|
Retirement Plans Newsletter April 2, 2019 |
|
|
Jobs
|
|
Webcasts, Conferences ERISA is a Friend of Mine - Employee Benefit E-Disclosure: Let's Come of Age
Suspension of Benefits Issues
Can Retirement Plans Provide Safe Income?
|
|
Discussions |
|
This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
|
Client Service Manager|
IRS No Longer Prohibits Lump Sum Payouts to Retirees Currently Receiving Pension Payments "Several decisions need to be made by the plan sponsor. [1] [W]ho will be offered the window and how long will the window last? [2] The plan document will need to be precisely amended to allow for the window. [3] Communications to participants who are offered the opportunity to participate in the window must be carefully crafted and include several required legal disclosures."
|
|
[Advert.]
Register to Attend Today's Free Webcast on Building Resilience
National Employee Benefits Day is all about you! Celebrate the day by learning how to build resilience in your employees and attending the free webcast: Building Resilience: Practical Tools to Help Your Workplace Thrive. Learn More. |
![Sponsored by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]](https://benefitslink.com/bnrs/2019/IFEBP_HappyNEBD_top.jpg "Sponsored by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]")
|
DOL's Proposed Change in Overtime Rules Will Affect Retirement Plans "Employers will likely have to make even larger retirement plan contributions, as such employer contributions are usually derived from a definition of compensation that includes OT ... [If] employer plan documents exclude OT from the compensation definition when calculating contributions, employers and their retirement service providers will have to pay closer attention to nondiscrimination testing results."
|
|
Retiree Cashouts Raise Compliance Considerations for Pension Plans "[S]ponsors hoping to get additional IRS reassurance that their windows pass muster are largely out of luck: The agency still won't issue PLRs in this area. Although IRS will no longer specifically exclude such windows from a determination letter, few sponsors may find that reassuring since determination letters now are generally available only upon initial plan qualification and termination.... [S]ponsors should take care to reduce the risk of challenges -- from the government and participants -- to their windows under other IRC and ERISA provisions."
|
|
"[T]he downside of automatic features is participants commonly (and mistakenly) assuming their automatic retirement plan is good-to-go, as is, and doesn't need anything else -- no rebalancing, no asset-allocation review, no additional savings increases. The cruise control framework so helpful in overcoming inertia may actually be giving participants a false sense of security and, ironically leading them to pay less attention to their retirement accounts over time. Data bear this out."
|
|
Which Plan Documents Should You Be Keeping? "Never rely on your recordkeeper or third-party administrator (TPA) to maintain or keep track of your plan document.... Keep copies of all board resolutions authorizing a plan's adoption or amendment, fiduciary committee appointment, plan policy establishment (e.g., an investment policy) or new or changed rate of contribution designation.... Keep signed copies of all your plan service agreements, along with any and all subsequent changes.... Finally, what do we mean by 'keep?' The simple answer is 'keep forever.' "
|
|
[Advert.]
Fiduciary Protection for Default Investments in 401(k) and Other Retirement Plans
Apr. 30 webinar. Review basic fiduciary standards and duties, and how ERISA Section 404(c) may relieve fiduciaries of these duties for a participant's directed investment. BenefitsLink discount. |
|
How 401(k) Plan Sponsors Can Mitigate Fiduciary Liability Associated with Target Date Funds "[T]here are two strategic paths to use when it comes reducing liability. One approach occurs after the fact -- after the target date funds are already in place. The other approach takes place before the target date funds are even placed on the 401k plan menu. It is in this 'before' approach where most of the work is done."
|
|
The Emerging Best Interest and Fiduciary Duty Patchwork (PDF) "By all accounts, 2019 will see the advancement of a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with rules that will impose a host of new obligations, and that may overlap and conflict with one another. This [5-page] chart is intended to help firms take stock of the evolving framework and aid firms in putting the pieces together."
|
|
Top 401(k) Advisors Can Help Lower Plan Investment Fees "There are several things an advisor should do to help lower fees: [1] Optimize your fund lineup ... [2] Renegotiate your recordkeeping fees ... [3] Charge a reasonable advisory fee ... If your advisor isn't taking legal responsibility for your fund lineup -- whether as a 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary -- you may want to look for one that will."
|
|
March 2019 Pension Finance Update "Pension finances slipped in March due to falling interest rates. Both model plans we track[1] lost ground last month: Plan A dropped more than 2% but remains up 2% for the year, while Plan B lost close to 1% but remains ahead 1% through the first three months of 2019[.]"
|
|
GAO Report: Other Countries' Experiences with Phased Retirement "The U.S. workforce is aging, but there are few formal phased retirement programs here. [GAO] looked at 4 other countries to potentially inform a U.S. strategy [and] found program designs that could work under the unique institutional conditions here. For example, many of the programs were designed to work with traditional pensions, but some included employee-directed retirement plans, which are more common here." [GAO-19-16, published Feb. 28, 2019, released Apr. 1, 2019]
|
|
An Overview of the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit and Its Effectiveness "The 116th Congress has shown interest in advancing policies that support retirement savings and retirement security. One provision designed to encourage retirement savings for low-income workers is the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit, or the Saver's Credit (Internal Revenue Code [IRC] Section 25B). This [memorandum] provides an overview of the credit and provides a brief discussion of the credit's effectiveness, in the context of various policy options that might be considered in the 116th Congress."
|
|
"[The SEC's] Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) ... developed an investor preparedness checklist ... [which] reminds investors to: identify goals and create a financial plan; pay off high-interest debt; participate in company retirement plans and take full advantage of employer matching; do a background check on any investment professional; understand risk tolerance; understand fees; research investments; maintain a diverse portfolio; and avoid investment opportunities that sound too good to be true."
|
|
Selected Discussions |
|
Reporting of Previously Taxed 457(f) Distributions Say you have a 457(f) plan that vests in a fixed amount (say $500,000) in one year but is paid in installments (say 5 years at $100,000 starting the year after vesting). Setting aside for the moment the issue of present value, the employer would report all $500,000 as taxable wages on a W-2 in the first year. Later distributions would be subject to tax under section 72, which would require no further taxation upon distribution. In the installment years, do the $100,000 non-taxable distributions get reported anywhere?
|
|
IRA Beneficiary Dies While Taking RMDs IRA owner dies at age 64, beneficiary is his older brother, age 69 or 70; beneficiary then dies at age 73 (presume he was taking RMDs). HIS beneficiary is his wife, age 67. Does she treat the IRA the same as if it had originally belonged to her late husband or are there special rules because she is the second beneficiary of the same IRA? What are her options?
|
|
S Corporation and 2% Shareholder Health Insurance: Comp for Calculation Purposes? if a business is an S-corp and the owner has 2% shareholder health insurance, is this part of their compensation that can be used for calculation purposes? I don't think so because not subject to SS or Medicare. Correct?
|
|
► Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Message Boards Digest— a free daily email of all new discussions (not just the selected few shown above). View a sample issue. |
|
Press Releases |
|
Life Insurers Endorse Legislation to Strengthen Americans' Retirement Security
|
|
ACOPA Responds to American Academy of Actuaries Unilateral Actions
|
|
Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue |
|
Ethics for Employee Benefits Lawyers (PDF)
|
|
Multiemployer Plans: Current Pension Plan Issues, Legislation and Agency Guidance (PDF)
|
|
Bipartisan Retirement Security Bill Introduced in House
|
Connect
|
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
(407) 644-4146
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 2019 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.
Links to web sites other than BenefitsLink.com and EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com are offered as a service to our readers; we were not involved in their production and are not responsible for their content.