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Retirement Plans Newsletter

June 25, 2021

6 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Again Extends Temporary Relief from Physical Presence Requirement for Retirement Plan Consents

"The additional extension provides relief through June 30, 2022.... The IRS continues to request comments until September 30, 2021, particularly on cost burdens associated with the physical presence requirement, whether there is evidence that the temporary removal has resulted in fraud, how participant elections are being witnessed, and what procedures and guidance should be implemented to provide safeguards in lieu of existing requirements."  MORE >>

Ascensus

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming Deadline icon 2021 Is the Last Year for Retirement Plan Unlimited 'Quasi-Rollover' to Charity

"The COVID Relief Act passed by Congress and signed by the President on December 27 extended the unlimited charitable contribution for cash gifts to most public charities through the end of 2021. This creates an important once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move substantial amounts from retirement plans to charity beyond the $100,000 qualified charitable rollover already allowed to IRA owners without adverse income tax consequences."  MORE >>

Thompson Coburn LLP

More Plan Sponsors Want to Keep Retiree Accounts

"84% of 401(k) plans sponsors with more than $500 million in assets prefer to keep participant assets in-plan during retirement. The reason: Increased scale helps them negotiate better prices with asset managers and other providers. Another plus: Participants maintain access to institutionally priced investment products and services during their retirement years."  MORE >>

Retirement Income Journal

Pooled Employer Plans: An Opportunity for Employers and Private Equity Sponsors to Reduce Their ERISA Fiduciary Responsibilities

"PEPs provide economies of scale that may result in lower administrative costs, increased efficiencies ... PEPs may be appealing for employers from a litigation risk management standpoint, as they allow for the outsourcing of fiduciary responsibilities to third parties, namely, the pooled plan provider.... [F]or private equity sponsors, PEPs can offer a quick and easy solution for portfolio companies, especially in the carve-out context where we need to get employees of the spun-off company enrolled in a plan in short order. [Podcast, with transcript.]"  MORE >>

Ropes & Gray LLP

New Jersey Increases Pension Contribution by 44%

"The New Jersey budget for fiscal year 2022, which the state legislature just passed, calls for a $6.9 billion pension payment, up about 44% over the previous year. State lawmakers increased the amount that Governor Phil Murphy proposed thanks to the surge in tax collections, plus federal stimulus money. The state has long had one of the nation's worst pension shortfalls."  MORE >>

Chief Investment Officer [CIO]

[Opinion]

ERIC Testimony to ERISA Advisory Council: Understanding Brokerage Windows in Self-Directed Retirement Plans (PDF)

"The DOL should support the efforts of these plans and their fiduciaries who strive to comply with the intent of ERISA and its specific requirements. ERIC does not believe further fiduciary obligations would be useful or necessary regarding brokerage windows offered in plans with at least three designated investment alternatives."  MORE >>

The ERISA Industry Committee [ERIC]

Executive Compensation and Nonqualified Plans

Paying for ESG

"[A]dding ESG metrics to incentive plans is part of a process that may take several years to execute.... [P]aying for ESG introduces pressure to precisely and accurately measure performance -- this has particular challenges for metrics such as 'climate change impact', which cannot be directly measured, but are typically estimated.... Measuring 'diversity' is particularly challenging[.]"  MORE >>

Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Plan Document Reviewer
for Nova 401(k) Associates Plan Document Reviewer

Nova 401(k) Associates

Telecommute / Houston TX / Dallas TX / Scottsdale AZ

View job as General Attorney
for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC] General Attorney

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC]

Telecommute / Washington DC

View job as Defined Benefit Plan Consultant
for Planned Retirement Consultants & Administrators, LLC Defined Benefit Plan Consultant

Planned Retirement Consultants & Administrators, LLC

Telecommute / Ridgewood NJ

View job as 401k & Defined Contribution Plan Consultant
for Planned Retirement Administrators & Consultants, LLC 401k & Defined Contribution Plan Consultant

Planned Retirement Administrators & Consultants, LLC

Telecommute / Ridgewood NJ

View job as Special Projects Administrator
for Nova 401(k) Associates Special Projects Administrator

Nova 401(k) Associates

Telecommute / Houston TX / Dallas TX / Scottsdale AZ

View job as 401k Plan Administrator
for Northwest Retirement Plans 401k Plan Administrator

Northwest Retirement Plans

Medford OR

Selected New Discussions

2020 Annual Limitation Exceeded but PS Contribution Deposited in 2021

"I had a plan sponsor calculate their own profit sharing and deposit it into participant accounts prior to the annual testing being completed. If this contribution was for the 2020 plan year but the profit sharing was deposited in 2021, can't they just reduce the participant accounts by forfeiting the excess? They are being told they need to use the correction method used for EPCRS, and I don't agree, because the funding wasn't done until after the plan year end. That's how we've always handled these situations previously."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Impact of COVID-19 on IRS 417(e) Mortality Table for 2022

"Anyone have insight as to whether the 2022 IRS 417(e) Mortality Table (used, among other things, for determining minimum lump sum amounts) will be impacted by the significant decline in life expectancies during 2020 due to COVID-19? Or is there some longer lag time between when this hit to life expectancies will start to appear in these IRS mortality tables?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

We Gave IRS Copy of the PPA Plan Document and Now They Want the EGTRRA Document

"Wondering whether this a usual and standard request -- we gave IRS a copy of the PPA document and they've come back and asked for an EGTRRA document."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

FuturePlan by Ascensus Appoints Aaron McIsaac as Divisional Vice President for Southern California

Ascensus

Pooled Employer Plans Available on the Benetic Marketplace

Benetic

Webcasts and Conferences
(Retirement Plans or Exec Comp)

IRA University

July 7, 2021 WEBCAST

Ascensus

War Stories and Case Learnings from Recent ESOP and 401(k) Employer Stock Litigation

August 10, 2021 WEBCAST

Jackson Lewis LLP

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

DOL's Cybersecurity Auditors Have Arrived: Here's the Request for Policies and Documents One Employer Received

Nixon Peabody LLP

Text of IRS Notice 2021-40: Extension of Temporary Relief from the Physical Presence Requirement for Witnessing of Participant Elections (PDF)

Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

IRS Issue Snapshot: Hardship Distributions from 401(k) Plans

Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

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

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