Retirement Plan Administrator
Northeast Professional Planning Group, Inc.
in NJ, NY

ERISA / Employee Benefits Attorney
Reid and Riege, P.C.
in CT

Sr. Pension Administrator
PACETPA
in CA, NV

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Tax Reform & Retirement Plans, Part 1
May 3, 2018 in FL
ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Central Florida

2018 NAGDCA Annual Conference: Winning Practices & Innovative Applications
September 23, 2018 in PA
National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators [NAGDCA]

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[Official Guidance]

Treasury Department Notice of Multiemployer Pension Plan Application to Reduce Benefits: Sheet Metal Works Local Pension Plan
"The Board of Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Pension Plan, a multiemployer pension plan, has submitted an application to reduce benefits under the plan in accordance with [MPRA].... [T]he application ... has been published on the website of the Department of the Treasury ... [P]ublic comments on the application [are requested] from interested parties, including participants and beneficiaries, employee organizations, and contributing employers[.]"
U.S. Department of the Treasury

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[Official Guidance]

Treasury Department Notice of Multiemployer Pension Plan Application to Reduce Benefits: Plasterers Local 82 Pension Fund
"The Board of Trustees of the Plasterers Local 82 Pension Fund, a multiemployer pension plan, has submitted an application to reduce benefits under the plan in accordance with [MPRA].... [T]he application ... has been published on the website of the Department of the Treasury ... [P]ublic comments on the application [are requested] from interested parties, including participants and beneficiaries, employee organizations, and contributing employers[.]"
U.S. Department of the Treasury

[Guidance Overview]

The SEC's Fiduciary Proposal: Regulation Best Interest
"Because the SEC believes that whether a broker-dealer is acting in a client's best interest is determined based on the particular facts and circumstances, it declined to define 'best interest.' Similarly, the SEC proposal does not define 'recommendation.' ... The Regulation Best Interest rule is intended to bridge this gap by setting forth specific obligations that (if fulfilled) are deemed to satisfy the rule. The three obligations are: Disclosure obligation ... Care obligation ... Conflict of interest obligation."
Spencer Fane

[Guidance Overview]

The SEC's Fiduciary Proposal: Investment Adviser Standard of Conduct
"While the Regulation Best Interest rule is applicable to broker-dealers, the SEC also issued a release that provides an Interpretation Regarding Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers ... According to the SEC, the purpose of the release is to 'affirm investments advisers' understanding of the obligations they owe their clients, reduce uncertainty for advisers, and facilitate their compliance.' In addition, the SEC is requesting comments on three specific areas that are addressed under the regulatory regime for broker-dealers, but may not be addressed with respect to investment advisers. Those three areas are: [1] federal licensing and continuing education, [2] provision of account statements, and [3] financial responsibility."
Spencer Fane

Priorities for Retirement Plan Sponsors: Plugging Leakage, Enabling Auto-Portability
"[T]he process of rolling a 401(k) savings account from a former-employer plan into an active account in a current-employer plan took more than two months to complete for 27% of participants.... [On] average, participants expect a roll-in to require them to spend 19 hours of personal time[.]"
Employee Benefit News

[Advert.]

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The Elusive Search: Considerations for Locating Missing Retirement Plan Participants (PDF)
"[R]ecent government focus and audit activity on the failure of retirement plans to make required distributions such as RMDs increases the risk of IRS penalties and excise taxes, and of claims that a breach of fiduciary duty may have occurred.... [P]lan administrators should take a fresh look at the processes they have in place for locating missing or nonresponsive plan participants."
Isler Dare

401(k) Trends: Where We've Been, Where We May Be Headed -- Part 2
"Aggregation/consolidation will improve plan efficiency ... while concurrently addressing the challenges of access, missing participants, and leakage.... For the next decade or so, almost all new entrants and most new assets will come from the Millennial generation -- a generation with unique needs and habits.... It is only another half-step to transform your 401(k) into a holistic financial wellness instrument[.]"
Plan Sponsor Council of America [PSCA]

Case Study: Providing Adequate Retirement Income for Employees Through Cash Balance Plans
"[S]pecific participant-centric goals were developed: [1] Provide broad coverage; [2] Offer meaningful benefits; [3] Attract and retain talented employees; [4] Be innovative; [5] Differentiate the employer from their peers ... [C]overage in the DB plan had dropped to just under 40% of their active employees. While the 401(k) plan had a high participation rate (92%), employee deferrals were lower than the amount required to receive the full employer matching contribution ... and the average 401(k) participant (age 44) had accumulated an account balance of only $54,000."
Milliman

Retirees: What's Your Plan for Dealing with the Upcoming Bear Stock Market?
"The primary point of this example (and post) wasn't necessarily to argue that one alternative spending plan is better than another (or to scare you about the future), but rather to illustrate how using the Actuarial Approach and the ABB (together with whatever other approach you are currently using) can help you develop a plan of action (strategy) to deal with a range of future scenarios."
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired

Retirees Get a 401(k) Withdrawal Headache
"More than half of boomers approaching retirement have no money in a 401(k).... For those who do have savings, paralysis is the more common reaction.... Miscalculations can wreak havoc on retirement finances ... [N]ot many people can do the complex calculations required to find an optimal rate of withdrawal.... To preserve their finite resources, retirement experts recommend that boomers ... [1] Track spending and review sources of retirement income.... [2] Delay Social Security.... [3] Carefully plan a withdrawal strategy."
Squared Away Blog, by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

[Opinion]

Desire to Move to Lifetime Income Options -- Is It Real?
"[T]wo in ten DC plan participants would like to get some lifetime income or longevity protection from their DC plans. But, what options are available? ... The experience in the marketplace thus far (anecdotally) is that participants will pay anywhere from 15% to 40% more for these annuities from DC plans than would be considered actuarially equivalent to a lump sum in a DB plan. Insurers need to be both risk-averse and profitable and therein lies a difference."
Benefits and Compensation with John Lowell

Eye-Opening Facts About Benefits and Employee Retention
"47% of your employees will look for another position in the next 12 months.... [H]ow many people would have stayed in their current role if they understood their current benefits and what their total compensation truly was? ... 51% of employers say that using benefits to retain employees will become even more important in the next 3 to 5 years.... 75% of employees reported to be more likely to stay with an employer based on their benefit program[.]"
Hodges-Mace

Executive Compensation as Corporate Waste? Delaware Court Allows a Lawsuit to Continue
"Two full pages of the opinion are devoted to listing facts and information 'demonstrating that it should have been abundantly clear to the members of the Board ... that far from being 'actively engaged' in CBS's affairs, Redstone was providing no meaningful services to the Company beginning at some point in the latter part of 2014 or in 2015. During and after that period, CBS paid Mr. Redstone more than $13 million, most of it in performance bonuses." [Feuer v. Redstone, No. 12575-CB (Del. Ch. Apr. 19, 2018)]
Winston & Strawn LLP

RMD Calculations Involving Pooled Investment Accounts
How do you calculate an RMD from an individual account plan that has a non-calendar year plan year and uses pooled investments?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

$15,000 Penalty for Late Form 5500-SF
Form 5500-SF for 2013 was prepared for a client and filed late by about 2 weeks. Apparently client has received more than one notice from IRS because he's just been sent an IRS bill for $15,000. What's recommended here?
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Press Releases

Sara Stiles Promoted to Regional Sales Consultant at TRA
The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

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