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Retirement Plans Newsletter

May 11, 2023

5 New Job Opportunities 5 New Job Opportunities

 

[Official Guidance]

Text of EBSA Proposed PTE for Certain Restrictions Involving UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG

"[T]his individual exemption is necessary to preserve the ability of the QPAMs to engage in the transactions permitted by PTE 84-14, which would be lost due solely to the impending merger of UBS and Credit Suisse (and not because of a new conviction for either UBS or Credit Suisse or their affiliates). If granted, the exemption will be for one year."  MORE >>

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

[Sponsor]

ERISApedia -- Announcing SECURE 2.0 updates available NOW

All of our Technical Research eSources are fully updated for SECURE 2.0. Do you have a ReSource with the latest information? Contact us at: sales@erisapedia.com or 612-605-2266

Sponsored by ERISApedia

[Guidance Overview]

Enhancing 403(b) Plans to Be More Like 401(k) Plans

"[403(b)] plans have evolved, through regulations, to be more like their 401(k) plan cousin. [This] accelerated with ... SECURE Act 2.0 ... Hardship withdrawals ... Long-term part-time employees ... Collective investment trusts ... [O]ptional changes include employer matching contributions on student loan payments, emergency savings accounts and distributions, increased limitations on catch-up contributions and Roth catch-up contributions on behalf of highly [compensated] individuals. Required changes to new 403(b) and 401(k) plans are the inclusion of automatic enrollment and escalation features[.]"  MORE >>

ORBA

[Guidance Overview]

SECURE 2.0 for Defined Benefit Plans

"Eliminates the variable-rate premium (VRP) indexing ... Requires additional information for Defined benefit annual funding notices ... Requires a significant increase in lump sum window disclosures ... Extends the deadline for adopting amendment increasing benefit accruals ... Extends window for 420 transfers ... Requires participant election to receive electronic delivery of participant statements."  MORE >>

Watkins Ross

401(k) Plans in Stock Purchase M&A Transactions: A Buyer's Guide to Choosing Termination or Merger

"[T]erminating a target's 401(k) plan prior to closing (which is typical in scenarios where the buyer will be covering the target's employees with the buyer's 401(k) plan postclosing) is often the preferred approach for several reasons ... Due to the administrative challenges ... with postclosing transitions, some buyers opt to maintain the target's 401(k) plan for a period following closing and later merge that plan into the buyer's plan."  MORE >>

Morgan Lewis

What Is Pension Risk Transfer?

"PRT is often the right financial decision for employers, especially those who want to reduce volatility by decreasing PBGC premiums, managing risk and planning for the plan's fate. Transferring risk can benefit your company and set the stage for a financially secure future."  MORE >>

October Three Consulting

Seventh Circuit Affirms Permanent Injunction Against ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

"The court found that defendants breached the duty to follow plan documents, the ERISA fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, and that there was harm to the plan. Sherrod acted at her own direction and not at the discretion of the Administrator by unilaterally withdrawing funds from the plan." [Su v. Johnson, No. 22-2204 (7th Cir. May 10, 2023)]  MORE >>

Roberts Disability Law

The 'Significantly Lower' 2024 Social Security COLA Estimate

"The annual Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be 'significantly lower' in 2024, one year after ringing in at 8.7% -- the highest adjustment in four decades. Driven by the declining inflation rate, estimates point to a 3.1% COLA, according to the Senior Citizens League."  MORE >>

American Retirement Association [ARA]

CRS in Focus: Railroad Retirement Board -- Retirement, Survivor, Disability, Unemployment, and Sickness Benefits

"The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) administers retirement, survivor, disability, unemployment, and sickness benefits for railroad workers and their families under the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). Work for railroads engaged in interstate commerce, railroad associations, and railroad labor organizations is covered by the railroad benefits system instead of Social Security or the federal-state unemployment compensation system." [IF10481 May 11, 2023]  MORE >>

Congressional Research Service [CRS]

[Opinion]

Guaranteed Lifetime Income Products Mark New Era of Plan Design

"[C]reative collaboration between mutual fund companies and insurance companies is generating new products that could easily prove to be category killers: guaranteed income products. These new products will usher in a fourth era of retirement plan design. The full brunt of these creative forces will be brought to bear on retirement plan fiduciaries, who will be forced to evaluate and sign off on guaranteed income products, a skill historically outside of their core competency. As in any evolutionary process, there will be winners and losers. Plan fiduciaries must adapt. The stakes are high."  MORE >>

Mitchell Shames, via InvestmentNews; subscription may be required

Benefits in General

Clarifying the 'Reasonable Fee' Rule

"[N]either the DOL nor ERISA defines steps for determining the reasonableness of vendors' fees.... Years spent interpreting ERISA's vague vendor monitoring principle to employers have led to the formulation of five proven compliance action steps. [1] Read the vendor's disclosures.... [2] Verify that vendors adhere to their contracts.... [3] Establish key performance indicators.... [4] At least annually assess and confirm vendors' compensation for reasonableness.... [5] Factor the broad view into vendor management."  MORE >>

Roland Criss

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Distribution Specialist
            for Atlantic Pension Services Inc.

Distribution Specialist

Atlantic Pension Services Inc.

Remote / Kennett Square PA / DE / MD / NJ

View job as Distribution Specialist for Atlantic Pension Services Inc.

View job as Actuary
            for Alerus

Actuary

Alerus

Remote

View job as Actuary for Alerus

View job as ESOP Consultant
            for FuturePlan, by Ascensus

ESOP Consultant

FuturePlan, by Ascensus

Remote / Chicago IL

View job as ESOP Consultant for FuturePlan, by Ascensus

View job as Client Service Manager
            for Newport, an Ascensus Company

Client Service Manager

Newport, an Ascensus Company

Remote / Houston TX

View job as Client Service Manager for Newport, an Ascensus Company

View job as Recordkeeping Service Consultant
            for NestEggs Retirement Plan Services Inc.

Recordkeeping Service Consultant

NestEggs Retirement Plan Services Inc.

Remote

View job as Recordkeeping Service Consultant for NestEggs Retirement Plan Services Inc.

Selected New Discussions

Can QJ&S Be Waived in Separation Agreement?

"I have what used to be a paired MP-PS plan where we merged the MP into the PS 20 years ago back when that was all the rage. Of course, that MP money is still tracked separately for purposes of making participants who have that money get the proper spousal consent for a distribution.

"Now I've got a participant who is saying that when she Legally Separated from her spouse, as part of the separation agreement he waived all rights to her plan benefits. There is no other plan paperwork to his effect -- I presume he is on the beneficiary form as her beneficiary (which predates the separation agreement). This is a new one to me. Is this legit? I feel pretty confident that she is still considered married for plan purposes, but can the spouse waive his rights that way?"

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Press Releases

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myStockOptions.com

DataPath Receives Two Communicator Awards

DataPath, Inc.

Annuity Offers Due Diligence with ERISA Expert Standards; Bridging the Gap Between Institutional and Retail For 401(k) Plans

Annuity Research & Consulting™ [ARC]

Vestwell Partners with Leading Advisory and Asset Management Firms

Vestwell

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Retirement Savings for Long-Term, Part-Time Employees: What Is Changed with SECURE 2.0

Milliman

Retirement Plan Correction Solution: Missed RMDs

Ferenczy Benefits Law Center

Roth 401(k) Contributions: Answers to Common Questions

Employee Fiduciary

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

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