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Outsourcing plan administration is not new. And it can be more than a matter of mere convenience, since it offers assistance in meeting increasingly complicated regulatory and administrative requirements. But it’s not a full absolution from all responsibilities, argues Fiduciary Plan Governance in...
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Automatic enrollment has proven to be very effective at increasing participation. Still, it appears to be not necessarily the hoped-for panacea — average contribution rates might stagnate without additional plan design considerations. And it doesn’t work for every client.In “Best Practices for...
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The IRS has released final regulations that provide guidance and, notably, another year to comply with, what are now final hybrid plan rules.The action comes as time was running out for IRS to publish — and plans to implement — transitional anti-cutback relief for plan amendments reducing above-...
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The process of selecting party nominees for president can be unpredictable, and few years put that in as sharp relief as this one — and the election is still a year off!The lure of one particular candidate can be simply too much to resist. Accordingly, he kindly agreed to make a special appearance...
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The process of selecting party nominees for president can be unpredictable, and few years put that in as sharp relief as this one — and the election is still a year off!The lure of one particular candidate can be simply too much to resist. Accordingly, he kindly agreed to make a special appearance...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working “expeditiously” on a uniform fiduciary standard, according to SEC Chair Mary Jo White. She made her comments at the Nov. 10 annual meeting of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).White reported that her agency is “...
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Wow, the days sure roll by fast from one content submission deadline to another! Here we are in mid-November, with year end soon upon us. I never realized when I accepted the Executive Editor position that essentially I’d be the pension equivalent of a streetcorner beggar, holding a cardboard sign...
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Assume you are the enrolled actuary for a traditional calendar year defined benefit plan sponsored by a small employer. The owner of the business generates about 90% of the firm’s revenue and his benefit from the plan represents about 95% of the total benefit liabilities for the plan. The employer...
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I am tempted to rail against PBGC premium increases (again) today, but unfortunately it does no good. When deals are cut without policy people in the room, all the educational effort in the world is not going to trump the revenue — even if it is phantom as far as availability for spending is...
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We wanted to provide an update on a couple of ACOPA projects.First, we are working on a comment letter to the Actuarial Standards Board on the proposed revisions to ASOP 21, Responding to or Assisting Auditors or Examiners in Connection with Financial Audits, Financial Reviews, and Financial...
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Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part article. Part 2 appears in the December ACOPA Monthly.
In September, more than seven years after issuing proposed rules, the IRS issued final rules under IRC §430 that address how to:
determine the minimum required contribution (MRC);
determine quarterly...
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A frequent commentary on today’s plan designs is that they are more focused on accumulation than the eventual spend-down of those savings.It’s said that defined contribution plans too often not only facilitate lump-sum distributions, but, in design at least, encourage them. And yet, despite a...
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There are mixed signals for private-sector pension plans by several measures. Recent research by Milliman, Inc. shows that plans’ funded status dropped and liabilities grew, but that funding may have begun to turn the corner.The 100 largest pension programs’ status improved from Sept. 30 to Oct. 31...
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Another bill looking to derail the Department of Labor’s fiduciary proposal has been introduced in Congress.This one, the Retirement Choice Protection Act of 2015 (H.R. 3922), was introduced by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) — a member of the House Ways and Means Committee — with Social Security...
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Effective Feb. 12, 2016, the IRS will no longer be offering the ERPA Special Enrollment Examination (ERPA SEE) to become an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA).The IRS has indicated that any current ERPAs will continue to hold the ERPA designation, allowing them to practice before the IRS, and...
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People who don’t have access to a plan at work don’t save for retirement. Here’s why small business owners should care.About half of private sector workers did not participate in a workplace retirement savings program in 2012, and a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found...
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Working with retirement plans is a complicated, challenging and constantly changing process. That said, there are certain constants — and things that bear repeating and/or reconsidering from time to time.Here are a few points to ponder from my list of “constants”:1. The key to successful retirement...
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No proposed regulation has generated more activity, discussion and controversy this year than the proposed fiduciary rule the Department of Labor (DOL) re-issued in April. As the DOL prepares the final iteration of the rule, it may be useful to look back on how this all came about and what it...
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The IRS has issued a draft of the Form 5500-EZ to be used by one-participant retirement plans for 2015 information reporting.The 2015 Form 5500-EZ is different from the 2014 Form 5500-EZ in two sections.In Part II, “Basic Plan Information,” changes have been made to Lines 4a, 4b, 6a and 6b....
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The Windy City played host in the first week of November to a gathering focused on developing ideas to address America’s retirement savings challenge — but government-run solutions dominated the conversation.At the conference, “Saving — America’s Challenge and Opportunity in the Twenty-First...
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