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Technical Resources
For the moment, anyway, the Old Line State has stepped back crossing a line that would have established its own fiduciary rule.On March 19, the Financial Consumer Protection Act of 2018 (MD SB 1068) passed out of the Maryland Senate Finance Committee favorably with amendments just a week after the...
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There is still some time to make a contribution to an IRA and be able to claim it on a 2017 tax return — but not much. The IRS issued a reminder on March 20 that anyone with an IRA may be eligible for a tax credit or deduction on their 2017 tax return if they make contributions by April 17, 2018....
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Employers are taking steps to improve the financial well-being of their workforces — but there’s evidence that some of their efforts could actually be creating more financial stress for workers.A new report from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) notes that move toward...
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The Washington State Department of Commerce on March 19 announced the launch of the state’s Retirement Marketplace, a virtual marketplace in which financial services firms will offer low-cost retirement savings plans to businesses with fewer than 100 employees, including sole proprietors and the...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) has been investigating your client’s plan, and release of its findings is imminent. There’s not much guidance on how to avoid running afoul of the rules, but that doesn’t mean you’re helpless.
In “How to Respond to DOL Pension Plan Investigatory Findings,” an entry in...
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The IRS on March 16 announced that it has modified its procedures for issuing opinion and advisory letters for pre-approved master and prototype and volume submitter plans. The changes are contained in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2018-21 and are effective as of March 16, 2018.In short, the IRS...
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The IRS on March 15 issued a reminder that the retirement plan participants and holds of IRAs and IRA-based plans who attained age 70½ during 2017 must starting receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) by April 1, 2018.The deadline applies to all employer-sponsored retirement plans,...
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The IRS on March 14 announced that it is retroactively cutting the user fee involved in using Form 5310, Application for Determination for Terminating a Plan. It made the announcement in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2018-19.
Rev. Proc. 2018-19 modifies Rev. Proc. 2018-4. Specifically, Rev. Proc...
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A recent blog post argues that it is wise for plan fiduciaries to be aware of the importance of plan documents in meeting their fiduciary duties.In “Those Pesky Plan Documents…What Do They Have To Do With my Fiduciary Duties?” an article in a recent Boutwell Fay, LLP newsletter, Deborah Fabricant...
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The fiduciary rule kept its winning streak intact in the first ruling by a federal appellate court.This time it was the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit weighing in (Mkt. Synergy Grp., Inc. v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, 10th Cir., No. 17-3038, decision affirming ruling for defendants 3/13/18)...
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Another state-run IRA retirement plan for private sector workers is gearing up to go live.The investment board for California’s Secure Choice program (now renamed “CalSavers”) has approved final regulations and authorized its staff to search for a company to administer the program, according to the...
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The Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans, the bipartisan, bicameral body created by the Bipartisan Budget Act to look for ways to improve the solvency of multiemployer plans, held its first meeting on March 14. It was an organizational business meeting to consider...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has proposed a rule that would conform its regulations to changes in the phase-in rules for owner-participants under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA).The PPA changed special provisions in Sections 4022 and 4044 of ERISA that make the PBGC’s...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) paid approximately $5.6 billion in 2017 to almost 870,000 terminated, single-employer plans. But what does that mean in the state where you and your plan are located? The PBGC makes it possible for you to find out.
The PBGC provides a listing by...
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Last fall the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the offices of Vantage Benefits Administrators “amid concerns that money may be missing from retirement accounts the company manages.” Lawsuits brought by plans affected by the fraud now shed light on what went on.
This first ruling — a default...
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“Eat your vegetables!” children are told. Many do so reluctantly, despite the fact that it’s good for them. Fast forward: “Have an audit!” federal law tells many employee benefit plans. They may be the brussels sprouts of administrative functions, but a Department of Labor (DOL) publication offers...
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A recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines the challenges facing plan administrators when dealing with lost plan participants and reporting foreign retirement savings, and reviews steps federal agencies might take to help.Missing ParticipantsThe scale of the problems...
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There’s a new proposal being floated that proponents say would “increase retirement income security and reform Social Security.” And yes, a mandate is involved.The proposal involves something tagged “Supplemental Transition Accounts for Retirement” (START), and it’s being touted by AARP. The...
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The IRS on March 9 said in Announcement 2018-05 that it plans to issue opinion and advisory letters for master and prototype and volume submitter defined benefit plans that were restated for changes in plan qualification requirements listed in Notice 2012-76 and that were filed with the IRS during...
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Major employers are among those that have increased their retirement benefits in the wake of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), according to a recent report.
The Senate Republican Communications Center has reported that the following employers are among the “more than 400 companies...
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