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Retirement Plans Newsletter June 15, 2020 |
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Newly Posted Executive Compensation & Benefits Legal Roundtable: Motivating and Compensating Employees in Uncertain Times
New Perspectives: An Intergenerational Discussion on Retirement Solutions
I'm a 3(16) Fiduciary. Now What?
Different Ways to Build a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)
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Discussions |
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This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
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[Guidance Overview] IRS Provides Temporary Relief from Physical Presence Requirement for Retirement Plan Elections "The relief is effective only for elections made during calendar year 2020 ... [T]he physical presence requirement may be satisfied by an electronic presence, using live audio-video technology that otherwise satisfies the requirements for an electronic election. If a notary public will witness the election, applicable state law must allow the notary to perform his or her services remotely." Mayer Brown |
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Plan Sponsor Checklist to Avoid Form 5500 Errors "Meeting filing deadlines becomes even more critical this year as the SECURE Act ... increased penalties ten-fold. The IRS daily late filing penalty now is $250, with a maximum of $150,000.... [I]naccurate or incomplete information on the Form 5500 can have serious consequences.... Here are some suggestions for carefully reviewing the Form 5500 before signing[.]" Alliant Wealth Advisors |
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"[1] I took my RMD more than 60 days ago in 2020. Can I return it to my IRA? ... [2] If I don't have to take an RMD from my regular IRA in 2020, would it be beneficial to convert this same amount to my Roth account and pay the taxes incurred on that amount? ... [3] What about a qualified charitable distribution? Can I roll it back, and if not, how will that money be taxed? ... [4] Does this new rule apply to income annuity payments? ... [5] [My] wife and I plan to skip taking an RMD this year.... Will the Social Security Administration consider adjusting the IRMAA surcharges down for the remainder of 2020 since our AGI is lower?" Kiplinger |
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Focus on Retirement Spending, Not Retirement Income "[A] fair number of [recent articles encourage] individuals and couples to cobble together Retirement Income Generators, or sources of retirement income, to meet their spending needs in retirement.... [W]hile this approach can work in fairly simplistic situations, and in fact is promoted as a simple alternative to other approaches, it falls short in many real-world situations." Ken Steiner, FSA Retired |
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[Opinion] Private Equity Could Be Coming to Your 401(k): Here Are a Few Things to Know "The greatest risk with incorporating private equity into 401(k) plans is that savers will be exposed to risks they don't recognize, understand, or anticipate in funds that they expect to be conservative and stable ... If the investments are incorporated as planned into target-date and target-risk funds -- the default investment option for many 401(k) participants -- they'll land in the portfolios of the least engaged investors." Barron's |
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[Opinion] Expanding the Investment Opportunities for DC Plans "Over the past 20-plus years, the roughly 50% decline in the number of public companies in the U.S. has limited the investment opportunities for long-term savers ... For context, there are ~5,700 public companies compared to ~5.9 million private companies in the U.S.... Providing an ample opportunity set of investments is pertinent for sound investment decision-making and plan fiduciaries need access to diversified investments when constructing plan menus, making allocation decisions and selecting/constructing plan default investment options. " Voya |
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Benefits in General |
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Court Holds Contribution and Indemnity Claims May Be Brought Against ERISA Co-Fiduciaries "After filing a complaint asserting various ERISA breaches of fiduciary duty, the defendant-plan administrator responded with counterclaims for contribution and indemnification in connection with the plaintiffs' own alleged wrongdoing. The U.S. District Court held that ERISA does not foreclose such claims, but that affirmative defenses for proportional liability and equitable contribution for the portion of loss allegedly caused by the plaintiffs are not permissible.' [Leventhal v. MandMarblestone Group, LLC, No. 18-2727 (E.D. Penn. May 27, 2020)] Holland & Knight |
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Benefit Considerations in Uncertain Times "The initial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is putting new urgency on company benefits. As employees look to their benefits offerings, companies are responding in kind by leveraging, expanding, and creating new benefits to answer the needs of their employee populations.... [This article outlines] some of the most impactful new and enhanced additions for employers to consider implementing to support their people -- and how to decide whether to roll out these benefits." HR Daily Advisor |
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Reimagining the Four Pillars of Employee Well-Being "Confronted with statistics like the 34% increase in anti-anxiety prescriptions from mid-February to mid-March, employers are starting to think about new ways to bolster employee well-being in these challenging circumstances and safeguard employee engagement and productivity. While the four pillars of employee well-being haven't changed, they need to be reimagined[.]" Mercer |
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Auditing Employee Benefit Plans: COVID-19-Related Subsequent Events "Benefit plan clients with year-ends after December 2019 will likely have pandemic-related events that may require an adjustment to the financial statements or additional disclosures. Auditors will have to work with clients to ensure any subsequent events have been accurately identified and reflected in the financial statements as required." International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP] |
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Selected Discussions |
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Correct Distribution Code for Loan Offset Due to Disability? "If the participant has terminated service with the company and has a disability, what would be the correct code for the loan offset? The participant is under 59-1/2." BenefitsLink Message Boards |
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Can't Get IRS Form (a PDF Document) to Open in Web Browser "Is software needed to file a small plan Form 8955-SSA, even if it is a paper form? The IRS website has a PDF file but when I click on it, a message comes up stating that my PDF viewer might not be able to display this type of document. It then gives a link for the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader, which I then downloaded, but it still will not display." BenefitsLink Message Boards |
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Client Left, Still Owes Considerable Fees "A DB client left with owing four years or so in annual administration fees to my TPA firm. A long time client, who kept saying each year, 'come on, after all these years you don't trust that I will pay you?' -- The new actuary is requesting a copy of the last valuation report. While I'm aware that, per the code of professional conduct, files cannot be held back due to outstanding fees, does that apply even to a valuation report that was previously provided to the client?" BenefitsLink Message Boards |
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Press Releases |
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Jordan Mamorsky is Appointed "of Counsel"
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Miami-Dade Victims Assistance Center Pays Back Wages and Reinstates Leave Hours After Violating the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue |
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Comparing Seven Different Defined Contribution Plan Designs
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On Determining the Qualification of a Domestic Relations Order, with Examples
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Excessive Recordkeeping Fees Alleged in KeyCorp ERISA Challenge
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BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
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Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
Article submission: Online form
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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