ASPPA Net Staff

Using Systematic Partial Roth IRA Conversions and Recharacterizations

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/21/2015

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... READ MORE

Bill Would Ban Fiduciary Rule Without Congressional Approval

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/21/2015

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... READ MORE

Elevator Pitches — and Retaining a Client’s Loyalty

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/18/2015

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... READ MORE

An End-of-Year Checklist for Executive Compensation Plans

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/18/2015

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... READ MORE

Growth in Engagement, Annuities, QLACs

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/17/2015

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... READ MORE

PBGC Issues 2016 Premium Filing Instructions

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/16/2015

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... READ MORE

No Fiduciary Rule Relief in Budget Bill

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/16/2015

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... READ MORE

IRS Issues 2015 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/14/2015

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.... READ MORE

An End-of-Year Checklist for DB Plans

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/14/2015

It’s the time of year when Santa — and those who work with defined benefit plans — 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 DB plans.Comply with Items on All Qualified Plans... READ MORE

Getting Ready for Retirement: A Year-End Opportunity

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/14/2015

We are approaching the end of the year. Or the beginning, depending on one’s perspective. And that makes it prime time for taking stock of how one is doing financially and what steps one could consider for the new year.In a bit of a different take on the time-honored tradition of end-of-the-year... READ MORE

Focus on Teaching First, Then Finance

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/14/2015

To reach students, prepare materials that will encourage them to choose to want to learn. That principle applies regardless of whether the audience is teenagers sitting in desks or retirement professionals. In “Focus on Teaching First, Then Finance,” an article in the Fall 2015 edition of Plan... READ MORE

Congress Passes Short-Term Spending Bill; Unclear if DOL Provisions in Final

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/11/2015

The House on Dec. 11, and the Senate on Dec. 10, passed a short-term spending bill that will keep the government funded through Dec. 16. Whether budget legislation ultimately will include provisions affecting the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule remains uncertain.The Hill reports that the... READ MORE

Risk Transfers Affected More than 1 Million, PBGC Says

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/11/2015

Risk transfer events (RTEs) affected more than one million pension plan participants during the period 2009-2013, reports the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). In “Risk Transfer Study: Plan Years: 2009-2013,” PBGC actuaries looked at patterns in the data 3,600 large pension plans... READ MORE

IRS Updates FAQs on 2015 Form 5500 Series

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/10/2015

The IRS has updated the frequently asked questions about the Form 5500 series — and did so in a manner that makes them useful for 2015 reporting.The FAQs are as follows.Q. For the question that asks how the 401(k) plan satisfies the nondiscrimination requirements for employee deferrals and... READ MORE

Fiduciary Legislation to be Honed for the Holidays

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/10/2015

Some may consider it a bundle of coal, and others a vision of sugarplums, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers now says that their legislative proposal to ensure retirement advisors protect clients’ best interests could be introduced before the holiday break.The members of the bipartisan working... READ MORE

Candidate Clinton Throws in with Fiduciary Proposal — and Then Some

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/9/2015

For those thinking the impetus behind the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal might fade with a change in administrations, think again.Earlier this week, presidential aspirant and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton shared her perspective on the fiduciary proposal in no less a forum than a... READ MORE

IRS Issues Guidance on application of Obergefell to Retirement Plans

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/9/2015

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___, 135 S.Ct. 2584 (2015), the decision that overturned state laws and constitutional amendments that defined marriage as occurring between a man and a woman had many consequences, and retirement plans are among the areas it... READ MORE

IRS Issues 2015 Form 5329

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/9/2015

IRA holders and those who provide them services may be interested to know that the IRS has made modifications to the Form 5329, “Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts.” The IRS has issued the version to be used for 2015 reporting.The IRS modified Part... READ MORE

Budget or Spending Bills Could Include DOL Rule Killer

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/8/2015

The federal budget bill being negotiated on Capitol Hill this week could become the battleship that eventually sinks the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.Investment News reported Dec. 6 that, according to Rep. Phil Roe (R-Ill.), it is possible that a measure to deny funding for the enforcement... READ MORE

What’s Coming Up: ASPPA Webcasts and Events

By ASPPA Net Staff 12/7/2015

ASPPA is always providing information and insights that will be valuable to its members! Following is a summary of upcoming webcasts and events.Live WebcastsHandling Participant Claims and InquiriesWednesday, Dec. 16, 20152 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. ETSpeakers: Kelsey H. Mayo, Attorney, Employee Benefits,... READ MORE

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