Retirement Plans Newsletter

April 10, 2018

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Jobs

Loan and Distribution Specialist
Gorrelick, Tievy & Abacus
in MD

Benefits Analyst / Consultant - Group Benefits Advisory
Plante Moran
in MI

Account Services Representative
Ingham Retirement Group
in FL

Pension Plan Administrator
American Pension Advisors, Ltd.
in IN

Retirement Plan Consultant
United Benefit Pensions Inc.
in NY

Retirement Plan Consultant
Independent Retirement
in OR, Telecommute

Retirement Plan Administrator
Independent Retirement
in OR, Telecommute

Client Relations Specialist
BlueStar Retirement Services, Inc.
in FL

►See 138 Jobs

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Webcasts, Conferences

ERISA Basics
May 16, 2018 WEBCAST
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB]

IRA Institute
September 17, 2018 in NC
Ascensus

Retirement Plan Catch-Up Contributions
October 9, 2018 WEBCAST
ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries]

►See 166 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

►See 1364 Recorded Webcasts


Discussions

New Topics on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

New Comments and Topics

All Topics, Grouped by Forum


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At Enrolled Actuaries Meeting, PBGC Reacts to 'Segal Blend' Rejection
"Apparently, 4203 is on the table for discussion within the PBGC later this week. The feeling seemed to be that this decision will be appealed and the PBGC could be counted on for an amicus brief since, if it becomes easier for employers to withdraw from multiemployer plans ... the PBGC multiemployer program, already predicted to be insolvent by 2025, would have to make up for the loss of those larger withdrawal liability payments eventually."
Burypensions

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Court Rejects 'Segal Blend' for Withdrawal Liability Calculations
"[T]he court found that the plan's Trustees and Enrolled Actuary do not have complete discretion in their choice of an appropriate discount rate in determining withdrawal liability for employers that significantly reduce or entirely cease contributing to a multiemployer plan.... [This article will] discuss why ... the judge ruled on this issue the way he did, [and] what this could mean for other employers withdrawing from multiemployer funds[.]" [The New York Times Co. v. Newspapers & Mail Deliverers'-Publishers' Pension Fund, No. 17-6178 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2018)]
October Three Consulting

Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans: A Primer and Analysis of Policy Options (PDF)
30 pages. "About 3.2% of all DB pension plans, covering 25% of all DB pension plan participants, are multiemployer plans.... Although most multiemployer DB pension plans have sufficient resources from which to pay their promised benefits, a few large plans are expected to become insolvent in the next 20 years.... Twenty-two multiemployer plans have applied to reduce benefits under MPRA as of March 8, 2018. Five applications ... have been denied. Nine applications have been withdrawn, and four applications have been approved." [Report R43305, Mar. 29, 2018]
Congressional Research Service [CRS]

When a City Goes Broke: Pensions, Retirees, and Municipal Bankruptcies (PDF)
"This [article] first explains how, under current bankruptcy law, Chapter 9 debtors have significant freedom to modify their outstanding pension obligations through the bankruptcy process. The [article] then explores proposals to alter the legal principles governing the adjustment of municipal pensions in bankruptcy."
Congressional Research Service [CRS]

Yours, Mine, Ours: Are the Individuals Working for You Your Employees?
"CalPERS continues to investigate and challenge a number of 'staff leasing,' management service contracts, and JPAs established to provide management personnel to local government on an independent contractor basis.... [O]nly the common-law employer counts for CalPERS and other employee benefit purposes. Therefore, such 'leasing' agencies, if not the common-law employer, cannot be the CalPERS employer."
Best Best & Krieger LLP

[Advert.]

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

Sponsored by SPARK

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.


TDF Analysis Highlights Passive Growth, Home Equity Bias
"[P]assive TDFs continue to garner substantial new assets, with the market share of passively managed TDFs increasing to 51.8% in the fourth quarter of 2017.... [T]his figure is up from 48.9% as of year-end 2016 and 47.8% the year prior. On the other hand, the market share of actively managed TDFs continued its decline to 36.8% of market share by the end of last year."
planadviser

Benefits in General

[Official Guidance]

List of IRS-Approved Nonbank Trustees as of April 1, 2018 (PDF)
An entity that is not a bank (or an insurance company in the case of Archer Medical Savings Accounts and health savings accounts) can request to be a nonbank trustee/custodian by applying in writing and demonstrating that certain requirements will be met in order to handle any of the following fiduciary accounts: [1] Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA); [2] Health Savings Account; [3] Qualified Retirement Plan Custodial Account; [4] 403(b)(7) Custodial Account; [5] Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA); [6] Roth IRA; [7] Deferred Compensation Plan of State & Local Government and Tax Exempt Organizations; [8] Custodial Accounts Coverdell Education Savings Account. [More information is on an IRS web page.]
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Two Ways the New DOL Disability Claims Regs Will Change Litigation
"The new regulations allow for the court to substitute de novo review in cases where an insurer failed to strictly adhere to the regulations.... There are several strategic advantages to agreeing to de novo review, depending on your administrative file."
Lane Powell PC

Executive Compensation
and Nonqualified Plans

Should Compensation Committees Seek CEO Input When Deciding CEO Pay?
"[T]he CEO's perspective can be useful ... The CEO should not be present when the compensation committee is making decisions about his or her compensation.... Prior to receiving any input from the CEO, the compensation committee chair, board chair, or lead independent director should set clear expectations about the process and that the committee or board will make the final pay decisions.... Directors should get the CEO's view of his or her individual and company performance."
Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC

[Opinion]

Navigating the Pay-Ratio Quagmire
"While pay-ratio information is supposed to be useful to investors, attention needs to be paid to the anticipated reactions to these disclosures by the media, current and potential employees and unions. Anyone who is a shareholder will have access to this information, including employees, who may own stock either directly or through a 401(k) plan. Religious and other groups who own just a single share will also have access to it. And for larger companies, it would be surprising if the media did not focus on 'outliers.' "
Human Resource Executive

Selected Discussions
on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

Fix Excess Asset Problem in Small DB Plan by Amending 417(e) Assumptions?
A small DB plan covers husband and wife. They also have 3 longtime employees who are covered under a profit sharing plan. They pass 401(a)(4) because they always make a 12% profit sharing contribution and because there is adequate age difference. The DB plan now has assets of about $100k over the section 415 maximums. The document is a volume submitter and uses one of the actuarial equivalent selections as 417(e) assumptions. It's been operated under more conservative assumptions. If the actuarial equivalent is amended to the 417(e) assumptions and then terminated and distributed next year, it's likely they would not have excess assets. What do you think about this approach?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Disallow Deferrals Until Participant Loan Has Been Repaid?
Small (less than 100) 401(k) plan does not presently allow for loans but would like to add them, subject to the hardship rules. The employer would like to restrict salary deferrals during the time that a loan is being repaid, meaning the participant could not make deferrals until the loan is repaid in full. Is this a BRF issue? A discrimination issue? A dumb idea?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Recharacterization of Excess as After-Tax Contributions: Earnings Distribution Required?
We're recharacterizing Pre-Tax Deferrals as After-Tax Contributions in order to in correct an ADP test violation. Treas. Reg. 1.401(k)-2(b)(3)(ii) states that recharacterized excess contributions will be includible in an HCE's taxable income "as if such amounts were distributed" under the regulations applicable to distributions of excess ADP amounts. Does this mean that amounts recharacterized as After-Tax Contributions must be adjusted for allocable earnings as would be required with an actual corrective distribution?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587. Copyright 2018 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of those materials. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notices from copies of the content.

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