NIPA [National Institute of Pension Administrators]

Pension Administrator
Qualified Pension Services, Inc.
in MA

Employee Benefits Associate
Frost Brown Todd LLC
in KY, OH

DB/DC Plan Administrator
QBI, LLC
in CA

Director of Client Services - Payment Solutions
Innovest
in CA

Senior Retirement Plan Consultant/Administrator
Simpkins & Associates
in TX

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Tibble v. Edison International: What It Means for Plan Fiduciaries
May 27, 2015 WEBCAST
(Mayer Brown)

Safe Harbor 401(k) - Minneapolis
June 17, 2015 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

Advanced Cross-Tested Plans: Adding More Tools - Minneapolis
June 18, 2015 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Workshop
July 29, 2015 in CA
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

IRS Continues to Expand, Encourage and Simplify Correction Program in 2015 Updates to EPCRS
"Under the 2015 updates, the IRS is continuing to provide incentive for plan sponsors to correct errors promptly, rather than wait for a governmental auditor to discover the error and require correction along with a hefty sanction." (Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP)  

[Advert.]

The Ultimate Retirement Professional Conference Experience

Limited travel budget? Let ASPPA bring the conference to you. Register for one of four ASPPA Regional conferences - Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati, or Philadelphia! We'll get you up to speed without the travel.

The Fiduciary Hierarchy
"There is a hierarchy of service models available in the 401(k) marketplace. Each of which offers Plan Sponsors a different level of support with regard to investment selection and monitoring. Here is a brief description of each in the order of lowest to highest fiduciary protection: [1] Due Diligence Support.... [2] Fiduciary Certificate or Warranty.... [3] Directed Trustee... Section 3(21) Fiduciary ... [5] Section 3(38) Fiduciary... [6] Discretionary Trustee." (The Retirement Plan Blog)  

Derivatives, De-Risking and Disclosures
"If true that lower interest rates may discourage some plan sponsors from fully transferring risk to a third party insurer via a buy-out but they nevertheless seek to more actively manage pension risks, one could logically expect a greater use of a strategy such as Liability-Driven Investing (LDI). To the extent that LDI frequently entails the use of derivatives, those plan sponsors in favor of LDI may want to take note of a recent move by the [SEC]....[C]ertain registered funds could soon be asked to publish a considerable bounty of data about how they price securities, characteristics of trading counterparties and the specific use of derivative instruments." (Pension Risk Matters)  

Supreme Court Rules That Fiduciaries Have Ongoing Duty to Monitor Plan Investments (PDF)
"Fiduciaries should be prepared for the plaintiffs' bar to assert -- and the courts to possibly recognize -- 'continuing violations' under a theory based upon a fiduciary's failure to monitor the appropriateness of plan investments, thereby allowing claims to reach back well beyond the 6-year statute of limitations period for an alleged fiduciary breach or violation. To mitigate risk associated with plan investment decisions, plan fiduciaries should establish procedures for periodic review of plan investment choices. These periodic reviews should document the empirical reasons why plan investment options have been retained or removed from a plan's fund lineup." (Groom Law Group)  

Attention 401(k) Plan Sponsors: It Is More Important Than Ever to Regularly Review and Evaluate Your Plan's Investment Funds
"[The Supreme Court's decision in Tibble v. Edison International] provided the following specific guidelines for plan sponsors: [1] Plan sponsors or an investment fiduciary they retain have a duty to select prudent investment options, and have a separate, continuing duty to monitor the investment options to ensure that they continue to be prudent options. [2] The plan sponsor or investment fiduciary has a duty to remove investment options that become imprudent. [3] The sponsor or investment fiduciary's continuing duty to monitor investment options requires that they have a process in place to regularly review the investment options." (Frost Brown Todd LLC)  

[Advert.]

Live Web Seminars – Start Earning Your CE Credits Today!

Upcoming topics: Fundamentals series, fiduciary investment advice, 5500 for Welfare, 5500 for 403(b), nonqualified deferred compensation, prohibited transactions, orphan plans, cash balance plans. Stay up-to-date and earn CE credits, register today.

DOL Benefit Plan Audit Quality Study Results Generate Concern, Displeasure from Officials
"The declining quality of audits underlines the need for 'effective and efficient enforcement' methods to encourage auditors to 'do the right thing,' Borzi said. While the DOL and the AICPA have taken steps to train auditors, large numbers of auditors still haven't gotten the message, she said." (Bloomberg BNA)  

A Golden Opportunity for Retirement Plan Advisers: The IRS Restatement Requirements
"The PPA restatement requirement may provide the perfect opportunity for advisers to connect with employers that have yet to amend and restate their plans, and review the effectiveness of their retirement plans. The review process and subsequent findings allow advisers to determine if retirement plans are meeting employers' goals and helping the employees prepare for retirement." (Investment News)  

Understanding Participation in SSI
"The Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) provides a guaranteed income for the elderly. As such it can serve to mitigate any deleterious effects of reductions in Social Security benefits that might result from any Social Security reform. However, participation in SSI among qualified individuals has proven to be low. [The authors] show that this low participation rate, just over 50%, observed at the program's inception has continued to today with little if any change." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)  

San Bernardino Bankruptcy Exit Plan Cuts Some Pension Costs
"A San Bernardino plan to exit bankruptcy follows the path of the Vallejo and Stockton exit plans, cutting bond debt and retiree health care but not pensions. Then it veers off in a new direction: contracting for fire, waste management and other services. The contract services are expected to reduce city pension costs. Other pension savings come from a sharp increase in employee payments toward pensions and from a payment of only 1 percent on a $50 million bond issued in 2005 to cover pensions costs." (Calpensions)  

Six Key Activities CFOs and CHROs Should Perform Together to Optimize Employee Benefit Programs
"Advanced Strategic Planning ... Collaborate to align HR and finance metrics with company objectives... Evaluate outsourced partnerships... Utilize technology to drive efficiencies... Measure... Educate and Value." (Grooms Benefit Solutions)  

Are Top Hat Plans Entitled to a Discretionary Standard of Review?
"A recent First Circuit Court of Appeals decision held that the abuse of discretion standard would apply to a top hat plan that incorporated the standard into its plan documents.... The plan gave discretion to the company to decide the claim and the court upheld the company's decision that the executive had voluntarily retired and therefore was not entitled to severance benefits under the plan." [Niebauer v. Crane & Co., No. 14-2059 (1st Cir. Apr. 21, 2015)] (Stinson Leonard Street)  

ECFC Board Chairman William Short Announces Departure of Executive Director Natasha Rankin
Employers Council on Flexible Compensation

NFP Acquires Meridian Retirement Plan Advisors
NFP Corp.

Prudential Group Insurance Names Dave Heil Regional VP of Premier Accounts
Prudential Financial, Inc.

MJM401k Expands Senior Management Team
MJM401k

View All Press Releases