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Regulatory Compliance
In a big win for ACOPA and the lobbying efforts of its members, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is looking for comments on a proposal that would allow employers to request coverage determinations prior to establishment of a plan, as part of a new formal process where the PBGC would...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has revised the forms by which plan administrators and sponsors fulfill the requirement under Section 4043 of ERISA that they notify the PBGC of certain events that may signal problems with a pension plan or business. The Office of Management and...
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The IRS and Treasury are seeking comments concerning the way the Form 5500-EZ is filed. The IRS says that it plans to make the Form 5500-EZ available on the EFAST2 for direct electronic filing instead of using Form 5500-SF.
The Forms 5500 and 5500-SF are filed electronically through the web-based...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is seeking the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of a collection of information that will help it to determine if certain plans are covered by Title IV of ERISA.
Plan sponsors or plan administrators would use the proposed form and...
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So much happening – and there’s an easy way to catch up.
A week ago, the IRS made significant changes to EPCRS by issuing Revenue Procedure (Rec. Proc.) 2019-19, effective immediately – we’re talking self-correction of some of the more common failures relating to participant loans and plan...
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Under questioning at a May 1 hearing on Capitol Hill, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta appeared to confirm that the Department of Labor will issue a new fiduciary rule.
Acosta appeared before the House Education and Labor Committee for a hearing to examine the policies and priorities of the...
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With the recent release of the Social Security Trustees’ 2019 report, there appears to be a renewed focus on Social Security and “stabilizing” the nation’s retirement plan.
Before efforts are made to stabilize Social Security, a hard question must be addressed. As currently designed, is the system...
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It’s easy to assume that if everyone did their part individually, a team would function smoothly and efficiently, but group dynamics, synergy and demographics all can either contribute or detract from an investment committee’s effectiveness.
A new white paper the firm Arnerich Massena, “Investment...
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Plan sponsors often gloss over the reality that they are ERISA fiduciaries – or think that if they have hired an advisor, they’ve basically hired a stand-in for that responsibility. But there’s another mistake that even the most well-intentioned make – with remarkable frequency, based on what I...
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The Internal Revenue Service has announced the expansion of areas for issuing determination letters for certain retirement plans.
Revenue Procedure 2019-20, issued May 1, details two new issues for which retirement plan sponsors may now request determination letters:
Statutory Hybrid Plans –...
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Over the past decade and change, there have been a number of high-profile excessive fee suits brought against retirement plan fiduciaries, notably the plan committees that oversee these programs. Here’s what your plan committee members should know.
1. Why they are a member of the committee.
Today...
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Lawsuits have been filed concerning several large corporate pension plans. While those suits involve specific plans, a recent blog entry argues that they have broader implications.
In “The Defined Benefit (DB) Lawsuits: Why There May Be Widespread Implications,” a recent entry in Cammack...
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The Treasury Department and the IRS welcome comments about what should be included in their 2019-2020 Priority Guidance Plan. The plan will identify guidance projects that the Treasury and the IRS intend to work on during the 12-month period from July 2019 to July 2020. They made the announcement...
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Federal scrutiny is a possibility that virtually all plans face — a fact of life that TPAs need to recognize and prepare for. An April 23 ASPPA webinar addressed such investigations.
In “IRS Audits and DOL Investigations of Plans and TPAs.” Fred Reish, a partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath,...
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In a major victory for the advocacy efforts of the American Retirement Association, the IRS has expanded its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) self-correction program (SCP).
The American Retirement Association (ARA) on April 4, 2018 had submitted a comment letter to the IRS to...
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The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans has recommended that the Department of Labor (DOL) issue new guidance on ERISA bonding, as well as a summary of the requirements for securing a fidelity bond that complies with DOL guidance.
The recommendations are contained in “...
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Fiduciary duty, who is responsible for fulfilling it, and the rules that will — or won’t — guide and regulate it have been generating great attention for years. And for good reason.
In “A Cascading Behavioral Roadmap for Fulfilling Fiduciary Duties” a recent blog entry by Neal Shikes, Managing...
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Preparing and fling the Form 5500 Series is one of the more onerous tasks associated with administering retirement plans. But one should resist the impulse to just sign the thing and get it all over with, argues a recent blog entry.
In “The IRS Form 5500 – Look Before you Sign!” an entry in...
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Technology offers a dazzling array of ever-expanding options for retirement plans and participants. But not everyone is interested in tech. Some recent blog entries suggest ways to heighten the experience, as well as non-tech ways to serve a plan and its participants.
Technological advances march...
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ASPPA is always providing information and insights that will be valuable to its members! Following is a summary of upcoming webcasts and events.
Live Webcasts
ASPPA Webcast: IRS Audits and DOL Investigations of Plans and TPAs
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
2:00–3:40 p.m. ET
Speaker: Fred Reish, APM,...
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