Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
MGA Consultants, Inc.
in MD

Pension Plan Administrator
Growing Retirement Plan Administration Firm
in NY

Outside Sales Representative
Advanced Plan Designs, LLC
in MO

RPS Client Services Manager
Heartland Financial USA, Inc.
in IA

Senior Retirement Benefits Specialist
Cummins
in TN

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Pension Risk Transfer – Top-Of-Mind Considerations
March 20, 2018 WEBCAST
Eversheds Sutherland

Small Tweaks, Big Impact: The Power of Behavioral Decision-Making for the Plan Sponsor
April 2, 2018 WEBCAST
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

Retirement Plan Governance for Multinational Companies: Best Practices for Plan Sponsors
April 24, 2018 WEBCAST
Strafford

Pension De-Risking (Not Just Annuities): A Framework for Managing Pension Risk
May 10, 2018 in TX
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Rev. Proc. 2018-21: Modifications to Procedures for Issuing Opinion and Advisory Letters for Pre-Approved Master and Prototype and Volume Submitter Plans (PDF)
"[T]his revenue procedure modifies sections 6.03(7)(c) and 16.03(7)(c) of Rev. Proc. 2015-36 to allow pre-approved defined benefit plans containing a cash balance formula to provide for the actual rate of return on plan assets as the rate used to determine interest credits. This revenue procedure also modifies section 6.03 (7)(c) of Rev. Proc. 2017-41 relating to the rates that are permitted to be used to determine interest credits in pre-approved defined benefit plans containing a cash balance formula. In addition, this revenue procedure changes references to 'hypothetical interest' and 'hypothetical interest credits' in Rev. Proc. 2015-36 to 'interest credits', consistent with terminology in Rev. Proc. 2017-41."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Advert.]

2018 SPARK National Conference -- June 14-15, National Harbor, MD

The retirement services industry's leading event for top marketing, sales, administration and record keeping professionals. Comprehensive agenda is designed to meet the needs of 401(k) Plan Providers, Financial Advisors and Record Keepers.

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2018-22: Weighted Average Interest Rates, Yield Curves, and Segment Rates Applicable for March 2018 (PDF)
"This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates used under Section 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under Section 430(h)(2) ... In addition, this notice provides guidance as to the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities under Section 417(e)(3)(A)(ii)(II) as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008 and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate under Section 431(c)(6)(E)(ii)(I)."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Official Guidance]

Text of Instructions for IRS Form CT-1X: Adjusted Employer's Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return or Claim for Refund (PDF)
13 pages, rev. Feb. 2018. "What's New: Employee consents to support a claim for refund.... Period of limitations to make certain corrections expired." [Also available: Form CT-1X: Adjusted Employer's Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return or Claim for Refund]
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

What's Next for the DOL Fiduciary Rule?
"DOL staff are rumored to be hard at work collecting data on the Obama-era fiduciary rule in order to potentially amend the more onerous aspects. In light of the court decision, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has a different decision to make: Does the department appeal the ruling? ... [O]ther immediate impacts ... [1] Watch the SEC.... [3] The industry no longer has to fear a regulatory action like the one William Galvin, secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, filed against Scottrade in mid-February.... [3] Suddenly, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' March 24 meeting to possibly finalize a best-interest standard looms much larger." [Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. DOL, No. 17-10238 (5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018)]
InsuranceNewsNet.com

Interesting Angles on the DOL's Fiduciary Rule, Part 83
"When will, or could, a recommendation of a higher-cost share class (and, therefore, a more expensive investment) satisfy the best interest standard of care (that is, the prudent person rule and the duty of loyalty)? What kind of disclosure of 12b-1 fees would be adequate under the fiduciary rule?"
FredReish.com

[Advert.]

Spotlighting Self-Directed IRAs - Conference

Retirement Industry Trust Association (RITA) -- the voice of the Self-Directed IRA Industry -- conference in DC, March 26-28. Get the latest regulatory and legislative updates from experts and newsmakers vital to the industry. Learn more and sign-up

Target, Microsoft Lead Move Away from 401(k) Stock Investments
"In the last five years, some of the country's largest employers have taken steps to reduce or eliminate the company stock held in their retirement plans ... Costco, UBS, and others have limited the amount of company stock workers can hold by imposing caps ranging between 10 and 50 percent of a worker's 401(k) balance. Chevron, Verizon, and Tiffany & Co. have ended their practice of using company stock to make matching 401(k) contributions. Target and Microsoft are among the companies barring employees from acquiring new shares of stock in their retirement accounts."
Bloomberg BNA

Ninth Circuit Finds 401(k) Service Providers Owe No Fiduciary Duty with Respect to Negotiating Their Fee Compensation
"[T]he United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that plan administrators ... are not ERISA fiduciaries when negotiating their own compensation with prospective customers. Instead, because the employer/plan sponsor has the express duty under ERISA to defray reasonable expenses of administering a 401(k) plan, any claims that fully disclosed fee arrangements are unreasonable 'lie against the employer, not the service provider.' " [Santomenno v. Transamerica Life Ins. Co., No. 16-56418 (9th Cir. Feb. 23, 2018)]
Masuda Funai

Looking for Missing Participants? Help Is on the Way
"The program also provides sponsors with the confidence of a multiagency-approved process for dealing with the account balances of lost participants.... [T]he PBGC notes that these rules were written in consultation with the DOL and the [IRS]. Hopefully, this change signals the direction the DOL is headed with active, ongoing plans as well, but for now, active plans are not eligible to use the PBGC's program."
Findley Davies | BPS&M

Proposed Legislation Would Help Individuals Find Unclaimed Retirement Benefits and Provide Relief to Employers with Missing Participants
"The Act would create the Office of Retirement Savings Lost and Found [RSLF], which would rely on new tools and build on existing reporting and disclosure rules ... When participants separate from service, plan administrators would be required to provide them with information about the availability of the RSLF.... [T]he Act provides new options for plans to dispose of small balances and provides a compliance cushion when certain requirements can't be met because a participant or beneficiary is lost or missing."
Ascensus

All Auto-Everything: 401(k)s in the Digital Age
"What's just over the horizon for 401k saving nudges, and what dynamic will digital innovation play? ... While insight into the behavioral aspects of retirement saving is fascinating and effective, a shot of steroids in the form of technology is making it exponentially more so ... [R]esearch shows that digital nudging is more effective by 'a factor of 100' than traditional nudging. But caution is warranted ... If 401k advisors and sponsors push too hard or advocate for deferral rates too high, damage can be done."
401K Specialist

[Guidance Overview]

New Disability Claims Procedures Take Effect April 2, 2018
"Plan sponsors should start by identifying which of their ERISA plans allow for an exercise of discretion by a claims administrator in determining the disability status of a participant.... [It] is this exercise of discretion -- rather than the application of an impartial, objective standard -- that implicates the Final Rule. Accordingly, claims under a health plan, a long- or short-term disability plan, or even a retirement plan could be affected."
Verrill Dana LLP

[Guidance Overview]

Are Your Qualified and Nonqualified Employee Benefit Plans in Compliance with the New ERISA Disability Claims Regs?
"[W]here a plan does not provide for its own fiduciaries to make a determination of disability -- but instead defers to the determination made by the administrator of another plan (like the employer's long-term disability plan) -- then only the terms of the other plan need to be amended. Examples include health plans that extend eligibility, or deferred compensation plans that provide accelerated vesting, to claimants who are receiving benefits under the employer's long-term disability plan or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)."
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Work Habits of the New Millennium
"Currently only 2.6% of US employees consider their home as their primary place of work, but of Gen-Y workers, 3 out of 5 expect to work remotely.... 89% of smartphone owners use them while at work.... 24% of employees use a smartphone or tablet as their primary work-related device.... 35% of employed Millennials have started their own business on the side to supplement their income. 46% of Millennials want to start their own business within the next 5 years.... 38% of Millennials who are currently working said they were actively looking for a different job."
Grooms Benefit Solutions

What You Should Know About Your Plan's ERISA Fidelity Bond Coverage
"Plans should have ERISA fidelity bond coverage from an approved provider as of the beginning of the plan reporting period with a coverage amount in accordance with the regulations.... Who needs to be covered? ... What type of coverage do I need? ... Which coverage is required to be disclosed on the Plan's annual Form 5500? ... How much coverage do I need? ... Is my provider an approved provider?"
WithumSmith+Brown, PC

The Set of Affected Employees as Compared/Contrasted across Partial Terminations, Plan Terminations and Discontinuance of Contributions
Does the set of "affected employees/affected participants" for a partial termination only include those severed from employment individuals whose severance from employment occurring during the partial termination, or does the set of "affected employees"/"affected participants" encompass all persons contemporaneously holding the status of participant (to additionally encompass individuals still employed and individuals who had previously severed from employment while still retaining an extant account balance)?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

When is a Year of Vesting Service Credited?
Do participants get a year of service when they reach 1,000 hours or at the end of the vesting computation period in which they were credited with 1,000 hours?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

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