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Regulatory Compliance
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 priority guidance plan for 2015-2016 for the Treasury Department and IRS is not yet set in stone. But they are working on it. And in Notice 2015-27, they have invited recommendations on what exactly should be in that plan.The plan will identify projects that the Treasury Department and the IRS...
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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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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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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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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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The IRS on March 4 announced that it has revised publications concerning aspects of IRA administration and taxation of IRAs. The IRS intends these publications to help businesses and individuals understand how to figure depreciation as well as pension options. The publications are: Publication 4587...
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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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On Jan. 1, 2015, the IRS transferred responsibility for certain technical work from its Employee Plans Division to the IRS Chief Counsel’s office. This transfer was known to be coming based on previous statements made by various IRS officials. Two recent IRS issuances, IRS Announcement 2014-34 and...
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If the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has its way, plan sponsors will have a new reporting obligation to the Department of Labor. Specifically, GAO recommends that DOL improve oversight by requiring plan sponsors to notify the agency when they implement lump sum windows, and coordinate with...
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The recent White House budget proposal sets aside $6.5 million in funding for the Department of Labor, along with waiver authority, to support state efforts to implement state-based automatic enrollment IRAs or 401(k)-type programs.Currently more than a dozen state legislatures are actively...
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A 401(k) revenue-sharing lawsuit finally got its day before the U.S. Supreme Court.While the nation’s high court was ostensibly focused on how ERISA’s statute of limitations was to be applied in challenging fiduciary actions, there was also a brisk discussion among the justices about the what, how...
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“Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater” is an old — perhaps worn-out — cliché, but nevertheless sometimes it’s apt. And as the Obama Administration unveils the fiduciary rule reproposal, ASPPA CEO and Executive Director Brian Graff has warned that the regulations could have serious and...
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ASPPA’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC) recently filed comments with the IRS regarding proposed changes to IRS Form 5500. The comment letter was in response to a proposal published in the Dec. 23, 2014 Federal Register. Under the proposal, new questions will be added to the form and/or its...
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Today President Obama, as expected, will throw his support behind the Department of Labor’s (DOL) controversial fiduciary rule reproposal — but the details of the proposal remain elusive.Published reports indicate that the president will tout the reproposed rule at a speech today at the offices of...
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The Department of Labor’s much-anticipated fiduciary reproposal drew intense criticism Feb. 20 from SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher.Gallagher’s comments, made at the “SEC Speaks in 2015” event, were particularly harsh — not only regarding the potential impact of the DOL’s proposed extension of...
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