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Retirement Plans Newsletter

March 16, 2021

2 Jobs Today (scroll to view)

 

[Guidance Overview]

Will ARPA Multiemployer Pension Provisions Bring Relief to Employers?

"[In] the absence of anticipated regulations, an employer's withdrawal liability could potentially be reduced or eliminated in its entirety. Unfortunately for employers, however, there is a catch."  MORE >>

Jackson Lewis P.C.

[Sponsor]

CertiDeath®: The Industry’s Only Complete Death Audit Solution

Using artificial intelligence, 26,000 obituary databases and human expertise, PBI’s CertiDeath provides the most accurate death audit in the market -– identifying 95% of deaths vs. 70% through other providers. See your annual overpayment savings here.

Sponsored by PBI Research Services

Magistrate Judge Says Aon, Alight Can't Evade Lawsuit over Pension Risk Transfer Services

"The firms allegedly provided a comprehensive set of pension plan termination services to a hospital system client that, according to plaintiffs, resulted in suboptimal outcomes for the employer and its employees." [Foundation Resolution Corp. v. Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc., No. 18-458 (M.D. Fla. magist. rep. Mar. 10, 2021)]  MORE >>

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

Advisors Can Help Employers Address 401(k) Plan Testing Failures

"[This article provides] a summary of the most common types of testing failures and excess contributions that should be corrected as soon as possible following the end of the plan year to avoid excise taxes and to maintain the tax qualified status of the plan."  MORE >>

Newport Group

DOL Announces Nonenforcement Policy with Respect to ESG and Proxy Rules

"[DOL's] reference to the treatment of QDIA ESG investments is particularly significant, as most new fund flows go into QDIAs (overwhelmingly, target date funds) and this was an ESG investment singled out for special, more stringent treatment."  MORE >>

October Three Consulting

Do Smaller Public Employer Pensions Spur More Saving?

"[W]orkers with less expected pension income are more likely to save, but the effects are small, and they do not respond to the other factors.... [If] public employers reduce pension benefits, workers are unlikely to make up the difference by saving more on their own."  MORE >>

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Decoding Retiree Spending (PDF)

"Retirees typically choose to adjust their nondiscretionary spending (often considered fixed spending) to match their guaranteed income, challenging the notion that these expenses are truly fixed. Retiree spending behavior reveals a preference for asset preservation. Aligning products and services that account for this will hasten adoption of retirement income solutions."  MORE >>

T. Rowe Price

[Opinion]

Why Is There No Consensus on What 'ESG' Means?

"Is it prudent to even consider making investment decisions on a concept for which there is no universal consensus, let alone peer-reviewed academic studies that can verify the significance of any hypothetical quantification of it? ... Without some clear and tested definition of ESG, investors may as well be throwing darts to determine what to buy and sell."  MORE >>

Fiduciary News; free registration required

Benefits in General

[Official Guidance]

ERISA Advisory Council to Meet April 26

"[T]he 205th open meeting of [the ERISA Advisory Council] will be held via a teleconference on Monday, April 26, 2021 ... from 1:00 p.m. to approximately 5:00 p.m. (ET).... The purpose of the open meeting is to set the topics to be addressed by the Council in 2021 ... [and to] receive an update from leadership of [EBSA]."  MORE >>

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

[Guidance Overview]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon ARPA Employee Benefits Provisions

"ARPA-21 contains numerous employee benefits and executive compensation provisions, including premium assistance for [COBRA] health plan continuation coverage ... single-employer defined benefit plan funding relief, financial assistance to multiemployer pension plans, and an expansion of the definition of 'covered employee' under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code."  MORE >>

Thomson Reuters Practical Law

[Guidance Overview]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon Outbreak Period Nightmare: Employee Benefit Deadline Extensions Now Based on Individual Case-By-Case Basis

"The Joint Notice only extended the claims procedure deadlines for claimants; it did not explicitly extend the date by which a plan administrator had to respond to claims and appeals.... [T]he plan administrator's deadlines for issuing such adverse benefit determination on claims and appeals would appear to fall within the general notice and disclosure relief provided by the Disaster Relief Notice."  MORE >>

Fraser Trebilcock

Executive Compensation and Nonqualified Plans

[Guidance Overview]

162(m) Covered Employee List to Grow

"For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, a publicly held corporation's list of 'covered employees' will expand by five and no longer be limited to executive officers.... [T]he five highly compensated employees added by the Act ... will only be covered for the years in which they are in the most highly compensated group[.]"  MORE >>

Shearman & Sterling LLP

[Guidance Overview]

Section 162(m) Regs and ARPA: Public Companies Should Update Executive Compensation Practices

"[T]he CEO, CFO and the three other highest paid executives represent a permanent group of covered employees. For plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2026, an additional five employees will represent a current-year group of employees that changes from year-to-year.... [O]ver time, the number of covered employees could grow into a large number, and that number may include many people who no longer work at the company[.]"  MORE >>

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as DC Plan Administrator
for Retirement, LLC View job as DC Plan Administrator
for Retirement, LLC

DC Plan Administrator

Retirement, LLC

Telecommute / Oklahoma City OK / Sioux Falls SD

View job as Retirement Proposal & Implementation, Representative
for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)

Retirement Proposal & Implementation, Representative

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)

Arlington VA

Selected New Discussions

Time to Bump Up the Normal Retirement Age?

"I think it's time for plan documents to update the NRA to something more realistic.... such as 66 1/2, to be more in line with Social Security retirement ages."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Calculation of the ADP Rate

"Employee's gross comp is $2,000. They contribute $1,900. What's their ADP rate using net compensation? Is it $1,900/$100?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

Mrs401k to offer pooled employer 401k plans at no cost to employers

401kAdministrators.com

(How) Has COVID Impacted Health Savings Accounts?

PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America]

Webcasts and Conferences

Better Technology, Better Retirement Savings: Exploring the Digital Tools that Improve User Experience

RECORDED

Aspen Institute

The Evolving Regulatory Landscape for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries: Cybersecurity Concerns for Plan Sponsors

March 16, 2021 WEBCAST

Ropes & Gray

American Rescue Plan Pension Provisions

March 18, 2021 WEBCAST

Groom Law Group

Fund Mapping: the Why and How of This Fiduciary Action

March 23, 2021 WEBCAST

Multnomah Group

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

March 24, 2021 WEBCAST

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

March 25, 2021 WEBCAST

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

2021 Enrolled Actuaries Virtual Conference

May 3, 2021 WEBCAST

Conference of Consulting Actuaries

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Impact of the American Rescue Plan Act on Single Employer and Multiemployer Pension Plans

Bolton

Single-Employer Interest Rate Stabilization/Funding Relief Included in ARPA

October Three Consulting

Fiduciary Litigation Involving Defined Benefit Plans: What to Make of Thole v. US Bank (PDF)

Epstein Becker Green, via Benefits Law Journal

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

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