
in OH

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Modified COBRA Notices for the ACA Environment
July 22, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

What the New Healthcare Law Means for Your Small Business
July 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(Small Business Majority)

Health Plan/Employer Strategies for Implementing Narrow Pharmacy Networks
August 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

FMLA Update
September 11, 2014 in AZ
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Phoenix Chapter)

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Issues Final Regs Simplifying Use of Annuities in Retirement Plans
"Under the final regulations, the participant is able to exclude the value of a longevity annuity contract (that meets certain requirements) from the account balance used to determine RMDs and is only required to receive RMDs during the period before the annuity begins. Therefore, an annuity contract can be designed with a fixed annuity starting date (ASD) at an advanced age since a participant would not need to commence distribution from the annuity contract to satisfy the RMD rules. These annuity contracts are referred to in the final regulations as qualifying longevity annuity contracts (QLACs)." (Practical Law Company)  

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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]

IRS Issues Final Regs on Longevity Annuity Contracts (PDF)
"The proposed -- and now final -- longevity annuity regulations do three important things. [1] Modify the RMD rules to promote asset preservation. [2] Define qualifying criteria for an annuity product that will begin payout at an advanced age. [3] Describe disclosures that must be provided for such an annuity." (Ascensus)  

[Guidance Overview]

Summary of Final QLAC Regs (PDF)
"The final regulations ... allow [qualifying longevity annuity contracts (QLACs)] to provide return of premium death benefits, increase the premium limits that can be paid for QLACs, and address 'foot faults' in applying those limits. The final regulations do not allow, as the industry had requested, variable annuities and fixed indexed annuities to be issued as QLACs or allow QLACs to provide cash values." (Davis & Harman LLP, for The SPARK Institute)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Pilot Program Provides 5500-EZ Late Filing Relief
"The program focuses on 'one-participant' plans. What are they? ... Have one-participant plans always been eligible to file form 5500-EZ? ... Currently, an EZ-eligible plan does not need to file if the balance is less than $250,000. Has that threshold always been present? ... [F]iling the missing return is a key to having relief for late filing. What form should be filed? ... Can a one-participant plan use the DOL DFVC program instead, if it files Form 5500 or 5500-SF with the DOL?" (SunGard Relius)  

The Fall of Moench: The Supreme Court's Unfavorable (Yet Favorable) Ruling for Fiduciaries
"[E]mployers should be reviewing their plans to ensure that employer stock is an authorized investment and that the proper fiduciaries are tasked with monitoring the prudence of the investment (and, perhaps, such fiduciaries are being appropriately monitored and evaluated). Employers may also seek to limit liability by capping the amount that participants can invest in employer stock or by eliminating trading restrictions on participants that may wish to move their investments out of employer stock. Employers can also conduct risk assessments of the continued maintenance of employer stock funds in the aftermath of Dudenhoeffer. If continued inclusion is imprudent, the fund should be frozen or removed." (Troutman Sanders)  

What the Dudenhoeffer Decision Means for Retirement Plans with Employer Stock
"Given its history in the [U.S. Courts of Appeal], it was truly surprising to learn that the Supreme Court held that the Moench presumption doesn't fairly arise from ERISA law and is therefore not a valid presumption. Based on the plain language of ERISA, however, the Court's decision makes a lot of sense.... The Court emphasized that such claims will be very fact specific but left it up to the Sixth Circuit to determine whether the plaintiff's complaint sufficiently pled a fiduciary breach.... [T]here no longer exists a baseline to determine an imprudent decision with respect to employer stock plans." (Pension Consultants Inc.)  

401(k) Plan Revenue Sharing Accounts for Plan Sponsors: Don't Choke on Your Piece of the Pie!
"It may sound like your service provider is offering 'free money' when it offers to share part of its revenue sharing payments. But do not jump on the offer without taking the time to satisfy your fiduciary duties, which requires a careful consideration of how the arrangement works, the service provider's role, and the reasonableness of the service provider's compensation.... How [are] revenue sharing amounts credited?... Does plan document language prohibit/prevent revenue sharing accounts? ... Can the plan sponsor receive revenue sharing payments instead of the plan? ... Is service provider compensation reasonable and trackable?" (McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP)  

Recent DOL Settlement Provides a Cautionary Tale for ESOP Trustees
"[As] part of the settlement agreement, GreatBanc agreed to implement very specific policies and procedures whenever it serves as a trustee or other fiduciary of an ESOP in connection with transactions in which the ESOP is purchasing or selling, is contemplating purchasing or selling, or receives an offer to purchase or sell employer securities that are not publicly traded. The policies and procedures are very detailed, highly proscriptive, and -- in several cases -- go beyond explicit requirements under the law.... [T]he framework provides some indication of what the DOL may be looking for in an audit or other investigation." (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP)  

Millennials Want Social Security Benefits to Remain at Current Levels
"About 61 percent of millennials oppose benefit cuts as a way to address the long-term funding problems of Social Security, a view held by about 70 percent of older adults. There is a much bigger generation gap on whether government should give higher priority to programs that benefit the young or the old. About 53% of Millennials say the young, compared with 36 percent of Gen Xers and just 28 percent each of Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) and Silents (those born between 1925 and 1945)." (MutualFundReform.com)  

[Advert.]

BenefitsLink app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch now available!

Stay up-to-date while you're on the go with the BenefitsLink App -- now available for iPad, iPhone 5, and iPod touch.

An Update on Pension Obligation Bonds
"[Pension obligation bonds (POBs)] had a negative average real return from 1992-2009, but show a small gain when the time period is extended to 2014. POBs could be a useful tool for fiscally sound governments or as part of a broader pension reform package for fiscally stressed governments. But results to date suggest that, instead, POBs tend to be issued by governments under financial pressure who have little control over the timing." (Center for State & Local Government Excellence)  

Corporate Pension Plan Funded Status Flat for Second Quarter But Up in June
"The funded status of a typical U.S. corporate defined benefit pension plan remained relatively unchanged at slightly less than 90% in the second quarter ... [T]he typical corporate DB plan rose to 92% in June, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month due to strong asset returns and falling liabilities ... Liabilities fell 0.2% in June, while assets returned 1.4%. Meanwhile, the typical public DB plan returned 1.6% for a second consecutive month, exceeding its monthly return target of 0.6%." (Pensions & Investments)  

2014 Issue Statement for the ERISA Advisory Council: Issues and Considerations around Facilitating Lifetime Plan Participation
"The Council will focus on evaluating differences between the employer and non-employer based system, understanding plan sponsor attitudes around keeping participants within their plan or the employer based system overall, and discussing whether there are positive steps that can be taken to further encourage individuals to stay in the system if it makes sense for them to do so. We will examine the types of communications participants are receiving from their employer when they leave employment and whether the quality of the participant's decision-making can and should be enhanced by communication or other plan design features from the plan sponsor." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by SPARK to EBSA on Proposed Target Date Fund Disclosure Regs (PDF)
"The comment period was recently reopened by EBSA to seek comments on the recommendation ... that the SEC develop a glide path illustration that is based on 'a standardized measure of fund risk.' ... EBSA cannot finalize a regulation that incorporates this new idea without a reproposal. The notion of a 'standardized measure of fund risk' is not as simple as it sounds.... Neither EBSA nor SEC have proposed any particular risk standard or proposed how the risk standard will be explained to participants.... It is not appropriate to single out target date funds for a special risk-based disclosure or measure." (The SPARK Institute)  

2014 Issue Statement for the ERISA Advisory Council: Outsourcing Employee Benefit Plan Services
"Our study will focus on: [1] Identifying current industry practices and trends regarding the types of services being outsourced (both fiduciary and non-fiduciary) and the market for delivery of those services ... [2] Clarifying the legal framework under ERISA for retaining outsourced service providers...[3] Making recommendations to DOL about current best practices in selecting and monitoring outsourced service providers ... [4] For fiduciary services, exploring the differences between status as a fiduciary under ERISA section 3(16), 3(21) and ERISA section 3(38) and the scope of co-fiduciary liability in the outsourcing context; [5] Identifying current contracting practices with respect to outsourced services ... [6] Examining insurance coverage and ERISA bonding practices." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

Defense Department Would Get the Most Budgetary Mileage by Walking Back Recent Benefit Increases
"The most significant compensation reduction option, CBO found, would come from cutting retirement pay for veterans already receiving disability payments from the Veterans Affairs Department. Prior to 2004, military retirees --- former personnel with 20 years of service --- had their retirement pay reduced by the amount of any VA disability compensation they also received. Moving back to that system would save Defense $108 billion over the next decade, according to CBO." (Government Executive)  

Approaches to Reducing Federal Spending on Military Pay and Benefits
Slides from a presentation dated June 30, 2014. Approaches (including arguments for and against) include: [1] cap increases on basic pay for military service members; [2] replace some military personnel with civilian employees; [3] increase TRICARE cost-sharing for retirees; and [4] eliminate concurrent receipt for disabled veterans. (Congressional Budget Office [CBO])  

Chelko Consulting Group recognized as one of America’s Healthiest Companies
Chelko Consulting Group

Northeast Professional Planning Group Appoints Wayne Finley to Relationship Manager
Northeast Professional Planning Group [NPPG)]

Northeast Professional Planning Group Acquires Creative Pension Administrators, Inc.
Northeast Professional Planning Group [NPPG)]

RiversEdge Delivers Mobile Access to Retirement Account Participants
RiversEdge Advanced Retirement Solutions

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