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News Archive
After the Dec 23 edition, ASPPA Connect will next appear on Dec. 28. In the meantime, we wish our readers and members a very happy Holiday season.In keeping with the season, we found a sampling of U.S. place names that resonate at this time of year interesting.Angel City, TexasBells, Pa.Blitzen,...
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One of the most-cited sources of government data regarding income sources in retirement has revamped its methodology, but in the process led to questions about its reliability of those findings.A new report from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) explains that the Annual...
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The court in Tussey v. ABB Inc. No. 2:06-cv-04305 (W.D. Mo. Dec. 9, 2015) has awarded attorney fees roughly equal to the total damages assessed in the excessive fee case — but it won’t come close to covering their costs.According to an analysis by Proskauer Rose LLP, the court awarded class counsel...
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Education on spousal beneficiary rules on divorced and deceased participants can come through seminars, enrollment meetings and articles in newspapers or pension/IRA periodicals. But they can be found in PPA plan documents as well.In “A Key Beneficiary Provision in PPA Plan Documents,” an article...
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Often, correction of a plan’s disqualifying defect(s) can be done only with IRS approval. The IRS may have discovered the defect during an audit, requiring that the problem be resolved through an IRS-approved closing agreement. Or the defect may have been submitted to the IRS for resolution under...
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The departing year was a challenging one for many defined benefit plans, so some suggestions regarding what they can do in the year soon to come likely will be welcome. Mercer is happy to oblige, recently outlining key investment issues they can focus on in 2016.Mercer’s suggestions include the...
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ASPPA is always providing information and insights that will be valuable to its members! Following is a summary of upcoming webcasts and events.Live WebcastsEPCRS Corrections: Strategies and Negotiation Tips When Dealing with the IRSThursday, Jan. 14, 20162 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. ETSpeakers: Ilene H....
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Roth IRAs have been a popular way to generate future tax-free growth and income since their creation. Yet the decision to contribute or convert to a Roth IRA incurs an immediate tax liability that could become so heavy as to be destructive. So writes Michael Kitces in “Using Systematic Partial Roth...
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers last week introduced legislation that they say will “ensure retirement advisors serve their clients’ best interests and preserve access to quality financial planning.” It would also require an affirmative vote of Congress before the final fiduciary rule from the...
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There’s an unspoken etiquette on elevators that would make Marian the Librarian very happy — it can be summed up with “shhh!” And that’s too bad, because an elevator affords one a unique opportunity, and a captive audience, for whatever you want to say — but in a short span of time.Even if one is...
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A diverse group of retirement industry experts has weighed in on what the world of 2019 could look like — and while their view was relatively optimistic, in some respects it wasn’t as much change as you might think.The vast majority of this panel of experts (including yours truly) believes that by...
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It’s the time of year when Santa — and those who work with executive compensation programs — are making their end-of-year lists — and checking them twice.To that end, the lawyers at Snell & Wilmer have prepared the following end-of-year “to do” list for executive compensation plans:Correct...
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Legislation has been introduced in the Senate that could have significant consequences for public pension plans.Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has introduced The Puerto Rico Assistance Act of 2015 (S. 2381), a bill generally intended to address Puerto Rico’s debt crisis,...
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Among the strongest trends of the outgoing year: growth in employee engagement in their financial wellness, use of annuities and offerings of qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs). And next year may bring more of the same. So say two recently released studies that look at what’s been...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued the 2016 comprehensive premium filing instructions. The Office of Management and Budget has approved the instructions, and has posted them on the PBGC website.The PBGC says that it made few changes from the 2015 filing instructions when it...
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Those hoping that the Department of Labor's (DOL) fiduciary rule would be derailed in congressional budget negotiations found coal in their pre-Christmas stockings instead. Published reports had indicated that some lawmakers had tried to attach a rider to the omnibus spending bill that would...
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Those who have been concerned about the Labor Department’s recent extension of authority to state governments to run so-called “open” MEPs may now have an opportunity to compete more effectively with that alternative.In November, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Interpretive Bulletin (IB) 2015-...
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Wow, here we are again with year end just two weeks away and knee deep in new plan proposals and set ups! Like every other year, 2015 just blew by in a blur of work. I feel like my life has gone by like the calendar pages flashing past one by one in those old movies. I’m sure we are all looking...
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The IRS on Dec. 14 issued the 2015 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements. The list, contained in Notice 2015-84, is to be used by plan sponsors and practitioners submitting determination letter applications for plans during the period beginning Feb. 1, 2016 and ending Jan....
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What is “Suspension of Benefits”? The purpose of this post is to provide an overview of the rules as they apply to the suspension of benefits and to the adjustment of benefits not received during the suspension period as it relates to defined benefit plans. (To read Part 2, click here.) It is not...
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