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Technical Resources
The IRS issued a clarification Nov. 10 on the application of the one-per-year limit on IRA rollovers. In Announcement 2014-32, the IRS said it had received comments about the “administrative challenges presented by the Bobrow interpretation of §408(d)(3)(B).” In the announcement the IRS...
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Having regained their Senate majority and deepened their hold on the House, the GOP — with a wary eye on the 2016 elections — may be ready to deal.In a recent webcast, ASPPA Executive Director Brian Graff and Political Director Jim Dornan discussed the shifts in power in the Nation’s Capital and...
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We hear a lot about how well Americans are saving — or not — for their retirement. In that spirit, Legg Mason Global Asset Management has unveiled EZ IRA, a payroll deduction IRA program intended to provide a way to build that savings rate. “Hopefully — and I truly believe this — this is just the...
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a recent report has highlighted one of the ways public- and private-sector deferred benefit plans differ — valuation. “Pension Plan Valuation: Views on Using Multiple Measures to Offer a More Complete Financial Picture” outlines and discusses these...
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American workers are feeling better about their retirement prospects, with most of the (modest) improvement registered among higher-income individuals and women, a new survey suggests.According to “the State of U.S. Employee Retirement Preparedness” by Financial Finesse, nearly 1 in 5 employees...
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A treadmill goes on and on, and it can be a lot of work. Some aspects of benefits regulation may seem like one, and participant and plan sponsor disclosures are among them. And it’s not just fiduciaries, plan sponsors and administrators who are running on it — government regulators are, too. ASPPA...
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It’s not often that retirement plan professionals have the chance to ask a distinguished panel for their take on sometimes thorny, sometimes complicated, sometimes nagging issues. But attendees at an "ask the experts" session on the last day of ASPPA’s Annual Conference, held in National Harbor, Md...
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Remember the kids' game, Hot Potato? Seems like there's a grown-up version too, for plan administrators who perform a fiduciary role. That was what Nicholas J. White, Special Counsel at Trucker Huss, addressed in an Oct. 28 session at ASPPA's 2014 Annual Conference at National Harbor, Md. Named...
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Advisors seeking to capture IRA rollovers face a "four-part harmonization" of regulatory and other government entities -- that is, SEC, DOL, FINRA and GAO -- in the words of ERISA attorney Fred Reish. Speaking at a workshop session at the 2014 ASPPA Annual Conference Oct. 28, the Drinker Biddle...
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Turning 40 is one of those storied moments — and not just for individuals. ERISA turned 40 this year, affording an opportunity to take stock of its impact and whether it is functioning as intended. An Oct. 28 panel discussion at the 2014 ASPPA Annual Conference, held at National Harbor, Md....
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Never a dull moment for plan administrators and actuaries. And that’s even more true when you throw federal regulations into the mix. A panel discussion at ASPPA’s 2014 Annual Conference on Monday, Oct. 27 provided an update on regulatory changes affecting DB plans .Pension Benefit Guaranty...
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The finer points of administering a cash balance plan and working with equivalent benefit accrual rates were the topics of discussion at an Oct. 27 session of the 2014 ASPPA Annual Conference. Lawrence Deutsch, president of Larry Deutsch Enterprises, and Michael B. Preston of Preston Actuarial...
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Despite lacking any regulatory authority to do so, the Department of Labor has made an issue of fiduciary training over the last few years. The reason, according to Bryan Cave's Sheldon H. Smith: The DOL views fiduciary training as a critical element of good governance, and looks for evidence of a...
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Any employer, plan administrator, third party administrator, plan sponsor etc. knows how many moving parts there are to meeting reporting deadlines and complying with IRS rules and regulations. Apparently the IRS does as well, and it has updated “Retirement Plan Reporting and Disclosure...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Oct. 24 announced the premium rates for 2015. Some rates increased sharply, while other increases were far more modest.Flat-rate PremiumsThe per-participant flat premium rate for plan years beginning in 2015 is $57 for single-employer plans (up...
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Plans interested in providing lifetime income alternatives via target-date funds that include deferred annuities got some much-needed clarity from the IRS on Oct. 24.In Notice 2014-66, the IRS provides a special rule that enables qualified defined contribution plans to provide lifetime income by...
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They say when you have your health, you have just about everything, and a new study seems to bear that out — and that includes being financially ready for retirement.Healthier employees feel more prepared when it comes to having a financial plan, saving enough for retirement to last a lifetime and...
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The Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA) had consequences for annual financial and actuarial information reporting under Section 4010 of ERISA and part 4010 of the PBGC regulations. To better clarify how it applies since HATFA's retroactive application for 2013 may cause a timing...
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The number of single-employer defined benefit plans has dropped sharply over a nearly 40-year period, while the decline multiemployer DB plans of has been far less dramatic. But in “Beyond the Numbers: An Analysis of Multiemployer Pension Plans,” William Wiatrowski, an economist in the Bureau of...
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This month ASPPA will be launching the Business Managers & Owners Council (BMOC). BMOC is a new membership add-on designed for ASPPA members who are either owners or senior executives of a qualified plan administration business. Among the diverse offerings BMOC will provide are two conferences...
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