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Retirement Plans Newsletter
March 31, 2023
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2 New Job Opportunities
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[Guidance Overview]
Changes to the 2023 Form 5500
"[C]hanges, which apply beginning with 2023 plan year reports ... include: [1] A consolidated Form 5500 reporting option for certain groups of defined contribution retirement plans.... [2] A change in the participant-counting methodology for determining
eligibility for simplified reporting alternatives available to small defined contribution plans ... [3] Additional breakout categories added to Schedule H breakout of 'Administrative Expenses Paid by the Plan.' ... [4] The addition of selected Internal Revenue Code compliance questions[.]" MORE >>
Legacy Professionals LLP
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DOL Pushes Back on Motion to Halt ESG Reg
"[T[he response outlines the following points. [1] The state plaintiffs lack standing: No cognizable injury.... 'Speculative injuries' to a handful of plaintiff states cannot confer standing generally.... [2] The extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction
is not warranted: No showing of 'irreparable' harm. Haven't shown a 'substantial likelihood' of success on the merits of their arguments ... and a preliminary injunction isn't in the public interest." [Utah v. Su, No. 23-00016, (N.D. Tex. DOL motion in opposition filed Mar. 28, 2023)] MORE >>
American Retirement Association [ARA]
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District Court Reexamines ERISA's Church Plan Definition After Supreme Court Weighs In
"The [district court] applied a three-step analysis developed by the Tenth Circuit following the Supreme Court's ruling, asking whether the employer plan sponsor was associated with a church, whether the plan was maintained by a principal-purpose organization, and whether the
principal-purpose organization was associated with a church.... The court rejected the argument that only the entity with the authority to amend and terminate the plan 'maintains' a plan[.]' [Kaplan v. Saint Peter"s Healthcare System, No. 13-2941 (D.N.J.
Feb. 17, 2023)] MORE >>
Thomson Reuters / EBIA
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Hughes Take Two: It's All About Context
"The Seventh Circuit refused to extend the Dudenhoeffer pleading standard to fees cases ... At the pleadings stage, a plaintiff must provide enough facts to show that a prudent alternative action was plausibly available, rather than actually available[.]" [Hughes v. Northwestern Univ., No. 18-2569 (7th Cir. Mar. 23, 2023)] MORE >>
Miller & Chevalier
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Litigation Trends Remain Steady: Considerations to Help Plan Sponsors Stay Vigilant
"Plan sponsors must be vigilant in their plan oversight. But what does that actually mean? [This article lists specific action items] to help the plan sponsor community be in good stead should litigation arrive at their doorstep." MORE >>
PlanPILOT
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Faulty Form 5500 Filings and 'Reasonable Cause'
"The DOL is authorized to waive all or part of the civil penalty for a faulty Form 5500 filing if the plan sponsor demonstrates reasonable cause for its failure.... The plan sponsor must establish it exercised all ordinary business care and prudence to meet the annual filing
obligations but, nevertheless, was unable to comply with the duty within the prescribed time." MORE >>
Retirement Learning Center, LLC
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Suggested 402(f) Notice Changes Related to the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (PDF)
19 pages. "This document contains suggested edits to the explanation required by Internal Revenue Code section 402(f), to reflect changes made to the Code by The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022... The document uses the most recent safe harbor explanation contained in IRS
Notice 2022-62 as a base. Only those changes made by the SECURE 2.0 Act that directly affect language in the safe harbor explanation for 2023 have been included.... [T]his document does not reflect SECURE 2.0 provisions that apply starting in 2024 or later." MORE >>
The SPARK Institute
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Consolidating Capabilities and Tools Can Benefit Plan Participants and Help Them on Their Retirement Journey.
"[1] Consolidate retirement savings from prior employers or individual retirement accounts (IRAs) into the current 401(k) plan. [2] Engage an administrator who can manage all plan types ... [3] Prioritize participant-facing tools, including a consolidated
website, mobile app, and contact center.... [4] Prioritize participant education so that they understand how the plans work together and to help them achieve their retirement goals." MORE >>
Principal Financial Group
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Social Security Projected Depletion of Combined Trust Funds Moves One Year Earlier
"The Social Security Board of Trustees [released the 2023 annual report] on the financial status of the Social Security Trust
Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, one year earlier than projected last year, with 80 percent of benefits payable at that time. The OASI Trust Fund is projected to become depleted in 2033, one year sooner than last year's estimate, with 77 percent of benefits payable at that
time." MORE >>
U.S. Social Security Administration [SSA]
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[Opinion]
Pension Rights Center Comment Letter to IRS on Proposed Regs: Use of an Electronic Medium to Make Participant Elections and Spousal Consents (PDF)
17 pages. "[T]he physical presence requirement should be retained, and the protections applicable to it should be further strengthened. However, if the agency decides to permit remote witnessing, safeguards far beyond what have been proposed are needed to adequately
protect spousal rights to survivor benefits." MORE >>
Pension Rights Center
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Benefits in General |
April Is Financial Literacy Month: Recommendations for Your Employee Benefits Engagement Campaign
"Connect the dots between your company's health care and wealth programs to get employees' workplace benefits and savings in sync. Generate interest in your company's HSA-eligible consumer-driven health plan, life insurance and retirement savings programs ahead of
open enrollment season. Increase utilization of employer-sponsored financial wellness coaching, college savings and short-term loans programs." MORE >>
Benefitfocus
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Fact Sheet: 2023 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports (PDF)
"The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2031, 3 years later than reported last yea ... The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled
benefits until 2033, 1 year earlier than reported last year.... If the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund projections are added together, the resulting projected fund (designated OASDI) would be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2034, 1 year earlier than reported last year." MORE >>
U.S. Department of the Treasury
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Employee Benefits Jobs |
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Selected New Discussions |
Freeze ESOP Share Value for Terminated Employees?
"A client claims that some ESOPs freeze the share value on termination of employment for the terminating participant. That participant's share value/account balance would not change in the future, regardless of how long the participant waits to receive distribution. There
would also be no interest credit or any other adjustment to the account balance at termination. The purported rationale is that a terminated participant should neither share in the upside of future stock increases nor bear the potential risk of share price decline in the future. I can find nothing on this. Seems dubious to me. Has anyone heard of this?"
BenefitsLink Message Boards
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401(k) Plan with Multiple Discretionary Match Formulas
"A plan came to our attention that has been making the same discretionary matching contributions for the past three years at least. The first formula is 100% of the first 3%, but they also pay 100% of the first 6% if a participant is employed longer than 10 years. I've never
seen this before. I thought the maximum service requirement for an employer allocation is 1000 hours. Would they need to pass ACP testing on each formula separately?"
BenefitsLink Message Boards
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Press Releases |
JULY Announces Acquisition of Turning Point Associates
JULY Business Services
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Eleven OneDigital Retirement Advisers Win PlanAdviser’s Top Retirement Plan Advisers for 2023
OneDigital
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PLANADVISER Names 13 CAPTRUST Advisors to List
CAPTRUST Financial Advisors
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FuturePlan Expands Retirement Plan Options with New Employer Aggregated Plan
FuturePlan, by Ascensus
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MPI Significantly Increases Retirement Plan Advisor Capabilities and Competitiveness with the Launch of New Stylus Web
Markov Processes International, Inc. [MPI]
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Webcasts and Conferences (Retirement Plans / Executive Compensation) |
What Employees Want in a Retirement Plan
April 18, 2023 WEBINAR
Society of Actuaries
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Last Issue's Most Popular Items |
Wait What??? I Don't Have to Audit My Small Employer Retirement Plan Anymore??
Seyfarth
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SECURE 2.0: Changes Affecting Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Bradley
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IRS Issues Guidance on Nonfungible Tokens in IRAs and Tax-Qualified Individual Account Plans
The Wagner Law Group
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BenefitsLink® Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.
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