FIS Relius Education

Client Services Manager
Newport Group
in FL, NC, WI

Sr. Pension Administrator III
Western & Southern Financial Group
in IN, KY, MI, OH

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Medicare and Employer-Sponsored Health Plans: Know the Rules and Avoid Problems
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Hot Issues in Executive Compensation 2017
September 14, 2017 WEBCAST
Practising Law Institute

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[Official Guidance]

Text of 2017 Instructions for IRS Forms 1099-R and 5498: Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, and IRA Contribution Information (PDF)
23 pages. "What's New: Report late rollover contributions certified by the participant in boxes 13a and 13b on Form 5498. Report the self-certification code in box 13c."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

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S&P 1500 Pension Fund Deficits Reduced by 20 Percent Following U.S. Election
"The estimated aggregate funding deficit of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies reduced by 20 percent during the month of November 2016. This brought current funded status to 81 percent at the end of November, as an increase in discount rates was mildly offset by mixed equity markets. As of November 30, 2016, the estimated aggregate deficit of $414 billion USD represents a decrease of $116 billion as compared to the end of October 2016. However, the aggregate deficit is still up $10 billion USD from the $404 billion USD deficit measured at the end of 2015[.]"
Mercer

Citigroup 401(k) Stock-Drop Case Won't Be Heard by Supreme Court
"The participants were appealing a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May, which supported previous decisions by a U.S. District Court in New York to dismiss the complaints. In May 2015 and again in July 2015, District Court Judge John G. Koeltl dismissed complaints by participants in a class-action suit, who alleged plan executives and corporate executives violated their fiduciary duties." [Muehlgay v. Citigroup, No. 15-2461 (2d Cir. May 23, 2016; cert. denied Dec. 5, 2016)]
Pensions & Investments

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Certain Nonprofit Pension Plans Can Claim 'Church Plan' Status
"The Supreme Court's decision in these three cases will affect hundreds of thousands of current and former employees of hospitals, social services agencies, educational institutions, and other religiously-affiliated nonprofit organizations whose pension plans were not established by and are not backed by a church ... [U]ntil a change in IRS procedures five years ago, employees were not even told that their plans had applied for 'church plan' status. Some retirees have already lost all or part of the pensions they had earned."
Pension Rights Center

DOL Prevails in Kansas Litigation Challenging Conflict of Interest Rule and Related Exemptions
"The Court also noted that even if plaintiff had carried its burden to demonstrate its likely success on the merits, it had not satisfied any of the other requirements for a preliminary injunction: irreparable harm, balance of harms, and public interest." [Market Synergy v. DOL, No. 16-4083 (D. Kan. Nov. 28, 2016)]
Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center

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Should You Create a Trust to be the Beneficiary of Your IRA?
"While placing a discretionary trust as the beneficiary of the inherited IRA allows the owner of the IRA to provide 'post mortem control' over the beneficiary's access to funds, it may not produce a good income tax result. If the Trustee, using his discretion, decides to keep the IRA distribution in the Trust, i.e. not to make a distribution to the trust beneficiary, the IRA distribution is taxed at the Trust level instead of the beneficiary level. This decision may create a much larger tax."
WithumSmith+Brown, PC

Bill Would Eliminate Alabama State Income Tax on Most 401(k) Earnings
"Currently, retirement incomes from defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s are subject to state income tax. But Alabamians who have defined benefit plans -- including pensions from the state or federal government and the Tennessee Valley Authority -- are not taxed on their retirement income.... Once fully implemented in 2022, [the] proposal would cost the state's education budget about $109 million in tax revenue[.]"
DecaturDaily.com

Law Firm to Offer Opinion Letters on Tax-Qualified Status of Plan Documents in Response to Change in IRS Program
"The [IRS] has largely ended its determination letter program by which sponsors of individually designed retirement plans can obtain confirmation that their plan documents are tax-qualified.... Effective January 1, 2017, the IRS will issue determination letters only when a plan is initially established or terminated.... In response to the void created by the IRS, Ballard Spahr has developed a new Retirement Plan Opinion Letter Program. Under the Program, Ballard Spahr will review an individually designed retirement plan document (and any amendments) and issue an opinion letter regarding the plan document's tax-qualified status. For most plan sponsors, we anticipate providing our new service on an annual basis (for a flat fee) to address qualification requirements as they are updated each year."
Ballard Spahr LLP

[Opinion]

Pension Rights Center Comments to EBSA on Proposed Form 5500 Revisions (PDF)
"Form 5500 reporting has not kept pace with changes in retirement savings plans (401(k)-type plans). The proposal includes additional reporting for these plans that will provide new information enabling policymakers to better evaluate the effectiveness of various individual account plan features and practices. Additional questions on fees and investments will give participants greater insight into the operation of their plans. Breaking down general questions into specific categories will not only benefit policymakers but will help participants to understand important features of their plans."
Pension Rights Center

[Opinion]

SPARK Comments to EBSA on Proposed Changes to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (PDF)
"[T]he Agencies' Proposed Reporting Changes include many elements that would frustrate our call for a simplified reporting process.... [M]any of the new information requests would unnecessarily expand the reporting requirements in a way that would increase the administrative burdens and costs associated with Form 5500 reporting.... We are also concerned that the Agencies have underestimated the extent to which all of these changes will increase administrative complexity and the overall length of the annual return/report[.]"
The SPARK Institute

Are HSAs Set to Follow Growth of 401(k)s?
"[A]lthough introduced as part of [ERISA] in 1974, it took more than 10 years for 401(k)s to gain the same percentage of market share that HSAs have now. In addition, 401(k)s were met with reluctance at first. Similarly, the retirement industry first saw HSAs as competition for savings dollars ... but as health care became a bigger part of the conversation about expenses in retirement, HSAs are now being thought of as a complementary savings vehicle."
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