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How many American workers are covered by a retirement plan? It depends on how you look at it.For example, according to a recent analysis by the Investment Company Institute (ICI), nearly two-thirds (62%) of full-time, full-year private-sector wage and salary workers aged 30 to 64 work for an...
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The IRS announced this week, to the surprise of many, that the IRS electronic filing system known as FIRE (Filing Information Returns Electronically) will be shut down from approximately 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014, until approximately 6:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. The reason...
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Pre-approved plans (that is, prototype and volume submitter plans) have become the primary documents used by practitioners for the establishment of qualified retirement plans. The IRS encourages the use of pre-approved plans and has therefore increased the flexibility of these plans; plan document...
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Is there a retirement crisis or not? Though you may have missed it, last week a Wall Street Journal op-ed (subscription required) claimed that there was an “imaginary” retirement income crisis that was being pushed by some who want to boost Social Security benefits and reduce tax incentives for...
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Differences in workforce composition — not costs — appear to be a primary cause for the lower rate at which small employers sponsor retirement plans, according to a new report.As a group, the characteristics of small-firm employees differ substantially from the characteristics of large-firm...
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Even doctors have to go to the doctor. So it makes sense that there are third party administrators (TPAs) that turn to outside parties for retirement plan services. And according to Chatham Partners, it turns out that by and large, TPAs want the same thing from those providers that their own...
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The number of private sector defined contribution plans and participants continues to expand, while defined benefit plans distributed more than they took in, according to just-published statistics from the Department of Labor (DOL).According to the Private Pension Plan Bulletin Abstract of 2012...
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The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Tibble v. Edison Int’l case, it was announced Oct. 2. One of the many “excessive fee” cases being pursued through the federal court system, Tibble arose in California and was the subject of a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision last year. The...
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The way to move forward in promoting retirement saving is not to dismantle the 401(k) and employer-based system — far from it. Rather, we should continue to refine the system and expand coverage and participation. That was the message conveyed by Mark Iwry, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the...
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The digital world offers revolutionary means to communicate, store and share data. But using it in a responsible and ethical manner is as important as it is challenging, as Lauren Bloom, an expert on professional ethics and risk management, pointed out in the recent ASPPA webcast, “Ethics and...
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In Santomenno v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company, No. 13–3467, 2014 WL 4783665 (3d Cir. Sept. 26, 2014), the plaintiffs had argued that, as a service provider to their 401(k) plan, John Hancock was a fiduciary, and that it had breached its fiduciary duties by charging excessive fees. However,...
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The nation’s private pension insurer wants a heads-up from employers about offers to participants to convert their monthly pensions to lump sum benefits.In a recent Federal Register filing, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) said it plans to revise the 2015 PBGC premium filing...
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We’re just weeks away from the announcement of the 2015 limits — but not so far away that we can’t speculate.The annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs) for most limits are measured using the CPI-U announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for July, August and September. Those numbers are...
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As an ASPPA member, you know that the ASPPA Annual Conference provides a unique combination of opportunities to learn, to network, and to enhance your professional skillsets.It’s also a great way to pick up vital continuing education credits.The ASPPA Annual Conference offers up to 25 hours of...
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They’ve been a while in coming, but they are here: the IRS on Sept. 26 issued final regulations on electronic filing of Form 8955-SSA and Form 5500-EZ in certain circumstances. The IRS had issued the regs in proposed form in August 2013.Under the final rule, contained in TD 9695, tax return filers...
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Lobbying groups representing minority investment fund managers, backed by key Democratic members of Congress, recently met with key administration officials to press the case for doing business with minority and women-owned firms.According to The Hill, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory...
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A plan sponsor’s decision to eliminate an option to transfer defined contribution account balances to a defined benefit floor-offset plan didn't violate ERISA’s anti-cutback rules, according to a federal appeals court.In Randal Andersen et al. v. DHL Retirement Pension Plan et al. (No. 12-36051),...
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Total U.S. retirement assets were $24.0 trillion as of June 30, 2014, up 2.8 percent from $23.4 trillion on March 31, 2014, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI). Retirement assets accounted for 36 percent of all household financial assets in the United States at the end of the second...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on Sept. 24 issued Technical Update 14-1, guidance on how the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA) affects PBGC premiums. http://www.pbgc.gov/prac/other-guidance/tu/tu14-1.htmlPBGC expects most plans with premium filings due in calendar...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on Sept. 24 issued Technical Update 14-1, guidance on how the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA) affects PBGC premiums. PBGC expects most plans with premium filings due in calendar year 2014 that haven’t already filed a 2013 Schedule SB...
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