401(k) Plan Relationship Manager
MVP Plan Administrators, Inc.
in NC

Technical Director, Advanced Consulting Group
Nationwide
in OH

Retirement Plan Administrator (Part-time and/or Full-time)
WLR & Associates, Inc.
in NC

Sr. Benefits Analyst - Health & Welfare Plans
PVH Corp.
in NJ

Benefits Administrator - Health & Welfare Plans
PVH Corp.
in NJ

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Regulatory Update and Current Hot Topics
September 16, 2014 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Central Texas)

FAs, TPAs, CPAs Working Together
September 16, 2014 in FL
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of North Florida)

Creative and Complicated World of DC ADP/ACP Nondiscrimination Testing
September 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

CIGNA v. Amara, Three-Years Later: Remedy Game Changer or Business as Usual
September 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Momentum Events Group)

Lost Participants: Welcome to the 21st Century
September 22, 2014 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

ESOPs: A Tax-Advantaged Strategy for Growth, Liquidity and Succession Planning
September 23, 2014 in OH
(Porter Wright)

Importance of Party-in-interest Transaction Controls for Benefit Plans
September 23, 2014 WEBCAST
(McGladrey LLP)

Ethics in the Digital Age
September 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Controlling the Cost of Compounded Medications: Health Plan/Employer Strategies
September 25, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

Compliance with the ACA for Benefit Plans
October 1, 2014 WEBCAST
(McGladrey LLP)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Draft of IRS Form 5500-EZ for 2014: Annual Return of One-Participant (Owners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan (PDF)
"This is an early release draft of an IRS tax form, instructions, or publication, which the IRS is providing for your information as a courtesy. Do not file draft forms... This form is required to be filed under section 6058(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Certain foreign retirement plans are also required to file this forms." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Advert.]

ASPPA Annual Conference on October 26-29 in Washington DC

We don't just set the bar, we're constantly raising the bar for America's Retirement. And we unleash that tenacity at every ASPPA Annual Conference.

[Guidance Overview]

Finding Missing Participants Under the New DOL Guidance
"When a participant cannot be located through routine delivery methods ... FAB 2014-01 indicates that the plan fiduciaries must take [four specified] steps (in no particular order) ... The DOL considers the failure to take these steps to be a breach of fiduciary duty.... The DOL notes that the failure to consider additional steps is also a breach of fiduciary duty. This will involve a cost-benefit analysis that takes into consideration the size of the participant's account relative to the cost of the search method." (Drinker Biddle)  

[Guidance Overview]

Locating Missing Participants
"The decision to terminate a plan is a settlor function. The choice of distribution options is a fiduciary decision.... Rollover to an individual retirement plan is the preferred approach since it is more likely to preserve funds for retirement.... [T]he DOL will revisit this guidance after the PBGC publishes final regulations regarding whether defined contribution plans can participate in the PBGC's missing participant program. PBGC has been reviewing this issue for some time." (ERISAdiagnostics)  

Fourth Circuit Rejects Standard Used by Trial Court to Determine That Elimination of Stock Funds Was Objectively Prudent
"Given these lingering questions about the legal standard, and the practical difficulty of proving what hypothetical prudent fiduciaries would have done, the lesson for plan fiduciaries is simple: Avoid disputes about causation by using a prudent decisionmaking process. Plan fiduciaries looking for guidance about what a prudent process might look like will find some suggestions in the trial court's discussion of procedural prudence." [Tatum v. RJR Pension Investment Committee, No. 13-1360 (4th Cir. Aug. 4, 2014)] (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

[Advert.]

Are you making payments to dead people?

See how Fred stopped making payments to deceased participants using PBI's PlatinumPLUS solution with ObitPro! Contact us today for a 30 day NO CHARGE TRIAL. Call 415-482-9611 or email inquiry@pbinfo.com today ... you won't believe what you're missing!

Upcoming IRS Webinar: Defined Benefit Plan Update, September 18, 2014
"Learn about: [1] Recent legislation: An overview of recent and pending IRS/Treasury guidance; [2] Current developments in determination letter processing and Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) cases; and [3] Common issues arising in examinations." [Register at link.] (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

A Fresh Look at Dynamic Investment Policy Statements for Defined Benefit Plans
"[An investment policy statement (IPS)] that hasn't kept up with [market] changes shouldn't just be refreshed, it should also be made dynamic -- that is, responsive to what has become the driver of pension investing today: the plan's funded status.... A key component of a dynamic IPS should be a preapproved glide path to full funding -- that is, how the portfolio will change in response to changes in funding objectives and status. For example, a dynamic IPS may trigger action when funded status rises by, say, 5% -- in which case, the portfolio's equity allocation will be reduced by 5% and fixed income increased by that amount." (Vanguard)  

Corporate Pension Funded Status Drops by $22 Billion in August as Discount Rates Fall Below 4% and Reach an All-Time Low (PDF)
"The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans deteriorated by $22 billion during August as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). The deficit increased to $281 billion from $259 billion at the end of July, due to a drop in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities. August's robust investment gain was not enough to improve the Milliman 100 PFI's funded status. As of August 31, the funded ratio dropped to 84.0%, down from 84.8% at the end of July." (Milliman)  

Detroit Consultant Says Worker Savings Accounts Drained Pensions
"A Detroit employee savings plan drained $450 million from a public pension fund over 10 years, contributing to the fund's fiscal distress, the city's main restructuring adviser said. Charles Moore testified ... in federal court ... that the savings plan weakened the city's underfunded $2.8 billion General Retirement System by guaranteeing employees a minimum interest rate for the accounts.... Mr. Moore is a senior managing director at restructuring firm Conway MacKenzie." (Pensions & Investments)  

[Advert.]

PSCA's 67th Annual National Conference, Sept 15-18,Turnberry Isle, Miami

Attend PSCA's 67th Annual National Conference, Expanding Perspectives - Adapting to your changing landscape September 15-18, at Turnberry Isle, Miami. Join plans sponsors and industry leaders in General Sessions, Workshops and Roundtables centered around you and your plan. Register NOW!

Industry-Wide Annuity Sales at Highest Level in Three Years
"[I]ndustry-wide annuity sales in the second quarter of 2014 rose to $59.9 billion, a 6.8 percent increase from $56.1 billion in the previous quarter and a 9.9 percent increase from $54.5 billion in the second quarter of 2013. Fixed annuity sales -- supported by record fixed indexed annuity sales -- increased to $24.3 billion in the second quarter of 2014 ... Variable annuity total sales reached $35.6 billion in the second quarter of 2014 ... This was a 6.2 percent increase from $33.5 billion in the first quarter of 2014, but a 4.6 percent decline from $37.3 billion in the second quarter of 2013." (Insured Retirement Institute [IRI])  

Do Required Minimum Distributions Matter? The Effect of the 2009 Holiday on Retirement Plan Distributions
"[R]oughly one third of those who were affected by minimum distribution rules discontinued their distributions in 2009. The results also show relatively small differences in the suspension probability between those who had 2008 distributions equal to the RMD amount ... and those who were taking distributions in excess of the RMD amount before the distribution holiday. The probability of suspension declines substantially with age and rises modestly with economic resources.... [I]ndividuals taking monthly distributions are less likely to suspend distributions than those taking annual distributions, particularly at higher wealth levels." (National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER])  

CalSTRS Debt Report Drops from $167 Billion to $59.5 Billion
"CalSTRS was bracing to report the nation's biggest pension debt under new government accounting rules that take effect this fiscal year -- $167 billion, an amount so huge some thought it might increase the cost of issuing local school bonds. But a long-sought rate increase approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Brown in the nick of time, a week before the current fiscal year began July 1, will allow CalSTRS to report a debt that is shrinking not ballooning." (Calpensions)  

Findley Davies Pension Indicator (tm) Updated for August 2014
"This tool was developed to allow employers to mitigate their risk exposure by monitoring the estimated changes to their pension plan's funded status as it is reported for financial statement purposes under U.S. GAAP. [Three tables in this article] provide the percentage change in the funded level of the plan: year-to-date, month-over-month, and 12-month change as of August 31, 2014 based on the investment mix and plan type." (Findley Davies)  

SEC Urged to Move on Uniform Fiduciary Rule
"Advocates for stronger fiduciary rules are calling on the head of the SEC to move forward with a proposal to impose a uniform standard of care for brokers and investment advisors, even if that means pushing the rules through a divided commission split along party lines.... Fiduciary advocates are also reiterating support for a separate and more controversial proceeding underway at the [DOL] ... Supporters of the DOL's fiduciary proposal argue that tighter rules to guard against conflicted advice in the IRA and 401(k) sector are long overdue in the defined-contribution era, when individuals shoulder more of the responsibility for saving and planning for retirement." (On Wall Street)  

Despite Curve Balls, Most Retirees Manage on Income Less Than Pre-Retirement Earnings
"[A recent] survey focused on individuals who had stopped working in the past one to five years and who had a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account that had been rolled over from a 401(k). Fewer than one in five said their postretirement income matched their pre-retirement paycheck. Instead, on average, their retirement income was just 66% of what they had been making.... Along the way, 40% said they have discovered that they can adjust their lifestyle to match their income by a 'great deal'[.]" (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Finding the Right 401(k) Match
"At its most basic, the decision of how much to match is a financial one.... Sustainability is a key question for employers. Even if they can manage the match now, what will happen if the organization does not meet its revenue, growth or profitability projections in the future?" (Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM])  

A Few Industries Retaining DB Plans
"[N]early half of the Fortune 500 that no longer provide DB benefits to new hires still have active employees who continue to accrue benefits....[T]he insurance and utilities industries are bucking the trend of shifting from DB plans to [DC] plans: More than half the companies in these sectors still offer [both] DB and DC plans to new salaried employees. Among insurance companies, 66 percent offer a [DB] and DC plan to new hires, while 59 percent of utilities do." (The Leader Board, by Human Resource Executive)  

[Opinion]

The Data You Need Isn't on Your Retirement Plan Statement
"At the bare minimum, at least three other pieces of information should be included on your statement. The first missing metric is the amount of risk being taken by each investment choice.... The second piece of missing information is the returns in both bull and bear markets.... And finally, a statement should show you what it costs to invest in each individual fund, and this information should be as prominent as the returns, not buried in the disclosures." (Indianapolis Star)  

[Opinion]

Sorry, ERISA Is Hardly a Failure
"To see how the private sector would have fared without ERISA ... look no further than state and local pension systems for public workers.... It's true, not everyone has a 401(k) at work, but whether there's any type of retirement plan at your workplace is irrelevant. Practically anyone can open an individual retirement account either by walking through the doors of a bank or opening it online. And lots of people have done just that. Simply look at the trillions of dollars in individual retirement accounts today." (Workforce magazine)  

[Opinion]

Happy 40th, ERISA!
"Forty years ago ... bell-bottom jeans were still in style, the Vietnam War was coming to a close, and Watergate was still riveting the nation. Against this backdrop of social unrest, there was also a focus on broken pension promises.... ERISA achieved its objective of putting an end to 'disappointed pension expectations' for the 34 million workers then covered by pension plans, dramatically improving their retirement security. However, the world has changed in ways that Congress could not have envisioned four decades ago." (Pension Rights Center)  

Signature Authority Can Trigger ERISA Fiduciary Responsibility
"[T]he court held that [the chief executive officer's] signature authority [over the corporate bank account into which participant contributions were placed] made him a plan fiduciary [with respect to the health & welfare plan] because, among other things, ERISA provides that a person can become a plan fiduciary by exercising any authority or control over the management or disposition of plan assets, even without discretion. The Court declined to decide whether discretion was an ERISA fiduciary requirement at this stage, but noted that at least one Circuit (the Eleventh) has suggested that discretion is a necessary prerequisite for ERISA fiduciary status." [Perez v. Geopharma, No. 8:14-cv-66-T-33T (M.D. Fla. July 25, 2014)] (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Text of District Court Opinion: ERISA Does Not Preempt Claim for Value of Benefits Denied Because of Employee/Independent Contractor Misclassification (PDF)
"Plaintiffs could not have asserted a claim ... until they litigated their employment status, which they did here ... Plaintiffs seek the value of employee benefits denied them based on their misclassification as independent contractors; any damages would come from FedEx, not from the plan itself.... For these reasons, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs ' damages claims are not pre-empted by ERISA." [Gray v. FedEx, No. 4:06-CV-00422 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 5, 2014)] (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri)  

It's Time to Review Your Plan's Benefit Denial Letters
"On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided in Moyer that the contractual time limits governing the period during which a participant must initiate judicial review of a benefits denial must be included in the denial letter issued by the plan administrator in order to comply substantially with the requirements of Section 503 of [ERISA]. This holding differs from earlier decisions in the Fourth and Fifth Circuits, which held that even if a denial of benefits letter failed to include the time limit for submitting a claim for judicial review, the time limit would be honored if the plan administrator's communications substantially complied in the aggregate with the requirements of Section 503 of ERISA." [Moyer v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 13-1396 (6th Cir. Aug. 7, 2014)] (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)