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Available through February 24, 2016 Speaker: Lawrence C. Starr, CPC, QPFC, FLMI, CLU®, CEBS, ChFC®, EA, President, Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc. Access the presentation outline here!Case study examples will illustrate effective use of the coverage testing...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Jan. 12 issued a draft of the 2015 premium filing form and instructions. It provides information for plans paying premiums for plan years beginning in 2015, including instructions for all the particular forms of data that must be reported.The...
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Update (9/11/15): The CE guidelines have been updated for the 2015/16 credentialing period. You may view them here.The deadline for earning and reporting your 2013-2014 Continuing Education (CE) credits has been extended to Feb. 28, 2015.If you still need to earn CE credits for this cycle, visit...
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A regulation that would allow for a “window” period for giving out the annual notice required in most 401(k) plans appears to be heading for a spring 2015 publication date — and that could be good news for your plan sponsor clients.A new addition to the November 2014 DOL guidance plan was a project...
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Available through February 12, 2016Speaker: Charles D. Lockwood, J.D., LL.M, ASC Institute, LLC Access the presentation outline here!This advanced webcast will begin with a brief review of the cross-testing/new comparability rules. Case studies and other real-...
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In one of the first acts of the new Republican-controlled Congress, the House of Representatives adopted a rule change Jan. 6 that directs Congress’ legislative analysts — the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office — to incorporate the economic effects of major legislation...
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Editor's Note: This article was published in the fall 2014 issue of Plan Consultant magazine.Dr. Zhivago” had been at the local movie theater for three weeks. Driving to the theater cost 32 cents per gallon of gas, and “California Dreaming” by the Mamas and Papas played on AM radio. The miniskirt...
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Despite media attention surrounding the Millennial Generation’s relatively poor economic outcomes during the Great Recession, a new analysis by researchers at the Federal Reserve finds that they have fared better on many measures than both current older adults and earlier young adults. According to...
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It was not a good year for pension funding.The estimated aggregate funding level of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies decreased from 88% as of Dec. 31, 2013 to 79% as of Dec. 31, 2014, according to Mercer. Towers Watson examined pension plan data for the 411 Fortune 1000 companies...
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In the process of enforcing the law, the Pension and Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) needs to keep in mind that its mission is to preserve and protect defined benefit plans. That is one of the underlying themes in the first annual report of the PBGC participant and plan sponsor advocate....
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All disbursements from a retirement plan scheduled to be made at the same time are treated as a single distribution even if they are sent to multiple destinations. That new rule becomes mandatory as 2015 dawns, the IRS has reminded taxpayers in the Dec. 23 issue of its e-newsletter, Employee Plans...
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Retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) signature piece of retirement legislation, the USA Retirement Funds Act, has found a champion to carry it into the next Congress.Harkin, the outgoing chairman of the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions (HELP) Committee, might have been pleased to see that...
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With the New Year just around the corner, many of us will be considering New Year’s resolutions. Milliman has compiled a list of 10 ideas plan sponsors can adopt in order to improve their retirement plans — and perhaps make it a bit easier on their pension professionals as well:1. Create...
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Forced plan cash-outs into individual retirement accounts (IRAs) could leave billions to be poorly invested for the long-term, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).The report was produced at the request of Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) of the Senate...
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U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez has announced the appointment of five new members to the 2015 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans — also known as the ERISA Advisory Council.The newly appointed members and the expertise they represent are: General public:...
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While finalizing many of the details of the MyRA program, Treasury and the Department of Labor (DOL) may have unearthed some serious new questions.These concerns stem from an information letter from the DOL to Treasury answering two key questions about the MyRA program: whether the retirement...
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Nearly half of Americans retire earlier than expected, yet retirees overwhelmingly report that they are enjoying themselves and discovering that pre-retirement fears of boredom, financial insecurity and lacking purpose are largely unfounded, according to a new study by MassMutual Retirement...
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On Jan. 1, 2015, the American Retirement Association (ARA) will officially become the new parent entity of ASPPA, ACOPA, NAPA and NTSA. Because the ARA’s Code of Professional Conduct will apply to all of these four sister organizations, new disciplinary procedures have been proposed.Some of the...
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As we careen toward 2015 with ever-accelerating speed, the IRS has issued a reminder about year-end deadlines relevant to retirement plans. Following are eight “to dos” the IRS suggests. 1. Distribute 2013 401(k) excess contributions and excess aggregate contributions (both adjusted for...
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Largely overlooked in the flurry of lame duck activity by Congress is a bill that creates a new kind of savings account for those with disabilities.Congress overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation during its lame duck session that would give states the ability to create a new tax-advantaged...
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