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Retirement Plans Newsletter

July 1, 2022

4 New Job Opportunities 4 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

How Retirement Plans Can Correct Required Minimum Distribution Errors

"This article outlines the solutions available when qualified or 403(b) plans miss or miscalculate RMDs ... [including] streamlined procedures for plans applying for IRS approval of a proposed correction, and options for requesting a waiver of participants' excise taxes. Related tax reporting and withholding rules also are addressed."  MORE >>

Mercer

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming Deadline icon Requirement for California Small Business Retirement Plans Takes Effect Today

"Last year, California mandated that employers with more than 50 employees must offer a retirement plan through either the state-run CalSavers program or a private-market option. Starting today, the requirement extends to California employers with five or more employees. Failure to comply may result in financial penalties enforced by the Franchise Tax Board."  MORE >>

Troutman Pepper

Supreme Court's EPA Decision Could Put DOL Rule-Making in Crosshairs

"The key question is whether certain regulations fall under the major questions doctrine, which states that administrative agencies must be able to cite 'clear congressional authorization' when they make decisions of wide-ranging 'economic and political significance.' ... [T]he ruling may impact how the DOL will continue its recent emphasis on rule-making based on ERISA Section 404(a) on fiduciary responsibility." [West Virginia v. EPA, No. 20-1530 (S. Ct. Jun. 30, 2022)]  MORE >>

Pensions & Investments

Pension Rights Center Supports Domestic Partner's Claim for Survivor Benefits

"The PBGC ... said that [the surviving domestic partner] was not entitled to the survivor benefit, even though California treats domestic partnerships as the equivalent of a marriage and refers to domestic partners as 'spouses.' The PBGC simply said the law doesn't cover domestic partners.... [The Pension Rights Center] has written a legal analysis of [the] case."  MORE >>

Pension Rights Center

401(k) Plans: Active Participation Results in Sizable Account Balances

"The average 401(k) plan account balance for consistent participants rose each year from 2010 through year-end 2019, with the exception of a slight decline in 2018. Overall, the average account balance increased at a compound annual average growth rate of 15.6 percent from 2010 to 2019 ... The growth in 401(k) plan account balances for consistent participants generally exceeded the growth rate for all participants in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database."  MORE >>

Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI]

Do You Want Your Spending Budget in Retirement to Be More (or Less) Conservative?

"[P]ersonal financial thought-leaders like Michael Kitces are trying to convince financial advisors (and their clients) to adopt changes to their Monte Carlo modelling approaches to make them more like the Actuarial Financial Planner.... [Y]ou can relatively easily make the spending budget developed using the AFP even more conservative (or less conservative) ... by varying some of the assumptions or inputs so that you can select a spending budget within the range that is consistent with your personal tolerance for risk."  MORE >>

Ken Steiner, FSA Retired

FAS87 ASC715 Discount Rates and Moody's Rates, June 30, 2022

An unofficial monthly report of the Moody's Daily Long-term Corporate Bond Yield Averages and Moody's Daily Treasury Yield Averages (used as benchmarks by some corporate pension plans).  MORE >>

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[Opinion]

'Meaningful Choices': Cost-Efficiency, the CommonSpirit Decision, and the Future of 401(k) Litigation

"The Sixth Circuit's acknowledgment of the importance of investment fees and others costs, including the fact that the impact of such fees, like returns, compound over time, cannot be overemphasized.... Costs and cost-efficiency generally do not receive the same amount of attention that returns receive.... The financial services industry does not like to discuss cost-efficiency, as studies have consistently shown that the overwhelming majority of actively managed mutual funds are cost-inefficient." [Smith v. CommonSpirit Health, No. 22-5964 (6th Cir. Jun. 21, 2022)]  MORE >>

The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules

Executive Compensation and Nonqualified Plans

Hitting the Home Run in Deferred Compensation: How Small and Mid-Sized Companies Can Reward Key Employees

"Deferred compensation agreements can be creatively customized to the unique purposes of the company and the individual objectives of the plan participant. They can be complex and detailed or defined by only a few targeted provisions. Either way, they may help fortify an organization's employee retention strategy."  MORE >>

OneDigital

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as 401(k) Retirement Plan Administrator
          for Midwest TPA with Remote Workforce 401(k) Retirement Plan Administrator

Midwest TPA with Remote Workforce

Remote / Beachwood OH

View job as Retirement Plan Relationship Manager – DB or DC Focus
          for Trinity Pension Consultants Retirement Plan Relationship Manager – DB or DC Focus

Trinity Pension Consultants

Remote / Akron OH / AL / IN / KY / MO / TN

View job as Retirement Plan Relationship Manager – DB or DC Focus
          for Trinity Pension Consultants

View job as Plan Administrator Consultant
          for Jocelyn Pension Consulting Plan Administrator Consultant

Jocelyn Pension Consulting

Remote / Boulder CO

View job as Plan Administrator Consultant
          for Jocelyn Pension Consulting

View job as Director, Administration and Compliance
          for Alerus Financial Director, Administration and Compliance

Alerus Financial

Remote

View job as Director, Administration and Compliance
          for Alerus Financial

Selected New Discussions

Does a Disclaimer Revive a Beneficiary Designation?

"A participant executes a beneficiary designation naming her son as beneficiary. She was not married at the time of the designation. Within a year, she gets married. She doesn't change the beneficiary designation and doesn't have her new spouse sign the consent. She dies. Under the plan, the new spouse is the beneficiary because he did not consent to the beneficiary designation. But the new spouse wants to disclaim. Does his disclaimer, meaning he's treated as predeceasing the participant, revive the previous beneficiary designation such that the son becomes the beneficiary?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Participant Lied About Being Married in Order to Get a QJSA

"Somehow a participant started his pension on a QJSA without actually being married. The plan allows only a single life annuity for an unmarried participant. He already was divorced prior to initiating his benefits and apparently lied on the application for benefits. He recently died. No payments have been made to the surviving spouse. Any thoughts about how the plan should correct this, if at all?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Employer Not Depositing Employee Deferrals; Should TPA/Investment Fiduciary Report It to DOL?

"A client stopped depositing employee deferrals around January of 2022. It's a very small doctor's office. It has automatic enrollment. Some employees became eligible during 2022. We've emailed, texted, written and called and we aren't getting any response, and we've recently sent a certified letter letting the doctor know that we're resigning. Should we report the plan sponsor to the DOL for not depositing the payrolls? We're signed on as a fiduciary on the Investment Advisory side. We're also the TPA, but not a 3(16), so we aren't a fiduciary in that capacity."

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

The Cerrado Group Announces MAP Retirement as Newest Member Firm

The Cerrado Group

Church Pension Group Releases Its 2022 Annual Report

Church Pension Group [CPG]

SageView Expands Pacific Northwest Presence with Seattle Office Led By Jon Chambers

SageView Advisory Group

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Sixth Circuit Addresses Key Issues in Excessive Fee Lawsuits

Groom Law Group

Health & Welfare Plan and 401(k) Plan Integration Issues in Strategic M&A Transactions: Important Diligence Topics and Best Practices (PDF)

White & Case LLP, via Benefits Law Journal

The Large Plan Form 5500 Filing Dilemma

Newfront

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

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