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Proposed Fiduciary Definition Creates More Questions Than Answers (PDF)
15 pages. "A large body of long-standing prohibited transaction exemptions is being displaced by a new series of complicated exemptions that interrelate with the new proposed rule, as well as the relevant statutes, in complex ways. The proposed changes take hundreds of pages to explain and, ultimately, create more questions than answers."
(Alston & Bird LLP, in Benefits Law Journal)
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BP Wins Dismissal of ERISA Duty-to-Monitor Claims in Stock Drop Class Action
"The court said the corporate defendants -- including BP America Inc. and BP North America Inc. -- weren't plan fiduciaries and couldn't be held vicariously liable for the acts of those who had made the investment decisions.... [T]he court joined others that have held that [ERISA's] duty to monitor doesn't carry with it the duty to apprise plan fiduciaries of material, nonpublic company information." [In re B.P. ERISA Litigation, No. 4:10-cv-4214 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 30, 2015)]
(Bloomberg BNA)
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IRS/Treasury Panelists Clarify Rules for Match Allocation with Discriminatory Compensation Definition
"The question at hand was whether this created a potentially discriminatory rate of match, which required nondiscrimination testing for benefits, rights, and features (BRF). The regulatory language can be read to imply that BRF testing applies, in addition to the ACP test. The panelists agreed with ASPPA that the plan did not need to perform BRF testing so long as: [1] All employees may defer based on the same (or substantially similar) definition of pay (e.g., 10% of base pay), [2] The same match formula applies to all employees, and [3] The match formula is based on the same definition of pay used for deferrals."
(SunGard Relius)
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Resources for Central States Pension Fund Retirees
"The Pension Rights Center has posted this page to serve as a retiree resource hub for materials related to the Central States Pension Fund's application to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to reduce retiree benefits under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. This page will be updated on an ongoing basis."
(Pension Rights Center)
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How to Save for Retirement While Paying Off Student Loans
"Between the realities of today's retirement saving environment and the relatively young age of millennials, a fiduciary needs to be able to explain, in a convincing manner, why student debt cannot impede retirement saving. Indeed, the first question often asked by this generation is 'Why save now?' "
(Fiduciary News)
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White Middle-Aged Americans See Mortality Increase
"Middle-aged, non-Hispanic white Americans saw a 'marked increase' in mortality between 1999 and 2013, a reversal from a decades-long decline that can be largely explained by a spike in suicide, substance abuse and liver disease, new research shows.... The change in overall mortality was driven by those with a high-school degree or less, the study found ... Those with a bachelor's degree or higher saw death rates fall -- though they too posted an increase in mortality from suicide and drug and alcohol poisonings."
(Bloomberg)
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Social Security Replacement Plans for Government and Public Agency Employees
"Steps for analyzing OASDI coverage: [1] If the employee's position is covered by an agreement [by a Section 218 Agreement] and no exclusion applies, the employee is covered. A Section 218 Agreement is a written agreement in which a State or local government voluntarily agrees to participate in Social Security. Note that once a State or local government agency becomes covered by a Section 218 Agreement, it is not permitted to withdraw or cancel its participation. [2] If the employee's position is not covered under a Section 218 Agreement and the employee is covered by a SSRP, the employee's coverage under OASDI is not mandatory -- the sponsoring employer can opt out of OASDI."
(Chang Ruthenberg & Long PC)
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[Opinion]
ASPPA Comment Letter to IRS on Treatment of Overpayments Under EPCRS (PDF)
10 pages. "[1] Employers should always be permitted to request recoupment from participants, but the Service should implement safeguards to protect participants. [2] Employers should be permitted (but in no way required) to utilize a correction method similar to the rules on the recoupment of overpayments issued by the PBGC ... [3] The Service should provide safe harbor rates that employers may use to calculate interest on overpayments; and [4] The Service should clarify ... [a] Overpayments may be corrected by reducing future benefits from the plan ... and, in certain circumstances, the overpayment may continue to be treated as an eligible rollover distribution; and [b] The circumstances that may be taken into account in determining whether the plan has been made whole for the overpayments and the amount of the employer's corrective contribution to the plan."
(American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA])
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[Opinion]
Mitigating Risk to Maximize the Benefits of Employee Ownership
"[T]he federal government should limit 401(k) investment in company stock to 15 percent of total holdings.... Second, the federal government should allow early diversification for workers who are participating in an ESOP that requires wage and benefit concessions or when the employer does not contribute to another retirement vehicle, such as a 401(k).... Third, the federal government should strengthen its oversight to ensure that companies correctly value stock that is being sold to workers."
(Center for American Progress)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Affluent Boomers Consider Long-Term Care Top Risk to Well-Being in Retirement, Yet Only 3 in 10 Have Made Financial Plan to Address Issue
"Only half of all Boomers, and just 44 percent of pre-retiree Boomers, have developed a formal financial or retirement plan. Interestingly, those with advisors are more than twice as likely as those without to have a formal financial or retirement plan (62% vs. 26% respectively).... Boomers have relatively sub-par knowledge about long-term care. When asked 11 quiz questions about the issue, the average respondent answers just 7 of them correctly. They are least familiar with the cost and average length of stay in a nursing home as well as the likelihood of needing long-term care at an early age."
(John Hancock)
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Early Retirement and the ACA (PDF)
12 pages. "While many groups will benefit from the ACA, those who have left or will leave full-time jobs and are under the age of 65 are among those with the most to gain. This paper explains how older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare can take advantage of their new insurance options and enjoy enhanced career flexibility later in life."
(Prudential)
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