Account Manager
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

Compliance Analyst
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

DC Retirement Plan Account Manager
Pentegra Retirement Services
in SC

Director, Insurance Services
Children's Hospital Association
in KS

Client Service Manager
The Newport Group
in FL, NC, WI

Qualified Retirement Plan Administrator
PlanTech, LLP
in ANY STATE, AL

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Identifying Common-Law Employees: Implications for Employer Group Health Plans
RECORDED
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Health Plan Blueprint: Managing Change Through Innovation in the Age of the Customer
February 12, 2015 WEBCAST
(Benefitfocus)

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[Official Guidance]

Revised PBGC Forms Reflect New Requirement for Proof of Certain Benefit Distributions
"OMB has approved revisions to the standard and distress termination forms and instructions. The new forms and instructions can be found on the Plan Terminations page of PBGC's website. Under the revisions, a plan administrator of a plan terminating in a standard termination (or a distress termination that closes out in the private sector) must submit with the post-distribution certification the most recent plan document and proof of benefit distributions for lump sums paid and annuities purchased. Plan administrators must provide this information with any post-distribution certification filed on or after March 1, 2015." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[Advert.]

Plan Advisors Can't Miss the NAPA 401(k) Summit -- San Diego, March 2015

Learn from the best and add to your professional skill set by earning ASPPA and CFP CE's, networking with other exclusive financial advisors and TPAs, hearing from leading speakers on topics that matter to you most. The NAPA 401(k) Summit supports your needs!

[Guidance Overview]

Dramatic Changes Result from the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014
"Prior to MEPRA, the actuary need only certify that the multiemployer plan was not projected to have an accumulated funding deficiency for the current plan year and the subsequent nine plan years. Now, the actuary must also certify that the multiemployer plan is not projected to become insolvent for any of the next 30 years and such plan is not in 'critical status' as of the beginning of the plan year. Certification that the multiemployer plan is not in 'critical status' at the beginning of the plan year is subject to an exception for some plans that have an automatic extension of amortization period. However, MEPRA also protects multiemployer plans that emerge from 'critical status' from overly easy reentry into critical status." (Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, via Lexology)  

[Guidance Overview]

Sponsors of Puerto Rico-Qualified Retirement Plans May Be Required to File with PR Treasury by April 15, 2015 (PDF)
"[If] you are a calendar year employer that either restated a PR Qualified Plan or adopted a Qualification Amendment effective as of 2014, such restatement or Qualification Amendment must be filed with PR Treasury on or before April 15, 2015 (or the extended due date granted by PR Treasury to file your income tax return for 2014).... [C]alendar year employers that during 2014 adopted the amendments required by the US Supreme Court's Windsor decision and the [IRS] Notice 2014-19 (DOMA Amendments), are encouraged to file such DOMA Amendments with PR Treasury on or before April 15, 2015 (or the extended due date granted by PR Treasury to file their 2014 income tax returns), since PR Treasury is administratively considering these amendments as 'Qualification Amendments' effective as of 2014." (McConnell Valdes)  

Company Stock in 401(k)s: Proceed with Caution
"Vanguard's research found the average five-year annualized return was 21%, but there was wide variation: The five-year annualized return was negative 0.04% at the fifth percentile and a positive 44% at the 95th percentile. 'If you happened to work for a company with returns in the top 5%, you earned a 44% return -- that's pretty sweet' " says Jean Young, senior research analyst in Vanguard's Center for Retirement Research. 'People who see that kind of return become very attached to their company stock, but it's a type of error in portfolio construction. They don't understand the risks they are taking.' " (Morningstar)  

Will There Be 'SAFE' Passage for a Grab-Bag of ERISA Changes? (PDF)
"The proposals under Title II of the [Secure Annuities for Employee Retirement Act of 2013] include ... expanded plan-design options, simplified administrative and notification requirements, extended deadlines and the elimination of certain restrictions on rollovers and forfeitures. These proposals may have evolved over time out of frustration with shortcomings in the law or efforts to identify areas particularly ripe for relatively non-controversial improvement." (Dechert LLP, via Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Daily)  

[Advert.]

2015 SPARK National Conference -- June 7-9, Washington DC

The retirement services industry's leading event for top marketing, sales, administration and record keeping professionals. Comprehensive agenda is designed to meet the needs of 401(k) Plan Providers, Financial Advisors and Third Party Administrators.

Average 401(k) Balance Hits Record Levels
"The year-end average 401(k) balance was $91,300, a record high for 401(k) accounts.... For employees in a 401(k) plan for 10 years or more, the average balance was $248,000, up 11% year-over-year." (Fidelity)  

Senators Collins and Nelson Reintroduce Retirement Security Act of 2015
"The 'Retirement Security Act of 2015' would help facilitate the use of private multiple employer plans, where many small businesses can join together to achieve economies of scale and advantages with respect to plan administration and investment services, making plans much more affordable and effectively managed. The legislation would encourage greater use of auto-enrollment and auto-escalation features and would allow employers to use a 'stretch match,' which encourages greater employee saving to receive matching contributions from employers." (American Council of Life Insurers [ACLI])  

Individuals Approaching Retirement Have Options (Literally) to Secure a Comfortable Retirement
"This paper examines the critical final five year period leading up to retirement and analyzes whether traditional asset allocation strategies effectively and consistently assist individuals in reaching their retirement income goals as they approach retirement.... [T]his simulation [finds] higher overall expected yields in the traditional investment strategies over the evaluated five year period. However, after applying a constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) coefficient, the leveraged option based investment strategies, offering a more right-skewed payoff profile, quickly become the preferred strategies compared to the traditional asset allocation methods. As most individuals approaching retirement possess high levels of risk aversion, these alternative strategies should be seriously considered[.]" (Bryan Foltice, via SSRN)  

[Opinion]

NAPA Stakes a Position Against Threatened DOL Fiduciary Rule
"A fiduciary rule is a common sense reform for America's retirement plan system, but a growing number of powerful industry groups disagree.... Investment advisers prove every day that small business retirement plan sponsors and participants don't need to pay more for conflict-free advice." (Employee Fiduciary)  

Unfortunate Court Decision Holds Employer Liable for Legal, But Not Optimal, Tax Withholding
"The court concluded that the plan required the employer to withhold FICA tax at the time an employee deferral contribution was withheld or an employer matching was credited to an employee's account. If Henkel had done so -- following the special timing rule -- no FICA taxes would have been due on payments from the plan because of the non-duplication rule, and employees/participants would have enjoyed more favorable tax consequences. The court granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on their claim that the employer 'committed a FICA error in violation of the Plan.' " [Davidson v. Henkel Corp., No. 12-cv-14103 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 6, 2015)] (Winston & Strawn LLP)  

NAPA Announces 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award Semi-Finalists
National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA]

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