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Government Affairs
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Labor are both working on fiduciary issues — but their different approaches appear to be on different schedules. On March 24, it was SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s turn to take questions from Congress regarding the commission’s plan to impose a...
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Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez used his first appearances before the 114th Congress to deliver a full-throated defense of the DOL’s controversial effort to expand the fiduciary standard of care to financial service providers under the jurisdiction of the department.Perez appeared at two...
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Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez used his first appearances before the 114th Congress to deliver a full-throated defense of the DOL’s controversial effort to expand the fiduciary standard of care to financial service providers under the jurisdiction of the department.Perez appeared at two...
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On March 19, 2015, the Government Affairs Committee (GAC) of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) filed a comment letter with the IRS regarding suggested changes to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). The letter provided specific recommendations...
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On March 19, 2015, the Government Affairs Committee (GAC) of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) filed a comment letter with the IRS regarding suggested changes to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). The letter provided specific recommendations...
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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White confirmed March 17 that the Commission will “implement a uniform fiduciary duty for broker-dealers and investment advisors where the standard is to act in the best interest of the investor.”The statement, reported by Investment News,...
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The Securities and Exchange Commission should pursue an effort to set new rules for broker-dealers and investment advisors in their work to burnish clients’ pots of gold, March 17 remarks by SEC Chairman Mary Jo White indicated. She made her comments at a meeting of the Securities industry and...
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Your plan sponsor clients just got a little more breathing room on those annual 401(k) plan investment notices.The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has announced a direct final rule that provides a two-month grace period for participant-directed...
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The IRS on March 16 in IR-2015-50 issued reminders concerning tax treatment of individual retirement account. Among them is a reminder that there still is time to contribute to an IRA for 2014 and, in many cases, qualify for a tax credit or deduction.Other reminders the IRS issued in IR-2015-50...
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As the White House promotes the Department of Labor’s (DOL) reproposal of the fiduciary rule, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took the opportunity March 12 to criticize “brokers on Wall Street” and reinforce the administration’s messaging on the controversial proposed regulation.At a Senate Special...
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A group of eight Republican senators, including the Chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP), have expressed their concerns about the potential negative consequences for American workers if the Labor Department’s fiduciary...
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The IRS announced on March 11 that it has updated the information package containing sample plan provisions concerning pre-approved 403(b) plans. The update is first since March 2013.The IRS has made changes to the language that concerns the following terms and topics: compensation contribution...
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In coming years, more than half of workers and retirees in terminated multiemployer plans will face a reduction in benefits under current Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) guarantees if their plans run out of money, according to a new study.In the past, only about 20% of workers and...
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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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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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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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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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