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Retirement Plans Newsletter

August 5, 2021

4 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Updates the EPCRS Voluntary Correction Program

"[S]ignificant failures may be self-corrected ... until the last day of the third plan year following the plan year in which the failure occurred.... Employers also have an additional year to correct failed ADP/ACP testing.... Previously, in order for employers to only have to make up 25% of the missed deferral, the correction must have been made no later than the last day of the second plan year following the plan year in which the failure occurred. This correction period has now been expanded another year[.]"  MORE >>

TRI-AD

[Sponsor]

ERISApedia.com -- Plan Corrections eSource

Plan problems? No problem. ERISApedia.com's Plan Corrections eSource is fully updated with the new EPCRS rules. Contact us: sales@erisapedia.com 612-605-2266

Sponsored by Burrmont Compliance Labs LLC

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Guidance on Funding Relief and Elections Under ARPA

"[T]here are several situations where Form 5500 filings can affect how the ARPA relief applies to a plan. Working with plan actuaries, plan sponsors should consider how they wish to apply the ARPA relief, and ensure that their Form 5500 for the 2020 plan year is consistent with the intended approach to applying the relief."  MORE >>

Groom Law Group

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Publishes DB Pension Funding Relief Guidance

"Plan sponsors generally have until the last day of the plan year beginning in 2021 to make written elections regarding retroactive application of ARPA's 15-year shortfall amortization and interest rate stabilization provisions. Sponsors may also make deemed elections by filing Form 5500 Schedule SB reflecting the relief for an applicable plan year.... The deemed option is apparently unavailable for 2021 plan year elections to defer the ARPA interest rates."  MORE >>

Mercer

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Provides Guidance on Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plan Funding Under ARPA

"Notice 2021-48 addresses Sections 9705 and 9706 of ARPA-21, which provide for an extended amortization period and enhanced stabilization of interest rates."  MORE >>

Thomson Reuters Practical Law

Two Hats, No Preemption

"The court found the plaintiffs' claims are not preempted because ERISA contemplates parallel state-law liability against directors and officers serving dual roles as both corporate and ERISA fiduciaries and ERISA explicitly allows corporate insiders to serve as ERISA fiduciaries." [Halperin v. Richards, No. 20-2793 (7th Cir. Jul. 28, 2021)]  MORE >>

Kantor & Kantor

Retirees Challenge Actuarial Assumptions Used by Citgo DB Plan

"The plaintiffs, seeking class-action status, allege they and other pensioners were harmed because the Citgo pension plans used out-of-date actuarial tables to calculate retirement benefits.... The alleged shortchanging affects people who retired before Jan. 1, 2018, the complaint said." [Urlaub v. Citgo Petroleum Corp., No. 21-4133 (N.D. Ill. complaint filed Aug. 3, 2021)]  MORE >>

Pensions & Investments

Viewing a Retirement Plan Rollover Case Through the Prism of Regulation Best Interest

"[A] subsidiary of [TIAA] agreed to pay $97 million to settle [SEC] charges of misleading statements and inadequate disclosures relating to rollover recommendations to participants in TIAA record-kept employer-sponsored retirement plans.... [T]he underlying allegations provide a useful framework to review Regulation BI's four core obligations and how regulators may view misleading statements, inadequate conflict disclosures, and rollover recommendations that are alleged not to be in the best interest of a retail customer." [In the Matter of TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC, SEC Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-20392, Jul. 13, 2021]  MORE >>

Greensfelder

Retirement Plans Head to Collective Investment Trusts

"[The authors] have recently seen a rise in the number of retirement plans exiting mutual funds in favor of collective investment trusts (CITs). Often the transition is simply a change in structure -- that is, moving from the same investment manager's mutual fund to its CIT counterpart. This post explores some potential reasons for this trend by comparing some key differences in the two investment fund structures."  MORE >>

Morgan Lewis

Pooled Plan Providers to Date by State

"As of August 3, 2021, the number of PPPs that have registered with the DOL to be able to offer PEPs is 117.... Registering with the IRS and DOL is one of the requirements for a firm to become a PPP of a PEP. [This article provides] a summary of the number of PPPs by state."  MORE >>

Retirement Learning Center, LLC

Strong Savings Persist Despite Financial Strains

"[D]espite six in 10 workers having adjusted their financial behaviors due to pandemic-related financial strain, 82% are saving for retirement. About a third report having reduced day-to-day expenses, while nearly a quarter say they have dipped into savings accounts to meet spending needs. Some 17% have accumulated new credit card debt, a little more than the 14% who have reduced or stopped contributions to retirement accounts."  MORE >>

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

Take a Closer Look at Your 401(a) and 457(b) Plans When You Change Providers

"It's a mistake to assume that the migration from one recordkeeper to another would necessarily build-in a thorough document compliance review. In practice, this seldom happens. However, the required adoption of a 'new' plan document provided by the new recordkeeper provides you with a perfect opportunity to stop and check whether the terms, features, and operation of your plan are appropriate, compliant and current."  MORE >>

Best Best & Krieger LLP

[Opinion]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon The Active Management Value Ratio: Quantifying the 'New' Fiduciary Prudence

"While some would argue that fiduciary prudence can be evaluated on an investment's returns alone, the fiduciary standards set out in the Restatement (Third) of Trusts. (Restatement) 'Prudent Investor Rule' would disagree. Section 90 of the Restatement, more commonly known as the 'Prudent Investor Rule,' emphasizes the importance of cost-efficiency as a factor in the prudence of fiduciary investments. Bottom line -- alpha without cost-efficiency is meaningless."  MORE >>

The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules

Benefits in General

[Official Guidance]

Text of EBSA Request for Nominations: Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans

"The terms of five Council members expire at the end of this year. The groups or fields they represent are as follows: [1] Employee organizations; [2] employers; [3] the general public; [4] actuarial counseling; and [5] investment counseling.... Nominations must be received on or before [45 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register, scheduled for Aug. 6, 2021]."  MORE >>

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

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Senior Technical Advisor
for Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA] Senior Technical Advisor

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA]

Remote

View job as Retirement Plan Consultant
for Leading Retirement Solutions Retirement Plan Consultant

Leading Retirement Solutions

Remote

View job as Retirement Plan Administrator
for Leading Retirement Solutions Retirement Plan Administrator

Leading Retirement Solutions

Remote

View job as Legal Specialist - Employment & ERISA
for MassMutual Legal Specialist - Employment & ERISA

MassMutual

Springfield MA

Selected New Discussions

Does a Controlled Group Member Need to Adopt the Group's Plan If the Plan Document Says That It Includes Controlled Group Members Automatically?

"Standardized preapproved plans are required to cover all controlled group members, but their adoption agreements usually provide for each controlled group member to execute the plan document, typically by using a page called a 'Participating Employer Addendum.' Having the 'non-lead' employer sign an addendum to make clear its agreement to be included in the plan makes a lot of sense for collateral reasons, but is it necessary to satisfy the Code?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Practice Tests for CPC Exam?

"I've completed all the required modules and have registered for the exam in November. I can't find any practice tests anywhere and I understand the essay format. Are there any recent test takers out there that can shed light on their preparation and what to expect as far as the actual exam goes?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Calculating Missed Earnings for Late Deposits

"Absent a plan document provision requiring elective deferrals to be deposited within x days of the payroll date, the late deposit of deferrals is not an operational failure and therefore does not fall within the guidelines of EPCRS. The late deposit is a presumptive prohibited transaction (loan to the employer) and fiduciary breach. Corrective action requires payment of an excise tax of 15% of the 'amount involved' which is based on the value of the use of the funds or the disgorgement of profits. What authority is there that the IRS method(s) of calculating missed earnings contained in EPCRS should apply to late deposits?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

MJ Insurance Acquires ProCourse Fiduciary Advisors

MJ Insurance

New ‘FORT’ Built to Protect Plan Sponsors

Center for Board Certified Fiduciaries

Webcasts and Conferences
(Retirement Plans / Executive Compensation)

Defined Contribution Quarterly Update

August 12, 2021 WEBCAST

Mercer

Defined Contribution Quarterly Update

November 10, 2021 WEBCAST

Mercer

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

DOL Issues FAQs Clarifying Lifetime Income Illustration Rules

Morgan Lewis

What Drives Fiduciary Liability?

Aon

Understanding the Basics of Annuities

EisnerAmper

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

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