Compliance Analyst
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

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High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
December 16, 2015 WEBCAST
(Trucker Huss)

Pension Protection Act (PPA) Webinar
December 16, 2015 WEBCAST
(Benefit Resources, Inc.)

Advanced HSAs
July 26, 2016 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

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Today's Discussions on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

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Market-Return Cash Balance Plan Might Be the Right Design to Improve Sponsor and Participant Outcomes (PDF)
"It's a lot like a DC plan, even more so than a typical cash balance (CB) plan. Participants have an account balance, but like all cash balance plans it's a notional account balance. Benefits are expressed as account balances, pay credits, which are analogous to employer contributions in DC plan, are deposited periodically into accounts, and interest credits, which are analogous to investment returns, are credited. What distinguishes it from a traditionally-designed cash balance plan is that the interest credits are based on real market rates of return rather than bond yields." (October Three Consulting)  

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Lawmakers Explore an Alternative to DOL Fiduciary Rule
"The proposal that [Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn)] is helping develop, which has yet to be introduced as a bill, is based on a set of principles for financial advice in the retirement sector that lawmakers unveiled in November, at the time warning about 'unintended negative consequences' of the DOL's fiduciary regulation. In addition to an enforceable best-interest standard for advisers, the principles assert that 'retirement advisers must deliver clear, simple and relevant disclosure of material conflicts,' including those related to fees and other compensation.... Roe's framework would also make it the goal of public policy to preserve access for individuals and small businesses to a full complement of financial instruments and education, singling out proprietary products and commission-based sales, business models that critics say the Labor Department's rule would eliminate." (Employee Benefit News)  

Witnesses at House Subcommittee Hearing Welcome Bipartisan Effort to Protect Retirement Security
"Witnesses also offered support for the legislative principles that Republican and Democratic lawmakers have said their bipartisan solution will reflect. Calling the principles a 'bold step in the right direction,' former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Bradford Campbell said they 'form a solid foundation for meaningful legislation.' He continued, 'This approach far better serves the interests of retirement savers than the department's effort to change the entire regulatory structure governing retirement advice.' " (Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives)  

Pension Finance Update, November 2015
"November saw pension sponsors mostly tread water, consolidating gains from a strong October, in what is shaping up as a solid, if unspectacular, year for pension finances. Both model pension plans we track were close to flat last month: Plan A gained a fraction of 1% and is now ahead 4% on the year, while Plan B dropped a fraction of 1% but remains up almost 2% on the year through November." (October Three Consulting)  

S&P 1500 Pension Funded Status Decreased by 1% in November
"The estimated aggregate funding level of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies decreased by 1% to 82% as of November 30, 2015, as rates increased and equity markets were mixed. As of November 30, 2015, the estimated aggregate deficit of $397 billion USD increased by $11 billion as compared to the end of October. Funded status is now up by $107 billion USD from the $504 billion USD deficit measured at the end of 2014[.]" (Mercer)  

Survey of Multiemployer Plans' Zone Status (PDF)
"Nearly two-thirds of plans are in the green zone. About one-half of all participants are in plans in the red zone and nearly one-half of these red-zone participants are also in plans that are considered to be 'critical and declining,' based on filings between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015. The ratio between the number of active and inactive participants is a key indicator of red-zone status, but not a key indicator of yellow-zone status. The average PPA'06 funded percentage is 85 percent for plans with zone certifications filed in July, August and September of this year; and 87 percent for plans with zone certification filing deadlines between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015." (Segal Consulting)  

Three Risks of Investing in Annuities
"Immediate annuities are an insurance product that prevents you from losing money and offers the benefit of guaranteed payments. However, there is a catch with those guarantees.... [1] Inflation risk ... [2] Loss of flexibility ... [3] High fees and commissions." (U.S. News & World Report)  

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[Official Guidance]

Congress Repeals Automatic 3-1/2 Month Extension for Form 5500
"The conference agreement repeals the provision in the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 that provides for an automatic 3-1/2 month extension of the due date for filing Form 5500 [which would have applied to plan years beginning in 2016]. Thus, the extended due date for Form 5500 is determined under DOL and IRS rules as in effect before enactment of the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015." [The Form 5500 provision is discussed at pp. 536-38 of the 555-page conference report. The conference report was agreed upon on December 3, 2015. It has not yet been signed into law by President Obama.] (114th Congress)  

[Official Guidance]

Text of 2015 Form 5500: Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (PDF)
"This form is required to be filed for employee benefit plans under sections 104 and 4065 of [ERISA] and sections 6047(e), 6057(b), and 6058(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Complete all entries in accordance with the instructions to the Form 5500." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]; Internal Revenue Service [IRS]; and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[Official Guidance]

Text of Instructions for 2015 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (PDF)
82 pages. "Under the computerized ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2), you must electronically file your 2015 Form 5500.... Changes to Note: [1] IRS Electronic Filing Requirements.... [2] IRS Compliance Questions (optional for the 2015 plan year) ... [3] Schedule MB.... [4] Schedule SB.... [5] Form 5500 Final Return/Report for Plans Trusteed by PBGC." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]; Internal Revenue Service [IRS]; and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Releases Advance Copies of 2015 Form 5500 Annual Return/report
"The 'Changes to Note' section of the 2015 instructions highlight important modifications to the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF: New IRS Compliance Questions were added to Schedules H and I.... The Schedule SB instructions are modified to simplify the alternative age/service scatters that cash balance plans with 1,000 or more active participants have an option to report on an attachment to line 26. The instructions for 'Final Return/Report' are modified to add a statement that a filer for a terminated defined benefit plan for which PBGC has been appointed trustee may contact DOL at PBGCTrusteedPlan@dol.gov for further information." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Proposes Update to Regs for Disability Benefit Claims (PDF)
"DOL has ... expressly requested comments on two specific topics.... [1] [W]hether it should modify the existing timing rules for deciding disability benefit claims to allow claimants and plans sufficient time to engage in a dialogue regarding new evidence and rationales prior to the determination of the claim or appeal.... [2] [W]hether the regulations should require plans to provide, in the final notice of adverse benefit determination on appeal, a statement of the plan's applicable contractual limitations period and the period's expiration date." (Trucker Huss)  

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Issues Proposed Regs Implementing ACA Protections for Disability Claims
"Claims and appeals must be adjudicated in a manner designed to ensure the independence and impartiality of the person involved in making the decision. Benefit denial notices must contain a full discussion of why the plan denied the claim and the standards behind the decision. Claimants must have access to their entire claim file and be allowed to present evidence and testimony during the review process.... Claimants are deemed to have exhausted administrative remedies if the plan does not adhere to all claims processing rules.... Notices must be written in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner." (The Wagner Law Group)  

ASPPA Advocacy Effort Succeeds -- IRS Delays New Form 5500 Questions
"The final version of the 2015 Form 5500 was released on Dec. 3 and, in a victory for [the ASPPA Government Affairs Committee (GAC)], the new IRS compliance questions were made optional (at least for the 2015 plan year).... [T]he IRS had proposed a number of new questions be added to the Form 5500 for the 2015 filing year.... [After filing comment letters with both IRS and OMB,] a face to face meeting was held with OMB on July 14 in which ASPPA GAC once again requested a delay in the effective date to reduce the costs of compliance by giving service providers more time to update systems.... [T]he assumption is that OMB considered ASPPA GAC's comments and ultimately came to the conclusion that we were right; that is, there was no pressing reason to add these new questions in such a rushed fashion." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA])  

Keeping Your Compensation Committee on Track During the Busy Winter Season
"The fourth quarter is the start of many critical and often scrutinized committee activities: reviewing performance, approving 2015 incentive awards and developing 2016 performance incentive plans. This article provides a sample full year committee calendar and a checklist of activities and actions compensation committees should be focusing on during Q4 2015 and Q1 2016." (Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC)  

Pacific Resources Names Nate Free as Vice President, Client Services
Pacific Resources

Genstar Capital and Aquiline Capital Partners Complete Acquisition of Ascensus
Ascensus

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