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Rockland Trust
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Goldleaf Partners
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Leaves of Absence and Employee Benefits Compliance: Legal Rules and Compliance Traps
RECORDED
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Effective Use of the Coverage Testing Rules — Who's In and Who's Out?
February 24, 2015 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

HIPAA Compliance in a Hazardous World: Checkup for Employer Plan Sponsors and Business Associates
March 5, 2015 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Smart Ways To Advise Your Clients Regarding How Social Security Fits Into Retirement Planning
March 17, 2015 WEBCAST
(ThinkAdvisor)

Retirement Income Summit
May 4, 2015 in IL
(InvestmentNews)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Request for Information on Suspension of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014
"The Department of the Treasury invites public comments with regard to future guidance required to implement provisions of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) ... MPRA generally permits a sponsor of a multiemployer defined benefit plan that is in critical and declining status to suspend certain benefits following the provision of specified notice, consideration of public comments, approval of an application for suspension, and satisfaction of other specified conditions (including a participant vote).... The PBGC is issuing its own request for information to seek comment on the processes associated with applying for partition or merger assistance, including how such processes should be coordinated with the benefit suspension process. The agencies will coordinate on the development of processes that will apply to applications falling within their respective jurisdictions.... Comments are requested on matters that may be addressed in future guidance implementing section 432(e)(9), and in particular on [nine specific issues]." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[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]

EBSA Issues Final Rules on Annual DB Funding Notice Requirements Under PPA
"Significant changes from the proposed regulations include: [1] exempting certain terminating single-employer plans from furnishing their funding notices; [2] establishing alternative methods of compliance for multiemployer pension plans that have terminated by mass withdrawal and for plans described in Code Sec. 412(e)(3); and [3] including a rule of administrative convenience that if an otherwise disclosable material event first becomes known to the plan administrator 120 days or less before the due date of the funding notice, the event is not required to be disclosed in the notice." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

Upcoming IRS Phone Forum: Retirement Plan Loans to Participants, March 26, 2015
"Learn about: What type of plans can make loans to participants; What are the conditions a plan must follow to make loans; What are the required terms of a plan loan; How plan loans may be taxable under IRC Section 72(p); When plan loans violate the prohibited transaction rules of IRC Section 4975; How to fix plan errors involving loans. Please send [the IRS] your general questions by March 20, 2015." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

Upcoming IRS Phone Forum: Highlights of the Second Cycle E Determination Letter Application Process, March 5, 2015
"Learn about: Who may submit during the second Cycle E; What you must include with your application; How we will process your application; What are the new reference lists; What changes you must make to your plan (Notice 2014-77 -- 2014 Cumulative List). Please send [the IRS] your general questions by February 27, 2015." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

Text of Enrolled Actuaries Basic Examination EA-1, Spring 2014 (PDF)
68 pages. Complete text of exam dated May 6, 2014, with answers, published online by IRS. (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA], Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries [JBEA], and Society of Actuaries)  

[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.

ERISA Advisory Council: Sponsors Need More Guidance on Outsourcing Services (PDF)
"The council's report provides recommendations in these areas: [1] educating plan sponsors on current outsourcing trends; [2] clarifying ERISA's rules for delegating responsibility to service providers; [3] providing additional guidance on the selection and monitoring of service providers; [4] facilitating the use of multiple employer plans to encourage retirement plan formation and to ease related administrative burdens; and [5] giving additional guidance on insurance coverage and bonding of outsourced services. This [article] will analyze how some of these issues affect retirement plan sponsors." (ERISAdiagnostics via Thompson Pension Plan Fix-It Handbook)  

Steps for Small Businesses to Evaluate 401(k) Fees
"Benchmarking is done by comparing service provider fees to competitors or averages. To compare competitor fees, a 401(k) sponsor should ... [1] Request a proposal from at least three different service providers. [2] Identify all compensation paid to each provider, including any 'hidden' indirect compensation paid by plan investments. Fees charged by each provider should be totaled to determine their 'all in' fee for services. [3] Identify all services offered by each provider to determine any differences. [4] Evaluate experience of each provider and any conflicts of interest. [5] Compare fees and services in an 'apples-to-apples' standardized format. The DOL offers a 401(k)fee disclosure worksheet on their website." (MarketWatch)  

VAPPs: Coming Soon to a Retirement Plan Near You?
"[V]ariable annuity pension plans (VAPPs) are regaining interest for retirement plan sponsors because their structure combines many of the strengths of traditional defined benefit plans with the strengths of traditional defined contribution plans.... While the level of the benefit may not be guaranteed, stabilization strategies exist to dramatically reduce the possibility of retiree benefit declines and the participant does not need to worry about running out of money during retirement." (Milliman Retirement Town Hall)  

When a 'Termination' Is Not a Termination
"[W]hat should an employer or plan administrator do to guard against an inadvertent qualification failure caused by the payment of benefits to a vested participant who has not fully retired or terminated? Some employers choose to 'codify' a minimum period of separation into their employment policies or even retirement plan documents to reduce the need to make judgment calls on a case-by-case basis.... [M]ake sure that you have systems in place that will allow you to detect the rehiring of a terminated or retired participant. This can be challenging for large controlled groups with numerous operating subsidiaries." (Verrill Dana LLP)  

A Plan Participant's Checklist for Leaving Employment: Consider All Angles Before Selecting 'Rollover to IRA'
"Usually, but not always, the best course is to roll those benefits over to an IRA. For most people, the IRA offers wider investment choices, potentially lower expenses, and better post-death options for beneficiaries than they can get in their qualified plan. But stop, look, and listen: You need to consider all angles of this particular retirement plan and this individual, plus all applicable tax considerations, before you press that 'rollover to IRA' button." (Morningstar Advisor)  

The Taxation of Social Security Benefits
"CBO estimates that income taxes on Social Security benefits totaled $51 billion in 2014 ... About half of all Social Security beneficiaries owed some income tax on their benefits in 2014 ... Less than 30 percent of all Social Security benefits paid out in 2014 were subject to income tax. By contrast, distributions from defined benefit pension plans were entirely taxable, except for the part of each distribution that represented the recovery of an employee's 'basis'... If benefits paid by the Social Security program were treated the same way -- by taxing all benefits that exceeded the basis -- federal revenues would be more than $400 billion higher over the next 10 years." [Additional detail about the estimates is online.] (Congressional Budget Office [CBO])  

Market Value of Assets Reported Under GASB 67 Is Much Higher Than the Smoothed Asset Value Reported Under Prior Standards
"Most public pension systems are reporting materially higher asset values under the new GASB standards, reflecting immediate recognition of several years of strong market gains not yet fully incorporated under the asset smoothing practices allowed by previous GASB standards ... The higher ratios of assets to liabilities being reported by many systems in fiscal 2014 should be viewed with caution. Reported asset values are now fully subject to market cyclicality, and thus the ratio of assets to liabilities reported by systems will rise and fall far more sharply than the funded ratio reported under prior GASB standards." (Fitch Ratings)  

Lockheed Reports Reduced DB Obligations from Lump Sums
"The company made lump-sum payments of $427 million in 2014, and the corresponding reduction in benefit obligation was $529 million.... Its benefit obligations at December 31, 2014, reflect new longevity assumptions, which had the effect of increasing the DB pension benefit obligations by $3.4 billion. Lockheed Martin utilized a discount rate of 4.00% when calculating its benefit obligations." (PLANSPONSOR)  

Employee Ownership Update for February 2, 2015
Topics include: [1] EBRI's release of 2013 data shows extent of company stock in 401(k) plans; [2] Few large company 401(k) sponsors making major changes after Dudenhoeffer decision; [3] New study finds acquisitions by ESOP companies highly successful; and [4] Employee ownership may expand into China's state-owned companies. (National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO])  

[Opinion]

The 'Inexorable' Global Shift to DC Pensions?
"DC plans are heavily weighted in public equities and bonds, which have done particularly well since the 2008 crisis with all the aggressive quantitative easing going on across the world.... This skews the data to make DC plans look far better than they actually are. Over long periods, well-governed DB plans do much better because they are properly diversified in public and private markets and are not subject to the downside risks of DC plans which are much more correlated to public markets." (Pension Pulse)  

Obama Administration Budget Proposals Could Affect Employee Benefits
Article discusses 15 proposals, including: [1] Revisions to tax credit to qualified small employers for non-elective contributions to health insurance; [2] Automatic enrollment in IRAs (including small employer tax credit), increase tax credit for small employer plan start-up costs, and provide additional tax credit for small employer plans newly offering auto-enrollment; [3] Require retirement plans to allow long-term part-time workers to participate; [4] allow all inherited plan and IRA balances to be rolled over within 60 days; [5] Require non-spouse beneficiaries of deceased IRA owners and retirement plan participants to take inherited distributions over no more than five years; and [6] Require form W-2 reporting for employer contributions to defined contribution plans. (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)