Manager, Defined Contribution Administration   Group RHI Telecommute / Spring TX / Dallas TX / University Place WA

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ERISA Fiduciary Institute Series - Part 2: Benefit Claims
RECORDED
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

ERISA Fiduciary Institute Series - Part 3: Update on DOL Enforcement Activity
RECORDED
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

ERISA Fiduciary Institute Series - Part 4: 401(k) Plan Fiduciary, Service Provider and Investment Issues
RECORDED
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

ERISA Fiduciary Institute Series - Part 5: ERISA Litigation Update
RECORDED
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

When Does a COVID-19 Furlough or Layoff Trigger a Partial Termination for Your Benefit Plan?
July 29, 2020 WEBCAST
Boutwell Fay LLP

Required Minimum Distributions for DB Plans
August 19, 2020 WEBCAST
American Society of Enrolled Actuaries [ASEA]

Ethics for Actuaries
August 20, 2020 WEBCAST
American Society of Enrolled Actuaries [ASEA]

CARES Act Retirement Plan Distributions: New IRS Rules, Key State Law and Benefit Offset Issues
September 9, 2020 WEBCAST
Strafford

Private Equity Compliance With ERISA: Fiduciary Duties in Managing ERISA Plan Assets
September 16, 2020 WEBCAST
Strafford

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[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Q&As for COVID-19-Related Single-Employer Plan Sponsors and Administrators

"As a result of the CARES Act, required contributions (including quarterly contributions) that would otherwise be due in 2020 are now due January 1, 2021.

1. How does this delay impact the requirement to report a failure to make a minimum required contribution provided in section 4043.25 of PBGC's Reportable Events regulation? ...
2. If a required contribution that would otherwise have been due during 2020 is not made by January 1, 2021, when is reporting due and which form should be used? ...
3. Does the extended due date for required contributions have any effect on the treatment of contributions receivable for VRP purposes? ...
4. If a contribution for the prior year is made after the premium is filed, may the plan administrator amend the filing to increase the originally reported asset value by the discounted value of the prior year contribution made after the premium filing date and then request a refund? ...
5. During the COVID-19 pandemic, will PBGC continue to review Distress Termination applications, and can a notice be filed with financial projections that may be subject to change in the next few weeks/months? ...
6. Will PBGC initiate termination of pension plans during the COVID-19 pandemic? ...
7. Will PBGC suspend efforts to collect termination liabilities until 2021? ...
8. Will Early Warning Program inquiries be suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic?"

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC]

[Sponsored]

ASC Live Webcast: Compensation -- Getting It Right!

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[Guidance Overview]

DOL Issues Proposed Regs Targeting ESG Investments

"Under the new rules, the presence of ESG funds on a retirement plan's investment slate will require that such investments be 'economically indistinguishable' from alternative investment options, a situation which the DOL considers will rarely occur. Thus, the proposed regulations require fiduciaries selecting ESG investments to satisfy heightened documentation and due diligence standards."

Hodgson Russ LLP

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Proposes New 'Fiduciary Rule' and Provides Guidance for IRA Rollovers

"[P]lan sponsors should [1] carefully review investment advisory agreements and be sure to include protective clauses that prevent advisors from selling their own products or that result in the advisors realizing significant profit to the disadvantage of plan participants.... [2] review and approve any financial disclosures provided by investment advisors to participants and ensure that the language describing any potential conflicts of interest is clear and understandable to the average plan participant."

Ice Miller LLP

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Issues Guidance on Inclusion of Private Equity Investments in DC Plans

"[DOL Information Letter 2020-06-03] provides ERISA's fiduciary requirements are not violated solely due to the inclusion of private equity as a component of a defined contribution plan's [designated investment alternatives], but that inclusion of private equity implicates special fiduciary considerations."

Hodgson Russ LLP

Alleged Boeing Retirement Plan Fraudster Charged in California

"According to the indictment, from January 2019 to June 2019, [the individual allegedly] obtained the personal identifying information of various Boeing employees, along with information about their retirement accounts. He then allegedly made fraudulent withdrawal requests for checks and electronic money transfers totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, the indictment claims."

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

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Can We Increase Profit Sharing Contributions and Decrease Salaries to Improve Testing and Save Money?

"[This arrangement] results in the participant making an election to forego receiving compensation in his/her paycheck and, instead, having it deposited into the retirement plan. This is what is referred to as a 'cash or deferred arrangement' or CODA. If that sounds a lot like a 401(k) deferral, it's because that is exactly what it is."

DWC

Puerto Rico Announces Referendum to Protect Public Pensions

"If approved, the measure would prohibit using money from Puerto Rico's crumbling public pension system to repay creditors -- challenging efforts by the federal control board overseeing the island's finances to make pensioners share the pain with investors in a restructuring of part of the island's more than $70 billion in public debt."

The Washington Post; subscription may be required

[Opinion]

SPARK Comment Letter to EBSA on Prohibited Transactions Involving Pooled Employer Plans Under the SECURE Act and Other Multiple Employer Plans (PDF)

"[T]he SPARK Institute's comments: [1] discuss some general principles that should guide the Department in formulating guidance under the SECURE Act; [2] provide an overview of the business models that firms are currently considering to make PEPs available; [3] discuss the conflicts of interest and prohibited transaction issues that are relevant to PEPs and MEPs; and [4] highlight a specific need for guidance on the SECURE Act's requirement for PEP trustees to be responsible for collecting PEP contributions."

The SPARK Institute

Do Older Workers Without Benefits Find Health and Retirement Coverage?

"Workers in nontraditional jobs, without health and retirement benefits, have to seek coverage elsewhere. On the health side, most do obtain coverage -- often through a spouse's employer or a private individual policy.... On the retirement side, workers often end up with no viable option, as they rarely open an IRA and their spouses with a 401(k) do not save more to compensate. The failure on the retirement side highlights the need for auto-IRA programs."

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

COVID-19 Reopening Strategies for Companies' Executive Compensation Plans

"[1] Expand the group of 'executives' with whom you seek to 'partner.' ... [2] Is an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) for you?.... [3] Shift the mix of compensation from mainly base salary to a blend of base salary and performance-based compensation.... [4] If the company is publicly traded, reconsider adopting a [SEC] Rule 10b-5 plan."

Jackson Lewis P.C.

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Force Participant to Sign Release as to Accuracy of Benefit Calculation?

"Is it permissible to request a participant to sign a release that he accepts the calculation of his or her benefit from an ERISA pension benefit plan?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

409A: Is a Change in Installment Calculation Method Considered to Be a Change in Time or Form of Payment?

"When participants in a deferred comp plan elect to receive installments over 5, 10, 15 or 20 years, they've been permitted to choose whether those installments will be calculated using a 'Level Payment Method' or a 'Percentage of Retirement Account Method.' When a participant wants to change from one calculation method to the other without changing either the commencement date of the installments or the number of years over which the installments will be paid, do 409A's usual rules about changes in time and form of payment -- including the 5-year delay -- need to be observed?"

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Press Releases

2020 National ESOP Database Is Now Available
National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO]

ICMA-RC Names Lynne Smith as New Chief Client Experience and Technology Officer
ICMA-RC

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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

Beyond the 4% Rule: How Much Can You Spend in Retirement?
Charles Schwab

IRS Issues Guidance for Mid-Year Reduction/Suspension of Safe Harbor Contributions
Findley

The CARES Act: an Update on Distribution Activity and Its Impact (PDF)
Vanguard