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ERISA
The IRS has issued a draft of the Form 5500-EZ to be used by one-participant retirement plans for 2016 information reporting.The 2016 Form 5500-EZ is different from the 2015 Form 5500-EZ in two sections. 1. The IRS has decided not to require plan sponsors to enter the preparer’s information at the...
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Transparency and accountability are behind the Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest effort to update the Form 5500. At least so say the speakers in ASPPA’s recent webcast on the subject.In the Oct. 6 ASPPA webcast, “DOL's Proposed Form 5500 Modernization Initiative,” four speakers from three federal...
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The Fall 2016 issue of Plan Consultant is now online. The issue focuses on the most important matters facing the industry, including the DOL’s fiduciary rule, legislation that would eliminate obstacles to MEPs, and the new overtime rules, as well as expert perspectives on best practices. And you’ll...
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Fiduciary duties, always a critical concern, have stood in sharper relief as the Department of Labor prepared and issued the new fiduciary rule. So it could be especially helpful to take a fresh look at best practices through which a plan fiduciary can not only meet the letter of the law, but also...
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Another broker/dealer has been accused of larding its 401(k) plan menu with investment options from mutual fund families that paid hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm, despite what are alleged to be “high fees, poor performance prospects, and availability of better-performing, lower-cost...
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Another lawsuit has been filed against a multibillion-dollar university retirement plan — but it’s not their 403(b) plan — and the law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton isn’t involved.This one, filed by Sanford Heisler, LLP, is a class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern...
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What’s worse than one class action lawsuit alleging a fiduciary breach?Why, a second lawsuit, of course — this one alleging that plan fiduciaries failed to fulfill their fiduciary obligations under ERISA by (different) participants in Target Corp.’s 401(k) plan. The suit was filed in the same venue...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) wants the information form that private-sector employee benefit plans file each year to have more information — and to be more “mineable.”The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the IRS and the PBGC are seeking public comments on proposed revisions that...
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A recent Supreme Court case that didn’t have anything to do with ERISA is already having an impact on ERISA litigation — and could have more in the years to come.At issue is what kind of harm must be alleged in order to have standing/sue — and the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo Inc. vs. Robins...
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The Fifth Circuit has affirmed a judgement that plan trustees violated their fiduciary duties under ERISA in facilitating the sale of employer stock into a retirement plan.A three-judge panel concurred with the determination of a lower court that Herbert Bruister, a retirement plan trustee and...
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration has reached a settlement agreement with an investment company over how it handled a short-term investment CIT.According to a DOL press release, Invesco Trust Company agreed to pay a total of $10.27 million to settle the...
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The IRS on March 31 invited comments on changes that have been proposed to the Form 5500 and several of its schedules, as well as the Form 5500-SUP, for information reporting concerning the 2016 plan year.Changes include the following:Question 3: Revisions to the information requested after...
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A growing number of retirement plan participants — and retirement plan assets — are being invested in the default option selected for the plan.The existence of default funds isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Arguably it’s as old as that first participant enrollment form returned without the...
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UPDATE, MARCH 14: The provision described below was subsequently withdrawn. For more on that development, click here. The Connecticut Retirement Security Board has taken another step forward with its implementation plan by introducing legislation creating the Connecticut Retirement Security...
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The IRS has made available the updated Form 5500-EZ and its instructions for 2015 reporting. The form and instructions replace the version the IRS had made available Feb. 18.New for 2015 ReportingThe IRS made the following changes to the Form 5500-EZ for 2015 reporting.Participant Information....
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There are plenty of laws and regulations governing defined benefit plans, and that includes what needs to be included in a plan document. Even so, there is some flexibility regarding how to meet those rules and standards. A recent paper suggests that it is best if the plan document reflects not...
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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 1 received a proposal from the Department of Labor (DOL) to revise the Form 5500. The proposal is part of a long-term strategic effort the DOL is undertaking with the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to modernize and improve...
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On Feb. 22, 2016, the American Retirement Association (ARA) filed a comment letter with the IRS regarding the new compliance questions to be added to the Form 5500, potentially for the 2016 plan year reports.In the letter, the ARA requested a meeting with the IRS to collaborate on how to make the...
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The IRS has proposed additional limitations on suspension of benefits applicable to certain pension plans under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA).The IRS in RIN 1545-BN24 has proposed regulations that would provide guidance regarding a provision of the MPRA that governs the...
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Do you sometimes feel like you have spent your precious time performing tests that no longer seem relevant or meet an arbitrary deadline? Have you ever come across a nonsensical rule that continually trips up you or your staff and you think to yourself: “it would be so much easier if…”?We all know...
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