Part Time On Call Retirement Planning Consultant
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in AR, CA, HI, IL, MI, MO, NJ, NY, TN, TX, UT

Marketing Product Manager
Choicelinx
in CT, MA, NH

Plan Administrator I
OneAmerica
in CA

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Conducting and Updating HIPAA Risk Assessments: Essential Steps for Employer Plans and Business Associates
September 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Committee on Benefits Finance Meeting
September 22, 2014 in DC
(Financial Executives International)

At Long Last! IRS Clarifies Rollover Options for After-Tax Savings
September 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC)

Cash Balance Design and Strategies
October 7, 2014 WEBCAST
(Sherman & Howard L.L.C.)

Transparency in Quality Data, Pricing, and Medical Records
October 7, 2014 in MA
(NEJM Group)

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Issues Regs on Hybrid Defined Benefit Plan Rules
"One change is to permit the 133% rule of Sec. 411(b)(1)(B) for defined benefit plans that adjust benefits using a variable rate that could be negative to be applied at an earlier date than originally proposed, either for plan years that begin on or after Jan. 1, 2012, or an earlier date elected by the taxpayer.... Related proposed regulations issued simultaneously concern the rules under which a hybrid plan is treated as failing to satisfy Sec. 411(b)(1)(H) (which prohibits the rate of an employee' s benefit accrual from being reduced because of the attainment of any age) if the terms of the plan provide any interest credit (or an equivalent amount) for any plan year at a rate that is in excess of a market rate of return." (Journal of Accountancy)  

[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]

New IRS Regs Address Cash Balance Plan Requirements
"[T]he final regulations modestly expand what is considered to be a permissible interest crediting rate, but retain the closed-group approach under which rates other than those specifically described will be viewed as exceeding a market rate.... The proposed regulations address the transition from a noncompliant interest crediting rate to one that is permitted under the final regulations.... Although the rules provide anti-cutback relief, this relief is not as broad as some plan sponsors had hoped." (Towers Watson)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Notice 2014-54 Allows Splitting Pretax and After-Tax Amounts by Direct Rollover
"Previously, the IRS stated in Notice 2009-68 that the splitting of pretax and after-tax amounts in participant accounts could not be done by direct rollover, but could be done if a plan participant received a direct distribution and then indirectly rolled over ('60-day rollover') a pretax amount to an IRA or retirement plan.... Notice 2014-54 makes possible the splitting of pretax and after-tax amounts by direct rollover." (Ascensus)  

IRS Releases Final Market Rate Regs for Hybrid Plans (PDF)
"The final rules increase the permitted fixed interest rate floors, add an option to use actual rate of return based on only a portion of the plan's trust, and refine the rules for plan terminations. The IRS has deferred making a decision on designs that allow for participant investment choice. Newly proposed rules, released contemporaneously, suggest how IRS will provide anticutback protection for future interest rate credits that must be curtailed to meet the final regulations." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

Underfunded Union Pension Funds Cannot Take Money from Traveling Workers (PDF)
"The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has held that underfunded union pension plans cannot fund their rehabilitation Plan by withholding funds from traveling workers.... The case has a wide impact to traveling workers who perform work in the jurisdiction of multiemployer plans that are in rehabilitation. So far this year, more than 100 multiemployer union pension plans have filed 'Critical' or 'Endangered' status notices with the DOL. If such funds have withheld reciprocity contributions from traveling union members, [those] union members may be entitled to have such contributions, and the earnings thereon, transferred to their Home Fund. As a consequence, the traveling worker will receive an increased pension benefit from his Home Fund." [Lehman v. Nelson et al., No. C13-1835RSM (W.D. Wash. Sept. 11, 2014)] (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)  

[Advert.]

Are you making payments to dead people?

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IRS Shifts Course with New Rollover Distribution Rule
"[T]he new ruling permits savers to break out that after-tax portion of money within the retirement plan and convert it to a Roth IRA free of taxes. This decision is a shift from where the IRS stood on eligible rollover distributions of money from a retirement plan when those dollars included after-tax contributions." (InvestmentNews)  

An Overview of ERISA Issues Related to ' In-House' Plan Use of Proprietary Products and Services (PDF)
"[The authors] provide an overview of the principal ERISA issues that arise in connection with the use of proprietary products and services, and highlight the prohibited transaction exemptions that may be utilized to avoid violations of ERISA' s prohibited transaction rules. [They] then address the major themes in the litigation related to proprietary products and services. Finally, [they] describe strategies and approaches for complying with ERISA and mitigating litigation risk when using proprietary products and services." (Groom Law Group, via Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Daily)  

Chart of Litigation Related to 'In-House' Plan Use of Proprietary Products and Services (PDF)
"[This] chart identifies the lawsuits that have been filed to date, describes the claims that have been asserted in the lawsuits, and summarizes the substantive court rulings and the procedural status of the cases." [Ongoing chart; updated September 2014.] (Groom Law Group)  

A Review of ERISA Litigation in 2014
"This advisory summarizes a selection of the 2014 decisions ... and the key lessons ... including: [1] Union travelers entitled to wrongfully withheld reciprocity pension contributions; [2] TPA engages in prohibited self-dealing by concealing fees; [3] Church plans should proceed with caution unless established and created directly by a church; [4] Employers have no cause of action against multiemployer trustees for negligent plan management; [5] U.S. Supreme Court rejects Moench presumption, adopts plausibility standard; [6] Include contractual time limit in denial of benefits; and [7] Once-per-year IRA rule to be applied on aggregate basis[.]" (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)  

Social Security Reform: Legal Analysis of Social Security Benefit Entitlement Issues
"This report addresses selected legal issues that may be raised regarding entitlement to Social Security benefits as Congress considers possible changes to the Social Security program in view of projected long-range shortfalls in the Social Security Trust Funds." (Congressional Research Service [CRS])  

[Opinion]

How to Enable Better Retirements? Build on the System's Current Successes
"An accurate assessment of America's retirement system today must recognize three key facts: First, America's retirement system is working. It's helping to build retirement security for the vast majority of Americans. Second, the tax incentives for retirement saving -- based on the deferral of taxes, not on exclusions or deductions -- are key to the successes and strengths of that system. And finally, though there are opportunities to improve our retirement system, changes should build on our current structure -- and not put today's retirement system at risk. Those statements contradict much of the public debate around retirement." (Investment Company Institute [ICI])  

[Opinion]

Group Letter to Congress in Support of a Strengthened and Updated Fiduciary Rule
"The DOL fiduciary rule is outdated, and those saving for retirement need sound investment advice more than ever.... Without an updated rule, the heavy toll on Americans investing for retirement will continue to mount.... The DOL rule can protect Americans without limiting the availability of advice.... The public has a right to see, evaluate, and comment on an updated DOL rule." (Pension Rights Center and 43 Other Organizations)  

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Final Regs: Deduction Limitation for Remuneration Provided by Certain Health Insurance Providers
"This document contains final regulations on the application of the $500,000 deduction limitation for remuneration provided by certain health insurance providers under section 162(m)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code ... These regulations affect certain health insurance providers providing remuneration that exceeds the deduction limitation[.]" (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2014-57: Special Per Diem Rates (PDF)
"This annual notice provides the 2014-2015 special per diem rates for taxpayers to use in substantiating the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home, specifically [1] the special transportation industry meal and incidental expenses (M&IE) rates, [2] the rate for the incidental expenses only deduction, and [3] the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

Employee Classification: An Old Issue Getting Renewed Attention (PDF)
"Worker classification analysis requires a proper assessment of facts and circumstances. For many years, employers have often reached the wrong conclusion, whether or not intentionally. When left unchallenged, a decision to treat a person who should be characterized as an employee as an independent contractor costs the federal and state governments a good deal in uncollected taxes and other social charges, especially when the independent contractors don' t properly report their earnings. For an employer that is challenged on its classification practices and loses, the cost of correction can be significant." (Debevoise & Plimpton LLP)  

Second Circuit Makes It Tough to Appeal District Court's ERISA Remand Order
"Issue: Whether an order remanding the claim to the ERISA administrator constitutes a 'final decision' from which an appeal may be taken? 2nd Circuit held: NO.... Remand decisions are not 'immediately appealable.'... [The court said,] 'Taking into consideration our prior case law and the various analytical approaches used by our sister circuits, we now hold that remands to ERISA plan administrators are not ' final' because in the ordinary case, they contemplate further proceedings by the plan administrator.... We decline, however, to adopt a hard and fast rule that such orders are never immediately appealable[.]'" [Mead v. Reliastar Life Insurance Company, No. 11-192-cv (2d Cir. Sept. 16, 2014)] (Lane Powell PC)  

Communication During Open Season Fraught With Inconsistency, High Potential for Liability
"[N]otices meant to be provided by ERISA plan administrators should be sent by the party that is the plan's named administrator, which may or may not be the employer ... Notices required under [ERISA] should not contain discussions of non-ERISA voluntary benefits ... The consequence of blurring the lines between fiduciary and non-fiduciary -- ERISA and non-ERISA -- is that the communication may be used in litigation or on audit as evidence establishing that the non-fiduciary is actually a fiduciary and/or the non-ERISA benefit is actually governed by ERISA." (Bloomberg BNA)  

myStockOptions.com Expands Its Innovative Multimedia Offerings With New Videos, Podcasts, And Interactive Quizzes
myStockPlan.com, Inc

Happy Birthday TPAresources.com!
TPA Resources, LLC

NAGDCA Elects 2014-2015 Executive Board
National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators

FINRA Marks 75th Anniversary of Protecting Investors
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA]

bswift Expands Its Employee Benefits Product Line with Springboard Specials
bswift

Clearwater Compliance Named Founding Premier Member of Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security (AEHIS) Foundation
Clearwater Compliance

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