Sr Retirement Compliance Consultant
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association [NRECA]
in VA

Midwest Territory Sales Director
PenChecks Trust
in IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI

Retirement Account Administrator, Sr.
Alerus Financial
in MI, MN, NH

Retirement Specialist
Alerus Financial
in MN

Retirement Call Center Specialist
Alerus Financial
in MN

Relationship Manager
HK Financial Services, Inc.
in IA

Account Service Representative
Ingham Retirement Group
in FL, Telecommute

Defined Contribution Account Manager
Nova 401(k) Associates
in AZ, ID, NV, UT, Telecommute

401(k) Consultant
PBU, Inc.
in CA

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Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Corrections
February 22, 2018 WEBCAST
Western Pension & Benefits Council

Technical Lunch Forum: Retirement Plan Policy Statements
February 28, 2018 in CA
Western Pension & Benefits Council - Orange County Chapter

Financial Planning for Public Company Executives & Directors
June 18, 2018 in MA
myStockOptions.com

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Fiduciary Liability Insurance: Not Optional Even Though Not Legally Required
"[1] Your corporate policy will not protect you if you are accused of a fiduciary breach -- fiduciary activities are usually excluded. [2] Your company's agreement to indemnify you may be limited by state law or worthless if your company goes bankrupt. [3] Even if you win a fiduciary breach lawsuit, and are found to have done nothing wrong, you will have legal defense fees that could be high. [4] Settlements and court awards in fiduciary breach cases have been substantial. Some have exceeded $50 million."
Cohen & Buckmann, P.C.

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Managed Accounts: 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'
"By taking into account factors such as outside assets, contribution levels, existence of a defined benefit plan, and risk tolerance, managed accounts offer participants the promise of a more personalized asset allocation.... [J]ust over half of plan sponsors offer a managed account solution, and nearly all who do offer it on an opt-in basis. But there are often limited choices when it comes to selecting a managed account provider, with recordkeepers typically offering only one or two options."
Callan Associates

Third Circuit Dismisses Retiree Challenge to Post-Sale Transfer of Plan Obligations
"[The plaintiff] alleged that he was injured because he would not have invested in the plans if he had known they would be transferred; the transfer 'substantially increased [his] risk of loss'; an insurance policy and a trust meant to protect participants in the event of default were nonexistent or insufficient; some DC investment options were no longer available after the transfer; and some of the new investment options 'charged considerably higher management fees' and 'generated less return than the investment vehicles [he] had chosen through Siemens.' The plaintiff did not allege that Sivantos had failed to pay him any benefits he was owed." [Krauter v. Siemens, No. 17-1662 (3d Cir. Feb. 16, 2018)]
planadviser

Risk vs. Readiness: The 401(k) Plan Annuity Conundrum
"Annuities offer a guaranteed stream of retirement income that can provide life-long financial security. Yet fewer than 10 percent of plan sponsors have made any move to include annuities as a 401(k) investment option."
Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM]

MetLife's Lost Client Problem Highlights Pension Guidance Gap
"DOL hasn't issued formal guidelines about employers' responsibilities to find plan participants. What many employers reference, and what [EBSA] points them to, is guidance in a 2014 bulletin about the participant location responsibilities for employers that have terminated their defined contribution plans. There's no guidance specific to employers that haven't terminated their plans."
Bloomberg BNA

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Stages of Sponsoring a Retirement Plan
Checklist covers: [1] Choosing a retirement plan; [2] Establishing a retirement plan; [3] Operating a retirement plan; and [4] Terminating a retirement plan.
QBI

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans Make Sense for Many Employers
"Safe harbor plans were designed specifically to solve for IRS tests that prevent owners and highly compensated employees ... from saving at or near the maximum allowed by law ... while the average worker might save considerably less. Without a safe harbor plan, those who fail discrimination tests may have to reduce deferrals or even refund contributions back to their employees to comply. This could undermine employee confidence in the plan and ultimately hurt the overall plan health."
Bronfman Rothschild

Target Date Funds: Things to Consider
"This article addresses three major features common to most TDFs' structure: asset allocation (specifically, equity exposure), management style (including active and passive management, use of proprietary funds, and tactical asset allocation), and fees -- which, if not evaluated carefully and on a manager-by-manager basis, could result in a mismatch between an employer's goals and participant investment results."
P-Solve LLC

401(k) Plan Sponsors Must Separate These Fiduciary Rule Facts from Fiction
"Right now, the biggest challenge plan sponsors and fiduciaries face is that they have and continue to be presented with changes to existing relationships with advisers, recordkeepers, and other providers that are described as 'required by' or 'due to' the Fiduciary Rule. Sorting what is fact from fiction is the greatest focus area [for] plan sponsors right now. Luckily, many plan sponsors are well equipped for this world because it simply means enhancing and redoubling their diligence and monitoring of their service providers."
Fiduciary News

Multiemployer 'Composite' Plan Bill Introduced in House
"[T]he proposal seeks to codify the 'composite' model developed by the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans aimed at combining key features of defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and avoiding sliding into funding imbalance.... A Joint Statement by AARP, along with several unions and pension rights organizations, expressed opposition ... [and concern] that the move to composite plans would continue to allow underfunded plans to cut retiree pensions, and that pensions under the new composite arrangements would not be guaranteed."
Conduent

Traditionalists Through Gen Z: Benefits Administration and Your Multigenerational Workforce
"Today's organizations are seeing up to 5 generations working side-by-side for the first time in history.... [T]oday's employees range from teenagers to individuals in their late 70s.... [E]ach one has their own unique priorities, values and communication style.... [E]mployee benefits should ideally be administered in a way that is accessible and helpful to everyone. But how can you actually make this happen?"
bswift

Controlled Group Rules for Tax Exempt Organizations: A Brief Review
"The controlled group rules should be considered any time there have been (or are expected to be) changes in the composition of the group, particularly if a new member organization is added.... Given the pace of change in the tax-exempt world, particularly among local and regional health systems, ... these rules [are] worth revisiting."
Verrill Dana LLP

Cross-Testing a Cash Balance Plan
I was hoping someone could explain how the Most Valuable Allocation Rate is developed when cross-testing a cash balance plan. For the Normal Allocation Rate, I projected the cash balance to retirement age using the interest crediting rate of 2.80% (30-yr treasury rate) and then converted to a life annuity using the Plan's Actuarial Equivalence (also 2.80%, and the 2017 applicable mortality table -- post-retirement only). I then converted this benefit accrual to a lump sum using the standard interest and mortality table (8.50% and UP1984) and discounted it to their current age at 8.50%. This amount is divided by testing compensation to determine the Normal Equivalent Allocation Rate. Now, because this plan pays immediate lumps sums, I am getting conflicting directions on how the most valuable equivalent allocation rate should be determined.
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Compensation for Calculation of Safe Harbor Match
We administer a safe harbor 401K with Roth-only deferrals. W-2, boxes 1 & 5 are the same dollar amount, employee deferred $5,000. Wouldn't the deferral (whether Roth or not) be added to box 5 for the calculation of the safe harbor match?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

EIN Must Be Shown on a Filing Authorization?
Is it a REQUIREMENT for the filing authorization to show the EIN? We've always put it on the form routinely. along with the Plan name, number, and Plan Year, but I'm not sure it's required.
BenefitsLink Message Boards

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