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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on March 9 that the Office of Management and Budget has approved the 2015 PBGC premium filing instructions. It also said that its electronic system for making filings, My PAA, will now accept electronic premium filings for plan years...
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The IRS has updated materials it provides to assist employers, plan administrators and TPAs in remaining in compliance with federal law and regulation concerning simplified employee pension (SEP) plans.The IRS updated the SEP Fix-It Guide to reflect cost-of-living adjustments made to compensation...
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Retirees will need an average of $2.5 million to maintain the same quality of life in retirement, according to a recent Legg Mason survey.The majority (72%) of the 458 U.S. respondents to the firm’s Legg Mason Global Investment Survey — all affluent investors (defined as having at least $200,000 in...
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Identical bills before both chambers of the Iowa legislature would end state taxation of pensions and other forms of retirement income — but only through 2020.HF 280 and SF 277 would remove from the Iowa income tax law two provisions that define income as including all forms of retirement income,...
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The Labor Department has repeatedly claimed to be consulting with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its fiduciary reproposal — but a couple of key House Republicans would like to see some proof.House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) and Rep. Phil Roe...
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The New Jersey Pension and Health Benefits Study Commission has issued its findings and proposals for how the Garden State can address its seemingly intractable state pension funding problems.In a manner similar to the brash style of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who created it, the...
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The IRS on March 4 announced that it has revised publications concerning aspects of IRA administration and taxation of IRAs. The IRS intends these publications to help businesses and individuals understand how to figure depreciation as well as pension options. The publications are: Publication 4587...
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ASPPA’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC) filed a comment letter with the IRS on March 3, 2015, requesting an extension of the June 30 deadline for submitting the master language for pre-approved defined benefit plans. The reason for the request is the IRS’ continuing delay in releasing specimen...
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Legislative phoenixes that would codify the president’s auto IRA proposal and change the qualified plan loan rules have arisen in both chambers of Congress.Auto IRALegislation has been reintroduced in both the House and the Senate that would formally enact President Obama’s federal automatic IRA...
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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 for ASPPA members.Live WebcastsA Review of the ASOPs Affecting Pension ActuariesThursday, March 5, 20152 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. ETSpeaker: Norman Levinrad, EA,...
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Legislation that would require Maryland employers to adopt payroll deduction savings plans for their employees got a full bicameral at a Feb. 25 hearing in the Maryland General Assembly.Both the Maryland House Economic Matters Committee and the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee...
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On Jan. 1, 2015, the IRS transferred responsibility for certain technical work from its Employee Plans Division to the IRS Chief Counsel’s office. This transfer was known to be coming based on previous statements made by various IRS officials. Two recent IRS issuances, IRS Announcement 2014-34 and...
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The funded status of corporate pensions in the United States was 87.5% in February, a jump of 5.1 percentage points since January, according to BNY Mellon Investment and Strategy Group (ISSG). What a difference a month makes: their funded status slipped by almost the same amount the month before....
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When Callan Associates surveyed plan sponsors in early 2014, more than a third of the respondents said they would make changes to their target date funds during the coming year. The firm’s just-released 2015 survey shows that many of those sponsors were true to their word.According to the survey,...
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It’s no longer just states that are looking at the notion of expanding private sector retirement plan coverage.New York City Public Advocate Letitia James on Feb. 26 introduced legislation creating a commission of experts to study the establishment of a pension fund for private sector workers in...
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What do the Voice of America, the BBC, an Indiana tree service firm, a Michigan pediatrician and a midwestern TPA all have in common? They all had their websites defaced by a group of hackers with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.In the past, occurrences such as these were treated as “cyber...
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What do the Voice of America, the BBC, an Indiana tree service firm, a Michigan pediatrician and a midwestern TPA all have in common? They all had their websites defaced by a group of hackers with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. In the past, occurrences such as these were treated as “cyber...
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If the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has its way, plan sponsors will have a new reporting obligation to the Department of Labor. Specifically, GAO recommends that DOL improve oversight by requiring plan sponsors to notify the agency when they implement lump sum windows, and coordinate with...
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