Retirement Plans Newsletter

February 6, 2020

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Indianapolis IN

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Jacksonville FL

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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS]
Woodlawn MD / New York NY / Bethesda MD / Telecommute

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Arden Hills MN

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[Guidance Overview]

Lifetime Income Provisions Under the SECURE Act

"[The authors] describe and analyze each of the SECURE Act's three lifetime income provisions. Respectively, those provisions require the delivery of lifetime income illustrations to plan participants, provide a fiduciary safe harbor for the prudent selection of lifetime income providers, and allow for the portability of lifetime income benefits that have been accumulated 'in-plan' in connection with a change in providers."

Groom Law Group

[Sponsored]

ASC CE Webcast Series: Fundamentals of Qualified Retirement Plans

Sponsored by ASC

New to the retirement plan industry or looking for a review? Don't miss ASC's Fundamentals of Qualified Retirement Plan webcasts! Session 3 includes Top-Heavy, Deduction Rules, Plan Distributions, Taxation of Distributions and more. Register Now! Learn more


Safe Harbor Matching Calculator

"To get a quick estimate on how much Safe Harbor contributions will cost you, use [this] handy Safe Harbor contribution calculator ... It's a little counter-intuitive, but after a certain point, the 3% non-elective contributions are actually cheaper than the 4% match contribution -- this is all dependent on your overall participation and savings rate."

ForUsAll

Judge Scales Back Claims Against Voya in Suit Alleging Excessive Fees

"The plaintiff, a participant in the plan, first alleged that Voya breached its fiduciary duties under [ERISA] by charging excessive fees. But 'a party does not act as a fiduciary with respect to the terms in the service agreement if it does not control the named fiduciary's negotiation and approval of those terms,' [Judge Colm Connolly] wrote ... Connolly rejected the plaintiff's argument that because Voya can charge different Daily Asset Charges over the lifetime of the plan, it has discretion over the plan and is therefore a fiduciary." [Goetz v. Voya Financial, Inc., No. 17-1289 (D. Del. Feb. 4, 2020)]

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

Subjective Expectations, Social Security Benefits, and the Optimal Path to Retirement

"Evidence indicates that that many individuals may not be making the best possible choices with respect to their Social Security and retirement savings.... The goal of this project is to better understand the role of retirement expectations as determinants of savings decisions and retirement income.... Men and those with low levels of uncertainty about retirement benefits are less likely to overestimate their future retirement benefits, hence are more likely to save more and reach retirement better prepared."

Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center, Univ. of Michigan

The SECURE Act Cheat Sheet for Plan Providers (PDF)

"The biggest change and pitfall is the long term, part-time employee change  ... MEPs, PEPs, and the issues they bring ... Push Those Tax Credits ... Safe Harbor Non-Elective changes."

Ary Rosenbaum

[Sponsored]

SPARK Global Public Policy Forum -- June 23-24, Washington DC

Sponsored by SPARK

The retirement services industry's leading event: comprehensive agenda designed to meet the needs of 401(k) Plan Providers, Financial Advisors and Record Keepers -- focus on global retirement public policy and expansion of pension reform occurring worldwide. Learn more


[Opinion]

Morningstar May Be Upending the 401(k) Industry by Putting RIAs in Charge and Making Participants Pay Fees

"What the Chicago wealth conglomerate is doing is nothing short of a dramatic overhaul of 401(k) plumbing with help from digital technology and demand from RIAs. Rather than a semi-reluctant B2B transaction where employees are charged hefty managing fees indirectly through their employer, this construct edges toward an open B2C transaction where employees do business directly with an advisor who makes decisions and is accountable for them."

RIABiz

Benefits in General

Artificial Intelligence in Employee Benefits (PDF)

"AI can highlight benefits areas that may interest particular groups of employees, such as paid time off (PTO) or retirement options for older employees and medical or disability benefits for employees with families. AI also assists employees with making informed and logical decisions.... Although AI can be an asset for helping employees make complicated benefits decisions, employers should be aware of some of the limitations and other considerations, including data privacy."

International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

[Opinion]

Financial Wellness: The New Must-Have Employee Benefit

"The transformative nature of employee financial wellness is still not widely appreciated in corporate America.... The aha moment has yet to happen regarding the potential of financial wellness to redefine the contract between employer and employee for the greater good. As a result, comprehensive financial wellness is often viewed as a nice-to-have benefit, not a must-have.... For employees, though, financial wellness is a must-have."

Marthin De Beer, in Forbes

Executive Compensation
and Nonqualified Plans

[Guidance Overview]

Editor's Pick 162(m) Proposed Regs: Lessons and Planning Opportunities

"162(m) will apply to more companies ... 162(m) will apply to more employees ... 162(m) will apply to more compensation ... New public companies will not have transition relief ... Grandfather rules are clarified but still require legal judgments ... The interplay between 409A payment rules and 162(m) [is] clarified."

Troutman Sanders

Selected Discussions
on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

Funding Method Change?

"For single employer plans, we currently have a 'standard' approach to determine the expected return on assets for asset smoothing and actual ROA used for rolling FSCB/PFB forward. This approach involves an assumption that annuity cashflows generally happen at the middle of year, and expenses are paid at the end of the year. We have a couple of plans that reflect actual cashflow timing to the day. We would like to move them to our 'standard' approach. Looking for opinions or guidance on whether adjusting the assumed cashflow timing in these calculations amount to a change in funding method."

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587. Copyright 2020 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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