NAPA

Senior Tax Research Consultant
TIAA-CREF
in ANY STATE, CO, MA, NC, NY, TX

Retirement Plan Administrator
PenSys, Inc.
in CA

Retirement Plan Optimization Specialist
ADP
in NJ

Pension Administrator
The Kagan Company
in CA

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Webcast Series: The Basics of Qualified Retirement Plans
January 7, 2016 WEBCAST
(ASC Institute)

Fifth Annual ERISA Fiduciary Checkup
January 20, 2016 WEBCAST
(WithumSmith+Brown)

Employer Use of Private Exchanges: What does the Future Hold?
February 17, 2016 in IL
(Midwest Business Group on Health)

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Today's Discussions on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

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[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Interest Update for Asset Allocations for January, 2016
"This final rule ... prescribe[s] interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for valuation dates in the first quarter of 2016.... PBGC has published a separate final rule document dealing with interest assumptions ... [for the month of] January 2016.... The first quarter 2016 interest assumptions under the allocation regulation will be 2.82 percent for the first 20 years following the valuation date and 2.95 percent thereafter. In comparison with the interest assumptions in effect for the fourth quarter of 2015, these interest assumptions represent no change in the select period (the period during which the select rate (the initial rate) applies), an increase of 0.36 percent in the select rate, and a decrease of 0.03 percent in the ultimate rate (the final rate)." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[Advert.]

The Retirement Plan Basics You Need to Know!

Learn the Basics of Qualified Retirement Plans! This 5-webcast series will provide a solid foundation for beginners & a comprehensive review for experienced professionals. Join John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. beginning Jan 7th. Register today!

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Employee Plans News No. 2015-14, Dec. 21, 2015
Topics: [1] 2015 Cumulative List explains the changes in plan qualification requirements for retirement plans (Notice 2015-84); [2] Year-end IRA reminders; [3] FAQs on new IRS compliance questions on the 2015 Form 5500-series returns, explaining the optional questions; and [4] Form 5500 automatic extension to file has been changed back to 2-1/2 months." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

Tax Bill Makes IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution Option Permanent (PDF)
"While the general tax deduction for charitable donations is limited to a percentage of income, QCDs offer full tax exemption of the amount donated, up to the annual ceiling of $100,000 per taxpayer. Thus, a married couple could potentially donate up to $200,000 per year of IRA assets tax-free. Charitable distributions from the IRA are required to be paid directly to the organization, with no constructive receipt by the IRA owner or beneficiary." (Ascensus)  

Majority of DB Plans Should Question the Traditional Derisking Glidepath
"[F]rozen plans account for a minority of U.S. defined benefit plans -- and the glidepath approach that's best suited for them is often suboptimal and even painful for plans that are still accepting new participants and/or accruing obligations to existing ones. Those still-accruing -- either open plans, or those closed to new participants -- account for approximately 70% of U.S. defined benefit plans ... Instead of the mechanistic glidepath, these plans might be better off considering a more flexible and holistic approach to risk that maximizes returns based on the plan's unique circumstances and tolerance for risk." (Pensions & Investments)  

Retirement Income and Chaos Theory
"Whether or not retirement income systems are chaotic is an important issue because chaotic systems are riskier than stochastic (probabilistic) systems. We tend to study retirement income systems with probabilities. If the systems are chaotic, they're riskier than inferential statistics (probabilities) suggests.... Retirement income studies tend to use probabilities to focus on long-term sustainability of savings as a function of market volatility alone. This approach won't catch many quickly developing expense-related crises, especially since the studies tend to ignore expense uncertainty altogether." (The Retirement Cafe)  

How to Defuse a 401(k) Time Bomb
"If you've set your 401(k) on auto-pilot with a target-date fund (TDF), it could be a ticking bomb. While TDFs are vehicles of convenience -- they invest in several mutual funds in one package -- they may be loaded with inappropriate amounts of risk." (Forbes)  

The Checklist You Need to Manage Multiple Retirement Accounts
"Never assume that 401(k) accounts you have left behind in former employers' retirement plans will be managed the same way in perpetuity after you switch jobs, and, like a money-market account, will simply appreciate over time.... Has your former employer engaged in any mergers or acquisitions during the past year? ... Aside from mergers or acquisitions, has your former plan undergone any other major changes? ... Have you received the plan's most recent annual report?" (MarketWatch)  

How to Meet the 2015 IRA Contribution Deadline
"For most people, IRA contributions for tax-year 2015 are due by April 18, 2016. The tax deadline was pushed back nationwide due to the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia. However, residents of Maine and Massachusetts have until April 19, 2016 to make 2015 IRA contributions due to the Patriots' Day holiday celebrated in those states." (U.S. News & World Report)  

Required Minimum Distributions from Inherited IRAs
"Since an IRA and an Inherited IRA have different RMD calculations, they may not be rolled into the same portfolio. Similarly, if you inherit IRAs from two different people, they will each have their own RMD schedules and will need to be held in separate accounts." (Manning & Napier)  

[Advert.]

Inheriting an IRA or Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan

January 26 webinar - Learn how to spot and avoid some of the common mistakes taxpayers make with their inherited IRAs. BenefitsLink discount.

GASB 68 Numbers for New Jersey
"What GASB 68 calls for is determining a net pension liability by comparing liability values to assets with a lower interest rate applied to the liability calculation of the underfunding.... The first set of GASB 68 reports just came out for the New Jersey plans ... [T]he new number turns out to be: $113 billion ... Latest reported asset value is $74 billion." (Burypensions)  

San Diego City Pensioners Get '13th Check' Bonus Despite Underfunding
"More than $6.1 million has been distributed to retired San Diego city employees in the form of a '13th check' -- beyond their usual 12 monthly payments -- making this year's holiday bonus the largest such payout in the history of the three-decade-old practice.... [R]etirees have received $95.8 million in such bonus checks since 1984.... [T]he city's pension system faces a $2 billion shortfall in promised payments[.]" (The San Diego Union-Tribune)  

Pennsylvania House Overwhelmingly Rejects Effort to Create Hybrid Plan
"The [Pennsylvania] House voted 149-52 against a bill that would force newly hired teachers and state workers into a hybrid system made up of a traditional pension along with a 401(k)-style benefit.... House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana ... said the pension changes were needed to address costs that have been increasing for school districts and state government." (The Morning Call)  

[Opinion]

The States Have No Business Creating Their Own Retirement Accounts
"Given the enormous effort we already put forth to encourage (or force) people to save for retirement, arguing that we need yet more incentive plans on this front is a tough brief to prosecute, but even if the answer is yes it's hard to see why the appropriate response would be for this to be done by the states. The states already run their own college savings programs, and if we go by that record they're not very good at this." (Cato Institute)  

[Opinion]

SIFMA Statement on House Bills Introduced to Protect Retirement Savers
"SIFMA has long supported the creation of a best interest standard for brokers, yet the DOL's proposal as written is fundamentally flawed and will hurt the very same investors it seeks to protect. We commend any congressional action that will help protect investor choice and access to guidance, without raising costs. Retirement savings is too important not to get this right." (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association [SIFMA])  

[Opinion]

Pensions Are Still Better Than 401(k)s
"Individuals saving for retirement through 401(k)s pay higher fees than professionally managed pensions.... 401(k)s have failed the middle class and contributed to a looming retirement crisis. Working families deserve a retirement system that honors their hard work and commitment to saving for retirement." (National Public Pension Coalition)  

[Official Guidance]

Text of ISS Frequently Asked Questions: U.S. Executive Compensation Policies (PDF)
29 pages. 69 Q&As covering: [1] Financial data: total shareholder return and revenue; [2] Pay for performance evaluation; [3] Determining peer companies; [4] Problematic pay practices/commitments on problematic pay practices; [5] Frequency of advisory vote on executive compensation; [6] Advisory vote on golden parachutes (SOGP). (Institutional Shareholder Services [ISS])  

[Official Guidance]

Text of ISS Frequently Asked Questions: U.S. Equity Compensation Plans (PDF)
25 pages. 52 Q&As cover: [1] Cost of equity plans; [2] Fungible plans; [3] Burn rate; [4] Liberal share recycling; [5] Accelerated vesting; [6] Liberal definition of change in control; [7] 162(m) plans; [8] Non-employee director equity compensation plans; [9] Equity Plan Scorecard: Factor-related questions, and other methodology-related questions. (Institutional Shareholder Services [ISS])  

The 2016 ABCs of Employee Benefits
"Congratulations on making it through one of the most legally and administratively challenging years in employee benefits history. But, as you know, employee benefits never sleep. Ed Bray, senior vice president of compliance with Ascension, provides the 2016 ABC's of employee benefits -- what he calls the annual 'just tell me what I need to do' list." (Employee Benefit News)  

Mariaca Wealth Management, LLC is Certified for Fiduciary Excellence
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

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