DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

ESOP Administrator
Blue Ridge ESOP Associates
in ANY STATE

Defined Benefit Analyst
New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA

Be Interstellar. Needed: A True Retirement Plan Consultant
a unique firm in 401k space. I can prove it.
in ANY STATE

Employee Benefits Attorney
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
in TN

DB Administrator / Actuarial Assistant
Pension Actuarial Consulting Firm
in CA

Benefits Account Manager & Team Lead
Owen-Dunn Insurance Services
in CA

DB/DC Plan Administrator
The Benefit Advantage
in ANY STATE

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

IRA Distribution Concepts
December 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Cross-testing: Budget Design & 401(a)(4) Testing
December 9, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASC)

2015 IRAs: What You Need to Know!
December 10, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Narrow-Network Medicare Advantage Plans: Strategies for Insurers and Providers
January 21, 2015 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

Looking Forward: Health Reform in 2015
January 22, 2015 WEBCAST
(Lockton)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Employee Plans News 2014-20, December 1, 2014
Topics: [1] Updated model eligible rollover distribution notices; [2] Retirement Plan Webinars: Dec. 4 -- Properly Defining Retirement Plan Compensation; Dec. 11 -- Retirement Plan Distributions: What Every Participant Should Know; and [3] Updated Publications: Pub. 1-EP, Understanding the Employee Plans Examination Process (Rev. 11-2014), and Pub. 1020, Appeal Procedures for Employee Plans Examinations (Rev. 11-2014). (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Advert.]

Compliance Testing: Simpler & Less Stressful with ASC Systems!

See how your compliance testing can take less time with increased accuracy. Join Retirement Plan industry veteran, Claire May, December 15th. Click here today.

[Guidance Overview]

PBGC Issues Final Regs on Rollovers from DC Plans to DB Plans
"The PBGC ... would treat these amounts as covered in priority category two (PC2) ... [which] means that the benefits would have a higher claim on plan assets than most benefits owed under a terminated pension plan. However, unlike other PC2 benefits, the PBGC generally will not pay out any benefits attributable to a rollover as a lump sum and, for purposes of preretirement death benefits, the PBGC will include those benefits in the value of the plan's qualified preretirement survivor annuity for the surviving spouse of a deceased participant. Significantly, this special treatment will only apply to rollovers that are treated as mandatory employee contributions for purposes of Section 411 of the federal tax code." (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

[Guidance Overview]

PBGC Finalizes Additional Guarantee for DC Rollovers (PDF)
"The amended final rule does not change the treatment of 'mandatory contributions' under the defined benefit plan itself. These benefits are integral to the design of the benefit structure as contrasted with the supplemental benefits created by the employee's affirmative election to roll over a distribution from another plan.... PBGC also clarifies that rollover amounts include both salary deferral contributions made by the participant as well as any other employer contributions made to the defined contribution plan. This opens a 'back door' to using pretax deferrals to buy defined benefit accruals." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Updates Special Tax Notice for Retirement Plans
"[T]he new model notices include the following modifications: [1] Provide for the rollover of automatic contributions that are withdrawn upon the request of the employee within 90 days of enrollment; [2] Provide for the penalty-free distribution of amounts rolled over to an IRA to pay for certain health insurance premiums; [3] Update the summary of the tax treatment of rolled-over after-tax contributions; and [4] Update the summary of the tax treatment of rollovers to Roth IRAs." (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP)  

Five Compliance Checks Every 401(k) Fiduciary Should Do Now
"[1] Review and update the plan document.... [2] Confirm all required plan disclosures have been made.... [3] Review (and remove if possible) legacy participants.... [4] Encourage maximum year-end contributions.... [5] Required distributions reminder." (Fiduciary News)  

[Advert.]

Premium Educational Event for Taft-Hartley Trustees

Attend FRA's Taft-Hartley Benefits Summit to effectively manage your fund's investments and ensure your members' health & welfare benefits remain top-notch. Mention FMP164 during registration for 10% discount.

Deferring 100% of December Paychecks to Achieve Maximum Contributions to 403(b) and 457(b) Plans
"For the 403(b) plan the answer is yes, presuming that the plan permits elective deferrals of up to 100% of pay ... [T]he employee will also need to complete a new salary deferral agreement effective 1/1/2015 in order to avoid continuing to defer 100% of pay in the new calendar year.... For the 457(b) plan, the answer is no. A difference between 457(b) plans and 403(b) plans is that salary deferral agreements are generally effective for the month following the month in which the agreement was executed ... [In] order to defer pay for the month of December, 2014, a salary deferral agreement would have been required to have been completed by 11/30/2014[.]" (PLANSPONSOR)  

Don't Miss Taking a Distribution From Your Inherited IRA by Year-End
"If the IRA owner died before his required beginning date (RBD), which is April 1 of the year after he turned age 70-1/2, then generally you have two options: [1] The 5-year-rule; [2] The single life option (a.k.a. the 'stretch IRA'). In most cases, you're better off choosing the stretch IRA because you can take the funds out over your single life expectancy starting the year after the IRA owner died." (Slott Report)  

Guide to Choosing Delegated Investment Management Services for Corporate Pensions
"Past performance is not a key factor on which to base your choice of [outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO)] provider. Investment philosophy and cost are more important.... [T]he OCIO's perspective on such issues as active versus passive management, use of derivatives and alternative investments, and approaches to strategic and tactical asset allocation are all important.... [T]he OCIO's manager database and grading system may be an important factor to consider.... Before embarking on a project to choose an OCIO, it is essential that the ultimate goal for the pension plan is clear." (The Terry Group)  

Target Date Glide Paths: Balancing Plan Sponsor Goals
"[H]igher-equity glide paths offer greater efficacy for lifetime income replacement, while lower-equity glide paths offer greater efficacy for more stable account balances, with lower risk of large capital losses.... Two sponsors with similar plan demographics and benefit structures might rationally select different glide paths if they have different risk preferences.... [The authors] illustrate the trade-offs between the two goals using a series of hypothetical glide paths spanning the range of those available on the market today [and] show the directional impact that differing characteristics -- such as salary levels, contribution rates, and post retirement withdrawal horizons -- have on these trade-offs." (T. Rowe Price)  

Target Date Funds: Are They Right for Your DC Plan?
"[T]he biggest shortfall of target date funds is that they assume everyone has the same risk tolerance level. To counter this shortfall, [the authors] encourage plan sponsors to include core options, risk-based model portfolios and target date funds in their investment line up.... [R]isk-based model portfolios [are] an optimum choice for those participants that understand their risk tolerance level. Target date funds are a nice alternative for those participants that aren't focused on risk, do not want to bother with understanding their risk tolerance or just want a simple 'do it for me' solution." (Bronfman E.L. Rothschild)  

The Importance of Being Shrewdest: Why Plan Participants Must Read Plan Provisions Carefully
"A recent tax court decision shows that, while qualified plans must offer participants the chance to roll over benefits, qualified plans are not required themselves to accept rollovers, even where the plan regularly accepts employee contributions. This can be especially problematic in cases where a participant takes a distribution of benefits, say, from an IRA, with the intent to deposit the distributed amounts within 60 days into his/her subsequent employer's plan: If it is later revealed that the plan does not accept rollovers, then the participant has a taxable event that also may include a 10% early distribution penalty." [Bohner v. Commissioner, 143 T.C. No. 11 (Sept. 23, 2014)] (Bloomberg BNA)  

Pension Finance Update as of November 30, 2014 (PDF)
"November was another break-even month for pension finances, as asset growth was matched by liability growth. Both model plans we track were flat again last month. For the year, our model Plan A remains down 5%, and model Plan B is off 2%." (October Three Consulting)  

[Opinion]

Will DOL Go Nuclear on Fiduciaries?
"What DOL doesn't seem to understand is that, for many employers, developing the skills and knowledge to become prudent investment experts is simply not worth it. These employers ... have four choices: [1] Not have a plan.... [2] Become an ERISA prudent expert.... [3] Pay someone to be the plan's 'prudent expert.' ... [4] Rely on the 'free' expertise of consultants and brokers who have conflicts ... [but making] the consultants and brokers ... 'fiduciaries' doesn't solve the basic problem." (money vs. time)  

Economist Sounds Warning on Reality of Retirement
"[Alicia Munnell, director of Boston College's Center for Retirement Research,] has been writing about Social Security and retirement for nearly five decades, and has no plans to stop working. She said she recognizes her book makes proposals that workers and policy makers may not want to hear. But the reality is retirement for this and coming generations has changed. Workers are increasingly on their own and denying that -- and failing to take steps such as working a few more years -- will only lead to serious problems in the future." (The Boston Globe)