DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

ERISA Attorney
Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP
in CA

BU Attorney / Senior BU Attorney
Northern Trust
in IL

Client Service Manager
July Business Services
in ANY STATE

Defined Contribution Client Manager
Milliman
in CA

Sr. Account Executive - Retirement Services
Principal Financial Group
in WA

Retirement Specialist
Nationwide
in TX

Regional Sales Director - Midwest
Fringe Benefit Group
in ANY STATE, IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI

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Self-Insuring Your Health Plan: Why Now, and What Needs to Be Done?
RECORDED
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

New EEOC Guidance for Wellness Program Incentives: Design and Administrative Impacts for Employers and Administrators
RECORDED
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

ACA Enforcement — Brace for Impact!
June 5, 2015 WEBCAST
(Littler Mendelson)

Multiple Employer Plans: Keys to Compliance and Operation
June 15, 2015 WEBCAST
(American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education Group [ALI CLE])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Provides Permanent Relief for Late Returns of Small Retirement Plans
"Most of the guidance provided in Rev. Proc. 2015-32 is similar to the expiring temporary relief and requires taxpayers to complete and submit the delinquent returns for all delinquent years.... The permanent relief does include a filing fee of $500 per delinquent return, up to a maximum of $1,500 per plan. In addition, Rev. Proc. 2015-32 requires a Form 14704, Transmittal Schedule, be submitted with the late returns." (McGladrey)  

[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]

It's 2015 -- Are Your Plans Ready for FATCA? (PDF)
"When will withholding on US-source dividends and interest payments to non-US retirement funds begin? Depending on the US withholding agent, it may have already begun.... How does a retirement fund claim a FATCA withholding exemption? ... What can be done if withholding occurs anyway even though I believe the retirement fund should be exempt? ... When do plan participants and beneficiaries who are US persons (if the plan is not exempt) begin to be reported by Foreign Financial Institutions to the IRS? ... All of our non-US retirement fund assets are held by insurance companies or other foreign financial institutions. Do I need to do anything?" (Groom Law Group)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Gives Plan Sponsors Welcome Relief for Automatic Enrollment Features
"Recognizing that the potential cost of QNEC discourages employers from adopting automatic enrollment and/or automatic escalation features, IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2015-28 to modify the safe harbor correction methods for deferral failures within a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. This new corrective action not only encourages employers to adopt and/or to retain automatic enrollment features, but also encourages the early correction of missed deferrals, should they occur." (Strategic Benefit Services)  

[Guidance Overview]

Hardship Distributions for Participants May Now Be a Hardship for Plan Sponsors
"Even though the [April 2, 2015 issue of Retirement News for Employers] constitutes informal guidance and does not have the effect of a regulation or IRS Notice ... it clearly shows how the IRS will act when auditing qualified plans.... [P]lan sponsors will have to take much more of a hands-on role when it comes to hardship distributions -- making sure that the TPA receives sufficient documentation of the existence of a hardship event (which may mean subjecting HR to very private and sensitive personal information as well as making them appear more adverse than desired) and making sure to retain such documentation." (Bloomberg BNA)  

[Guidance Overview]

Guidance on Allocation of After-Tax Amounts to Rollovers and Proposed Changes for Designated Roth Distributions (PDF)
"Beginning January 1, 2015, when participants choose to direct their retirement plan distribution to go to multiple destinations, the amounts will be treated as a single distribution for purposes of allocating pre-tax and after-tax amounts if such distributions are scheduled to be made at the same time. This will allow participants in Section 401(a), 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) governmental retirement plans to: [1] Roll over amounts to both a Roth IRA and a non-Roth IRA, [2] Allocate the pre-tax amount of the distribution to the non-Roth IRA and the after-tax amount to the Roth IRA, and [3] Avoid having to pay income tax on pre-tax amounts rolled over to the non-Roth IRA." (VOYA Financial)  

[Advert.]

PSCA's 68th Annual National Conference, Oct. 14-16, Chicago, IL

Your DC plan is the first step in helping employees be prepared for retirement. Attend PSCA's National Conference and learn how to get your employees to financial wellness using the plan's design, investments, compliance and education. Register NOW!

[Guidance Overview]

DOL's Reproposed Rules Redefining ERISA Fiduciary: Considerations for Plan Sponsors
"For plan sponsors, DOL's proposal matters, first, because sponsors are, in effect, consumers of advice. Either directly, when ... a consultant advises them about which funds to put in a fund menu. Or indirectly, on behalf of participants, when ... they retain persons (educators, investment advisors or even call center operators) who advise their participants.... For retirement plan sponsors, three areas will be critical: [1] advice received with respect to the selection and monitoring of investments and fund menu investment options; [2] advice to (and education for) participants about plan investments; and [3] advice to participants about plan distributions/rollovers." (October Three Consulting)  

Tibble and the Fiduciary Duty to Monitor (or, The Only Foolish Question is the One You Didn't Ask)
"What can a fiduciary do to minimize the risk of breaching his or her fiduciary duties? Remember that the only foolish question is the one not asked. Remember, too, that proving what was done and by whom is easier if you maintain a contemporaneous written record. Ask for written reports and signed opinion letters. Read them and, if you don't understand them, ask for an explanation. Don't be embarrassed about not understanding -- you hired professionals to help you understand. If you don't ask questions, you are potentially shortchanging the plan and exposing yourself to unnecessary risk." (Drinker Biddle)  

Supreme Court Rules on Duty to Monitor Plan Investment Options (PDF)
"Investment fiduciaries: [1] have an ongoing duty to monitor the plan investment options and remove imprudent ones; [2] should have procedures for the periodic review of the plan investment lineup; [3] should review the share classes being used, gather information about potentially more cost-effective classes that may be available, and justify the choices made; [4] should seek information and advice from experts when they do not have the necessary expertise; [5] should document the reasons why investment options have been retained or removed; and [6] should review their document retention policy and consider keeping documents related to the plan investment decisions for a considerably long time." [Tibble v. Edison Int'l, No. 13-550 (U.S. May 18, 2015)] (Reliance Trust)  

How 21st Century 401(k) Plans Differ from the Original 1980s Version
"We can list five dramatic differences between modern 401k plans and their distant Reagan-era cousins: [1] More universal participation; [2] More investment choices; [3] Better investment choices; [4] Greater automation; and [5] Greater transparency. In what ways have these changes benefited retirement savers and plan sponsors? Have any of these changes done more harm than good?" (Fiduciary News)  

Funded Status of U.S. Corporate Pensions Rises to 91.6 Percent
"The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan increased 1.5 percentage points in May to 91.6 percent, but public plans, foundations and endowments missed their targets for the month ... For the typical U.S. corporate plan, assets in May fell 0.2 percent; while liabilities declined 1.9 percent as the Aa corporate discount rate rose 15 basis points to 4.20 percent.... The funded status is at its highest level since it was 92.0 percent in June 2014, and it is 4.3 percentage points higher than at the beginning of the year." (BNY Mellon)  

Three Reasons Why Women Should Lead Household Retirement Planning
"Fifty-two percent of women between the ages of 75 and 84 are widowed, compared to 17 percent of men, according to the Society of Actuaries. Among the 65-to-74 crowds, 26 percent of women are widowed, and 8 percent of men have lost their spouse. With women most likely to need their retirement income to last the longest, it makes a lot of sense for them to head a couple's retirement planning." (Bloomberg)  

The Obvious Retirement Risk That's Not in the Models
"Not only must advisors plan for sequence-of-returns risk -- or better, path dependency -- recognizing that a gyrating market makes portfolio values unpredictable; so too must they plan for sequence of consumption risk. Spending is [also] a stochastic process -- it doesn't result in a predictable value ... So sequence of consumption risk means really acknowledging that not only the returns on the portfolio are random and unpredictable, but your spending is random and unpredictable." (ThinkAdvisor)  

When Should You Take Social Security?
"Factors to consider: [1] Your cash needs.... [2] Your life expectancy and break-even age.... [3] Your spouse.... [4] Whether you're still working.... [5] What you see on your Social Security statement isn't what you actually get." (Charles Schwab)  

[Opinion]

Why Plan Sponsors Should Support Harmonization of Fiduciary Regs
"After the proposed rules become law, assuming they are not changed significantly, there will continue to be differences between brokers and RIAs in fiduciary responsibility, regulator review and services offered.... Currently, many plan sponsors don't really know whether they are working with a broker or RIA, nor do they understand what difference it makes. The goal of harmonization is to ensure that brokers and RIAs fall under the same fiduciary rules and regulations so that clients will not have to worry about whether they are working with one or the other. Harmonization would ensure that both deliver the same standard of fiduciary care." (Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants)  

Supreme Court Seeks Government's View in ERISA Case Involving Venue Selection
"Although the [DOL] has long argued that venue selection clauses are incompatible with ERISA, a split panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held last fall that such clauses are valid and enforceable. The Sixth Circuit's majority opinion was noteworthy for its refusal to extend any deference to the position taken by the Department of Labor in two recent amicus briefs.... This call for the government's opinion represents the third time the Supreme Court has sought government input on ERISA cases this term, and at least the sixth time in the past two years." [Smith v. Aegon Companies Pension Plan, No.13-5492 (6th Cir. Oct. 14, 2014)] (Bloomberg BNA)  

TRA Promotes Charlie Pritzl to Plan Administration Manager
The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

Segal Group Communications Practice Receives Two Awards
The Segal Group

Willis Boosts Human Capital Business with Acquisition of Evolution Benefits Consulting
Willis

JMM, CPA Announces the Start of Our Firm Specialized in Employee Benefit Plan Audits
JMM CPA

Olson Mills Law, LLC Relocates
Olson Mills Law Firm, LLC

Preferred Pension Planning Corporation is Certified to Industry Best Practices
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

CMS Announces New Policy Will Allow Entrepreneurs and Innovators Access to Medicare Data
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS]

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