[Guidance Overview]

Fiduciary Investment Advice: Implications of DOL Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02

"For employers that maintain retirement plans for their employees, the plan fiduciaries are responsible for ensuring that their retirement plans comply with the requirements of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. This includes a duty to make the prudent selection of investment advisors and monitor these service providers. Beyond this, employers are not directly impacted by the Exemption."  MORE >>

Jackson Lewis P.C.

June 30 CalSavers Deadline Approaching for California Employers

"This ruling probably means that CalSavers is here to stay. There has been no word ... on an appeal to the Supreme Court. Additionally, as it is the first Appellate Court case on preemption of these state run mandatory IRA programs no Circuit split exists. California employers with more than 50 employees that do not provide a retirement plan for employees must register with CalSavers by June 30, 2021 or face penalties." [Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass'n v. California Secure Choice Ret. Savings Program, No. 20-15591 (9th Cir. May 6, 2021)]  MORE >>

Murphy Austin

Three Tricky Decisions for Every Retiree

"How much you can safely take out of your retirement portfolio per year without running out of money over your retirement time horizon isn't just debatable: It's unknowable.... [L]ong-term-care expenses are a big wild card for many retirees' spending plans.... While there's no consensus on whether annuities are a must-have in retirement or which types of annuities to buy, there's little doubt that the lifetime income they offer is in short supply."  MORE >>

Morningstar

As MEPs Grow, ERISA Lawsuits Rise with Them

"As companies seek efficiency, lower cost and reduced fiduciary headaches by joining a multiple-employer plan, the MEP providers are encountering the same ERISA challenges to their 401(k) or 403(b) plans as those faced by single-employer sponsors. Allegations range from excessive investment fees to poorly performing investments to inadequate monitoring of administrative costs."  MORE >>

Pensions & Investments

[Opinion]

IRS Guidance About SECURE Act's Beneficiary RMD Provisions Requires Revision

"The return guidance incorrectly describes the 10-year rule as requiring annual distributions in each year following the participant's death even though the 5-year rule has no such requirement. Furthermore, when the participant dies after attaining the participant's required beginning date, the IRS guidance prevents a disfavored individual beneficiary from continuing to use the participant's life expectancy to determine annual minimum required distributions.... These limitations are not consistent with the stated purpose of the SECURE Act MRD provisions, the long-standing IRS regulations interpreting the MRD rules, or the amended MRD statute as a whole."  MORE >>

Law Offices of Albert Feuer, via SSRN

Second Circuit: Arbitration Agreement Did Not Require Arbitration of Employee's ERISA Claim

"[T]he court found the arbitration agreement's listed examples of claims which should be arbitrated were more personal to Plaintiff -- e.g., wrongful discharge, harassment, and leave disputes -- and thus Plaintiff's ERISA claim, which Plaintiff brought on behalf of the Plan and the Plan's other participants, was not of the same type as those enumerated in the arbitration agreement." [Cooper v. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc., No. 17-2805 (2d Cir. Mar. 4, 2021)]  MORE >>

Baker McKenzie, via Lexology; free registration may be required

[Guidance Overview]

New Tax on 'Excessive' Compensation of Tax-Exempt Executives Imposed at Not-So-Excessive Levels

"Now that final guidance has been issued, [applicable tax-exempt organizations] should ... consider adopting the following strategies: [1] Maximize retirement income for covered executives.... [2] Consider implementing excise tax cutbacks.... [3] Consider adopting split dollar life insurance arrangements.... [4] Review current compensation programs to determine extent of potential liabilities as well as potential exemptions."  MORE >>

Jones Walker

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QNEC for Missed Deferral and 402(g) Limit

"If a plan sponsor makes a corrective QNEC for missed deferrals before the participant starts deferring for the year, does the QNEC count toward the participant's 402(g) limit? For example, the plan sponsor fails to implement a deferral election from January through June and corrects using the 25% QNEC. Say the deferral would have been $8,000, so the QNEC is $2,000. The participant's correct deferrals start in July. Can the participant still contribute to the full 402(g) limit, or the 402(g) limit minus $2,000?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Employee 401(k) Elections Conflict with Federal Income Tax Withholding Elections

"Does anyone have any experience with whether it will be treated as a plan qualification error if the client does not withhold and defer the percentage of compensation elected by the employee because there is not enough money left after taxes from which to deduct the funds?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Late Payment of Plan Fees

"Under this 401k service arrangement, the recordkeeper pulls all service provider fees from plan assets each quarter and remits them to each of the providers. Due to a system error, fees were not pulled from the plan in 1st quarter 2021 for the adviser. What would be the best approach to get the adviser paid?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Employer Contribution Can Be Made by Extended Due Date Even If Tax Return Already Filed?

"Where in the regs does it state that contributions must be funded prior to the filing of the plan sponsor's tax return? For example, a sole proprietor filed their tax return in April, but didn't make an employer contribution until early May because the filing deadline was extended to May 17."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

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Ryan Quillan Named Employee Benefits Regional VP for OneAmerica

OneAmerica

TRA Expands Retirement Savings Opportunities with Group 401(k) Plans

The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

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New York City Mandates Retirement Savings for All Private Sector Employees

Fox Rothschild LLP

Pooled Employer Plans: Employer Considerations (PDF)

American Academy of Actuaries

The Beltway Is Buzzing with Retirement Proposals

InsuranceNewsNet.com