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Education and Career Development
Growing and managing a business presents a multitude of challenges, from employee issues to budgeting and new service offerings. Running a firm is a complex business.Wouldn’t it be helpful to meet with your peers from across the country and find out how they manage these challenges? Would you like...
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The IRS and Social Security Administration have issued their cost-of-living adjustments relevant to retirement benefits for 2015.IRS LimitsThe IRS on Oct. 23 announced COLAs affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2015. Some of the limits will...
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The 2014 ASPPA Annual Conference kicks off Sunday at the Gaylord National Resort at the National Harbor, located in Oxon Hill, Md., just outside our nation’s capital. We'll be there from the start until the conference ends on Wednesday, reporting on the Annual's general sessions, workshops and more...
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Another one bites the dust.“One” in this case being the notion that the shift in emphasis from defined benefit plans to defined contribution designs has produced a decline in retirement income. In fact, a new study finds that more retirees are receiving retirement income from private-sector...
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The President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans recently held its annual meeting — but retirement planning was barely mentioned.One of the Council’s stated goals is to “identify and test promising and tested approaches for increasing planning, savings and investing for...
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In an Oct. 15 letter to Department of Labor Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Phyllis Borzi, ASPPA has urged the DOL to issue regulations that provide a longer period for all disclosures.ASPPA expressed support for the provision in Field Assistance...
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Almost six in 10 (57%) small business owners believe employees have what they need to protect their health and income; however, only 35% believe their employees are saving enough for a comfortable retirement.That concern doubtless underlies the findings of the “2014 Principal Financial Well Being...
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Pre-approved plans (that is, prototype and volume submitter plans) have become the primary documents used by practitioners for the establishment of qualified retirement plans. The IRS encourages the use of pre-approved plans and has therefore increased the flexibility of these plans; plan document...
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Is there a retirement crisis or not? Though you may have missed it, last week a Wall Street Journal op-ed (subscription required) claimed that there was an “imaginary” retirement income crisis that was being pushed by some who want to boost Social Security benefits and reduce tax incentives for...
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Differences in workforce composition — not costs — appear to be a primary cause for the lower rate at which small employers sponsor retirement plans, according to a new report.As a group, the characteristics of small-firm employees differ substantially from the characteristics of large-firm...
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Even doctors have to go to the doctor. So it makes sense that there are third party administrators (TPAs) that turn to outside parties for retirement plan services. And according to Chatham Partners, it turns out that by and large, TPAs want the same thing from those providers that their own...
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In Santomenno v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company, No. 13–3467, 2014 WL 4783665 (3d Cir. Sept. 26, 2014), the plaintiffs had argued that, as a service provider to their 401(k) plan, John Hancock was a fiduciary, and that it had breached its fiduciary duties by charging excessive fees. However,...
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The nation’s private pension insurer wants a heads-up from employers about offers to participants to convert their monthly pensions to lump sum benefits.In a recent Federal Register filing, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) said it plans to revise the 2015 PBGC premium filing...
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We’re just weeks away from the announcement of the 2015 limits — but not so far away that we can’t speculate.The annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs) for most limits are measured using the CPI-U announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for July, August and September. Those numbers are...
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As an ASPPA member, you know that the ASPPA Annual Conference provides a unique combination of opportunities to learn, to network, and to enhance your professional skillsets.It’s also a great way to pick up vital continuing education credits.The ASPPA Annual Conference offers up to 25 hours of...
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Total U.S. retirement assets were $24.0 trillion as of June 30, 2014, up 2.8 percent from $23.4 trillion on March 31, 2014, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI). Retirement assets accounted for 36 percent of all household financial assets in the United States at the end of the second...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on Sept. 24 issued Technical Update 14-1, guidance on how the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA) affects PBGC premiums. http://www.pbgc.gov/prac/other-guidance/tu/tu14-1.htmlPBGC expects most plans with premium filings due in calendar...
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If you (or your plan sponsor clients) are looking for an easy-to-use guide to employee benefit plan reporting, the IRS has just the thing: a handy guide of reporting and disclosure requirements under ERISA.The “Reporting and Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans” was prepared by the IRS and...
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Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act (S. 1270) last year to reform the public and private pension systems and, amid recent retirement reform hearings on Capitol Hill, his public pension reform idea is now getting noteworthy support...
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Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act (S. 1270) last year to reform the public and private pension systems and, amid recent retirement reform hearings on Capitol Hill, his public pension reform idea is now getting noteworthy support...
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