Retirement Plans Newsletter

July 11, 2018

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Jobs

DC Retirement Plan Consultant
Intac Actuarial Services
in NJ, NY

Senior Pension Consultant
The Ryding Company
in CA

Assoc. General Counsel - ERISA & Wealth Management
CUNA Mutual Group
in WI

401(k) Consultant
Creative Retirement Systems
in OH, Telecommute

Retirement Account Administrator
Stalker and Associates
in NJ, PA

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Webcasts, Conferences

Why Your Plan Doesn't Work
July 25, 2018 WEBCAST
Multnomah Group

S Corporation ESOPs: Administrative Issues
September 11, 2018 WEBCAST
National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO]

Ultimate Cash Balance Seminar
November 15, 2018 in IL
DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

►See 132 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

►See 1400 Recorded Webcasts


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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Form 4419: Application for Filing Information Returns Electronically (PDF)

Rev. June 2018. "Submit Form 4419 to request authorization to electronically file [through the Filing Information Returns Electronically ('FIRE') system] any of the forms shown in Block 6 [including Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits].... If your application is approved, a five-character alphanumeric Transmitter Control Code (TCC) will be assigned to your organization."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Advert.]

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Sponsored by ASC

There is a reason ASC is the premier choice for retirement plan professionals in the Industry today: Integrated system solutions coupled with unparalleled client support every step of the way. See for yourself!


[Guidance Overview]

Interesting Angles on the DOL's Fiduciary Rule, Part 97

"The proposed best interest standard for broker-dealers will apply only to securities transactions recommended to 'retail customers.' ... [Compare] that to the SEC's Interpretation for RIAs, which applies to all advice to all clients. This article gives examples of how the proposals will differ when applied to common scenarios."
FredReish.com

[Guidance Overview]

Changes to Retirement Plan Loan Rollover Distribution Rules May Necessitate Updates to Special Tax Notices

"Due to the extension of the period for rolling over plan loan offsets, several references in the special tax notices to a 60-day rollover period are no longer accurate with respect to rollovers of plan loan offsets. If a plan administrator distributes the 2014 [IRS model] notice, a participant would likely not be aware that he or she has several months to repay the loan and complete the rollover to avoid taxation on the defaulted loan."
Ogletree Deakins

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Finds No Harm, No Foul for Church Plan Treatment

"[In PLR 201826009, the] IRS ruled that church plans that wish to be legally required to comply with ERISA and the Code requirements applicable to plans subject to ERISA must file an election prescribed under Code Section 410(d) ... [and] that the administration and operation of ... [the tax-qualified DB plan], as if it were subject to Title I of ERISA, does not constitute an election under Section 410(d)."
Greensfelder

IRS Confirms that Safe Harbor Hardship Distributions Cannot Be Taken for Repayment of Student Loans

"The IRS confirmed in [Information Letter 2018-1] that because a safe harbor hardship distribution may be made only for the prospective payment of education expenses, it cannot be made for the repayment of student loans. The IRS suggested that as an alternative to taking a hardship distribution, the participant may be able to get a loan from the plan."
Drinker Biddle

[Advert.]

Advanced Pension Conference, Sept. 5-7, 2018 - Registration Open

Sponsored by FIS Relius Education

Our ERISA experts will cover new QBI Deduction, 403(b) universal availability, advanced top heavy, 11(g) amendments, beneficiary designations, DB plans, RMDs, fiduciary regs update, and more. 19 CE hours. Early fee ends July 30, 2018. Register now.


Best Practices of Financial Wellness Programs

"Before launching an employee financial education program, plan sponsors must identify appropriate goals for their plan. Financial wellness can mean a variety of things and not all financial education tools make sense for every plan. Identifying the specific circumstances of the plan and its participants can help narrow the program to focus on relevant tools."
Bronfman Rothschild

401(k) Fee Levelization Can Make Revenue Sharing Worse

"In effect, fee levelization permits a 401(k) plan to pay direct-like provider fees using revenue sharing. However, the process requires complicated recordkeeping to properly refund revenue sharing. So why do 401(k) providers do it when they could simply charge 100% direct fees in the first place? The reason is simple -- the process can make high 401(k) fees easier to overlook."
Employee Fiduciary

Millennials Enjoy Fruits of Auto-Enrollment, Auto-Escalation

"Millennials are the first generation to fully benefit from improvements made to retirement plans over the last decade, according to a survey from the Empower Institute. They are on track to replace 75% of their income in retirement, compared to 64% for Americans overall, 61% for Gen Xers and 58% for Baby Boomers.... Forty-one percent of Millennials are automatically enrolled in a defined contribution (DC) plan, compared to 38% of Gen Xers and 33% of Boomers. In addition, 38% of Millennials are in a plan with automatic escalation features."
planadviser

District Court Affirms Withdrawal Liability Calculations, But Appears to Leave an Opening

"What this opinion specifically does not say, however, is that the [plan's enrolled actuary's] judgment is infallible or indisputable. While the opinion did not address this, that the statute gives withdrawing employers the ability to challenge withdrawal liability calculations suggests that ERISA contemplates that there are, in fact, valid challenges. What might they be?" [Manhattan Ford Lincoln, Inc. v. UAW Local 259 Pension Fund, No. 17-5076 (D.N.J. July 3, 2018)]
Benefits and Compensation with John Lowell

Thousands of Workers and Retirees Head to Ohio July 12 to Protest Pension Cuts and Pressure Congress to Act

"The rally is being organized to coincide with a field hearing that will be convened in Columbus on Friday, July 13th by members of the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Plans. The Joint Select Committee, created by Congress in a bi-partisan budget deal last February, is charged with developing a consensus solution to the multiemployer pension crisis affecting families across America."
Pension Rights Center

[Opinion]

Multiemployer Pension Alliance Letter to Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pensions (PDF)

"A well-designed loan program can save the most troubled plans and the PBGC's insurance program.... Interest rate assumption rules did not cause the solvency crisis facing troubled plans and are not an appropriate 'lever' to avoid future crises.... Sound multiemployer plans cannot pay for the administration's PBGC premium proposal without sustaining substantial harm.... PBGC premium increases do not -- and are not intended to -- address the solvency crisis facing troubled plans."
Multiemployer Pension Alliance

Executive Compensation
and Nonqualified Plans

SEC Sanctions Dow Chemical for Undisclosed Perquisites

"The SEC issued a cease-and-desist order against The Dow Chemical Company for failing to disclose approximately $3 million in executive perquisites in the company's proxy statements. The SEC imposed the sanctions agreed to in Dow's settlement offer, which include extensive undertakings to ensure future compliance and a $1,750,000 civil monetary penalty."
Thomson Reuters Practical Law

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Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager

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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