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Pay Versus Performance: SEC Proposed Disclosure Rules
April 13, 2016 in PA
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

State Sponsorship of IRAs or Qualified Plans for Private Sector Employees
May 10, 2016 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB])

12th National Forum on ERISA Litigation
June 27, 2016 in CA
(American Conference Institute)

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Today's Discussions on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

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[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Notice: Pendency of Request for Approval of Alternative Arbitration Procedure Submitted by American Arbitration Association (PDF)
"In 1985 ... PBGC approved the 1981 Multiemployer Pension Plan Arbitration Rules for Withdrawal Liability Disputes (MPPAR), an alternative arbitration procedure sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and administered by [the American Arbitration Association (AAA)].... Other than significant changes to the Administrative Fee Schedule, the 2013 MPPAR are identical to the 1986 MPPAR that PBGC previously approved.... AAA has requested PBGC's approval of the updated 2013 Fee Schedule[.]" (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[Advert.]

Frozen plans are different, and need to be managed differently.

Thousands of pensions have frozen benefit accruals on the path to plan termination. Many more are considering such a step. The Frozen Plan Handbook is an illustrative guide for sponsors who have frozen -- or are considering freezing -- their pension plan.

[Guidance Overview]

How Do We Self-Correct a Failure to Enroll a New Employee in Our 401(k) Automatic Contributions?
"Informally, the IRS had indicated that the pre-approved method to correct a failure to include an eligible employee applies to a failure to implement automatic contributions ... Since then, however, the IRS amended EPCRS to provide several lower-cost correction methods, including one specifically for automatic contribution failures that begin before 2021 ... Under that method, your company may be able to avoid making a qualified nonelective contribution (QNEC) for the missed deferrals if certain requirements are met." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

[Guidance Overview]

Puerto Rico Treasury Eliminates Form 480.70(OE) Filing Requirement for Plan Years Beginning on January 1, 2015, Establishing New Filing Requirements and Deadlines
"AD 16-05 provides: [1] a new way to comply with this reporting requirement; and [2] establishes two different deadlines to file with the PR Treasury, depending on whether or not the sponsor or participating employer has to file a Puerto Rico income tax return." (Littler)  

The Pension Plan Herd Has Broken Up
"Many investor groups are highly sensitive to peer-relative results and as a result, there can be a herd mentality in their chosen investment strategies. But large corporate pension plans in the U.S. have moved away from that mentality over the past ten years." (Russell Investments)  

Why Pensions Should Hold a 'Gredge'
"As pension plans continue to reduce their risk, it is critical that plan managers take a holistic approach to portfolio analysis. Creating discrete allocations to so-called gredge assets -- those having characteristics of both growth and hedging assets -- that fail to account for this blend of features can create artificial constraints. Separating assets into hedging and growth simplifies pension management but with the cost of suboptimal portfolio outcomes." (Institutional Investor)  

Goodbye Rollovers, Hello 'Stay-Overs'
"Plan sponsors, and their plan advisors, are now competing to keep retirees' money in employer plans. The reason? As that extremely large workforce exits, sponsors are worried about their ability to negotiate fees with their outside fund managers and maintain lower overall fees for plan participants. Plan sponsors are now forced to weigh traditional concerns related to administration and compliance costs against fee negotiations.... Employees benefit by keeping their balances in the plan as well. Fees paid by participants have a huge impact on the growth of investments over time, thus participants can benefit from the lower fees." (Milliman Retirement Town Hall)  

The Case of The Missing Pension
"Although pension plans have been largely phased out in favor of 401(k) and individual retirement accounts, those of us who paid into them are entitled to the benefits we accrued. Getting our hands on the money may not be easy ... Job-hopping workers, corporate upheaval, and spotty record keeping have left billions of dollars owed to Americans in limbo." (Bloomberg)  

[Opinion]

ICI Letter to California Officials Urging Delay on 'Secure Choice' Retirement Plan (PDF)
31 pages. "Many of the assumptions and conclusions in the Report ... appear unrealistic or incomplete.... Without additional information about the financial feasibility of the Program, we question how the Board can truly assess the Program, much less recommend it for further action by the California State Legislature. The Program also raises important legal questions ... including the application of [ERISA] and federal securities laws -- [which] have yet to be sufficiently answered." (Investment Company Institute [ICI])  

Ninth Circuit Won't Expand ERISA Attorney Fee Provision
"An employer that used bankruptcy law to avoid paying more than $500,000 to a group of union benefit funds can't recover attorneys' fees under ERISA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held. According to the court, the employer's bankruptcy proceedings -- in which its ability to discharge the debt rested on the court's conclusion that it wasn't a fiduciary under [ERISA] -- wasn't an action brought under ERISA that would allow the statute's fee-shifting provision to apply." [Bos v. Board of Trustees, No. 12-73289 (9th Cir. Mar. 24, 2016)] (Bloomberg BNA)  

Section 6110 Index of Written Determinations Requested After November 1, 1976 (PDF)
99 pages. "The index is arranged by Code section with various identifying subheadings. Each ruling, technical advice memorandum, and Chief Counsel advice issued under Code section 6110 is assigned a 9-digit reference number which appears after the heading to which the ruling refers. This number also appears on the ruling, technical advice memorandum, or Chief Counsel advice itself and is to be used when requesting copies of individual rulings, technical advice memoranda, or Chief Counsel advice." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

NAPA Announces 401(k) Advisor Leadership Award Finalists
National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA]

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