Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Consultant
Swerdlin & Company - Penret Services
in MA

Health and Welfare Benefits Compliance Coordinator
Publix Super Markets, Inc.
in FL

Stable Value DCIO External Wholesaler
Fiduciary Capital Management
in ANY STATE, CT

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Eases Correction Rules for Missed Elective Deferrals
"[An] employer that has failed to implement an automatic enrollment or escalation feature need not make up the missed deferrals -- so long as the employer starts to deduct the appropriate deferrals from employees' paychecks by the first pay day after the 9-1/2-month period allowed for filing the plan's Annual Report for the year of the failure. This could allow an employer to avoid making corrective contributions for up to 21-1/2 months of an employee's pay.... The Revenue Procedure also provides two additional correction options that apply to all failures involving missed deferrals -- regardless of whether the failure involves an automatic enrollment or escalation feature." (Spencer Fane)  

[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!

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Relaxes Correction Requirements for Elective Deferral (But Not After-Tax Contribution) Failures under EPCRS
"It appears this safe harbor correction method is limited to elective deferrals that are tied to implementing an automatic contribution arrangement, whether an election is made or not. In other words, an election to opt-out of the automatic contribution rate in favor of a higher rate before or shortly after any deferral is made is subject to the safe harbor correction method. However, a failure based on an election to change the automatic contribution rate one year after automatic contributions commenced would not likely be eligible. In that case, [one of the alternative] safe harbor correction methods ... or the original standard correction must be used." (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Clarifies Overpayment Corrections, Reduces Some VCP Fees
"The modifications and clarifications are generally effective July 1, 2015, but plan sponsors may apply them earlier.... [H]ighlights of the provisions affecting 401(k) plans: [1] Clarifications on rules for overpayment failures.... [2] Reduced VCP fees for RMD and loan failures.... [3] Using SCP for recurring Section 415 failures.... [4] VCP submission forms replace Appendices C and D.... [5] VCP submissions requiring a determination letter submission." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

[Guidance Overview]

Roth vs Traditional IRAs: Which Is Right for Your Retirement?
"Roth and traditional IRAs may be effective retirement-savings tools, but eligibility limitations apply. Taxes are due at the time of an IRA conversion, so be sure you have the funds to cover them if you take this step. A Roth IRA may be a good choice if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, and it may provide estate planning benefits." (Charles Schwab)  

[Guidance Overview]

Roth IRA Conversion: Does it Make Sense?
"If you pay the tax from your IRA, you lose the potential benefit of tax-free growth on that amount, defeating the purpose of converting. If you're under 59-1/2, withdrawing money to pay the tax would be an even worse idea, since you would also incur a 10% federal penalty.... If you need to sell appreciated assets to pay the conversion tax, the additional capital gains tax reduces the benefits of a Roth conversion. Assuming you have the cash available elsewhere to pay the conversion tax, you still need to account for the opportunity cost -- or how much money you could have earned had [that cash] remained invested in a taxable account." (Charles Schwab)  

Company Stock in Retirement Plans: Where is the Line Between Prudent and Imprudent Conduct?
"[H]ow can it ever be prudent to offer company stock in a 401(k) plan, and, if the stock falls in value, not have it be a fiduciary breach? Such an analysis would suggest that even holding or offering the company stock as an option is a fiduciary breach, as it is not prudent to offer it at all. But this is where ERISA meets the real world. The statute was not enacted in a vacuum, but was instead created by balancing competing interests.... And this, to a certain extent, is what Dudenhoeffer was about[.]" (Stephen Rosenberg of The Wagner Law Group)  

Is It Too Risky Not to Be in an ESOP?
"If you are a typical 401(k) participant, and you do choose to participate, your employer contribution to the plan will average about 3% to 4% of pay per year.... Now imagine instead you go to work for an ESOP company.... You will be slightly more likely to be offered a secondary retirement plan, usually a 401(k) plan, than employees in non-ESOP companies will be offered any kind of plan.... You will almost always not need to contribute anything to get a company contribution... The company contribution will average about twice what the average company contributed to a 401(k) plan." (National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO])  

SEC's Ability to Deliver True Fiduciary Standard in Doubt
"Backers of a tough fiduciary standard for brokers remain skeptical that the [SEC] can deliver such a rule, as comments made by former and current SEC officials appear to signal a forthcoming watered-down disclosure-based standard that tolerates conflicts.... [Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, said,] 'Recent SEC decisions, statements from senior staff and commissioners and statements from former SEC staff and commissioners provide bold lines of a clear picture as to the SEC's view of the duty of loyalty,' [which] 'depict a new and benign view of conflicts,' one that believes 'conflicts are routine and acceptable -- not inherently inconsistent with providing objective advice.' " (ThinkAdvisor)  

Funded Status of US Corporate Pensions Dips Slightly in March
"The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan declined 0.4 percentage points in March to 87.2 percent in March, as most equity categories fell ... For the typical U.S. corporate plan, assets in March decreased 0.5 percent; while liabilities fell 0.1 percent as the Aa corporate discount rate rose two basis points to 3.86 percent." (BNY Mellon)  

Limiting Participant Claims with Plan and SPD Language
"Without clear language in the plan document and SPD addressing these issues, a plan and its fiduciaries run the risk of (i) being forced to respond to claims and lawsuits that otherwise could have been avoided and (ii) defending lawsuits in distant and unfavorable locations. Some important considerations are: [1] How can a claim be submitted? ... [2] When does a claim need to be brought or a lawsuit need to be filed? ... [3] Where can suit be filed?" (Mazursky Constantine LLC)  

Section 162(m) Final Regs Clarify Requirements for Exemptions to $1 Million Deduction Limitation
"Shares issued upon settlement of restricted stock units, performance shares or other similar stock-based deferred arrangements will not qualify for relief under the IPO transition rule unless the share issuance occurs during the transition period -- i.e., these types of awards will not be treated as 'paid' upon the date of grant. Fortunately, this change will only apply to restricted stock units, performance shares or other similar stock-based deferred arrangements that are issued on or after April 1, 2015. A less generous transition rule had been provided under the proposed regulations." (McDermott Will & Emery)