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Notice 2014-53, the recent guidance from the IRS on pension funding stabilization under the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA), contains a provision that is in accordance with a request by ASPPA’s College of Pension Actuaries. On Aug. 13, the ASPPA and ACOPA sent a comment...
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At a recent event commemorating ERISA’s 40th anniversary, Phyllis C. Borzi, Assistant Secretary of the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), did not directly address her agency’s forthcoming proposed change to the definition of a fiduciary. But then, she didn’t have to. The as-yet...
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The IRS has issued guidance on pension funding stabilization under the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA). IRS Notice 2014-53, issued late on Sept. 11, addresses both the 2013 and 2014 plan years. Generally speaking, plan sponsors have until Dec. 31 (later for some non-calendar-...
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With taxes and tax rates facing an uncertain future, interest in Roth IRAs is growing among both participants and plan sponsors. But who is contributing to these Roth IRAs, and how fast are they growing?Roth IRAs grew at more than double the rate of traditional IRAs among a consistent set of IRA...
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Participant transfer volumes remained in the summer doldrums in August, according to the Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index.When trading occurred, plan participants favored fixed income funds over equity funds for 65% of the trading days, a turnabout from trends in the prior month. Overall, transfer activity...
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When it rains, it pours — in a single week we have had two announcements of congressional hearings on retirement plan issues slated for next week.The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on retirement issues. “Retirement Savings 2.0: Updating Savings Policy for the Modern Economy" on...
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When it rains, it pours — in a single week we have had two announcements of congressional hearings on retirement plan issues slated for next week.The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on retirement issues, titled “Retirement Savings 2.0: Updating Savings Policy for the Modern Economy,"...
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NOTE: Due to an editor's error, the link for the ASPPA Connect story titled "Congress’ Gaze on Retirement Issues in Upcoming Hearings" directed you here. To view the story on the congressional hearings, click HERE.The Garden State is the latest state whose credit rating has suffered due to a...
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While the World Wide Web is now nearly 20 years old, the globe-spanning, the virtual reality of our digital age continues to offer unprecedented opportunities to learn, connect, educate and advertise.For professionals, this digital age also presents a multitude of ethical pitfalls and challenges...
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ASPPA and PenChecks have partnered to offer four scholarships to individuals interested in pursuing ASPPA’s Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) credential. Scholarships will be awarded to four individuals each year to cover the QKA exam registration fees, related exam publications, and the...
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The IRS has released a draft of the Form 5500-EZ to be used for 2014 reporting. It is used by one-participant retirement plans not subject to ERISA Section 104 reporting requirements and that are not eligible or choose not to file Form 5500-SF. The draft is only for information purposes — it...
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In 1998, 60% of Fortune 500 employers offered their employees some kind of DB plan. Last year, 24% did so. The drop is even sharper regarding traditional DB plans: in 1998, 51% offered them to new employees, but in 2013, a mere 7% did. And the number has dropped more this year, according to a new...
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A new report from the Federal Reserve finds that while retirement plan participation remained relatively flat over the past three years, the median and average value of those retirement plan accounts rose “substantially.”The 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) noted that the conditional median...
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Most Gen X workers who participate in a 401(k) plan are using some form of professionally managed account in those plans — though less than a quarter say that saving for retirement is their greatest financial priority at present.Just over half (56%) of those Gen Xers — the first of whom will start...
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Any requests for employee plan determination letters from the IRS must be accompanied by Form 8717, and requests for opinion or advisory letters must include new Form 8717-A. But be sure you use the latest version of Form 8717, now called the User Fee for Employee Plan Determination Letter Request...
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The U.S. Census Bureau has published its annual survey of public pensions. The 2013 Survey of Public Pensions: State-Administered Defined Benefit Data provides revenues, expenditures, financial assets, membership and liabilities information for DB public pension systems. Data are shown by state,...
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Its authors may not have led with that title, but a recent paper calls for wholesale changes to the way Americans currently save for retirement, including suspending all defined contribution savings arrangements because “they are complex, costly, and challenging for employers and employees to...
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Pensions were not on my mind in 1974, certainly not on Labor Day of that year. While I was pondering my new college textbooks, President Gerald Ford, less than a month in that role, signed into law the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 — better known to most of us as ERISA. Little did...
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Whether you were a “dazed and confused” high schooler, worried about Watergate, or no more than a twinkle in your parents’ eyes – 1974 – and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act – would (thankfully) prove to have more staying power than puka shell necklaces, bell bottoms, or polyester...
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The gender gap in retirement savings is closing. In fact, it could be on course to reverse the long-standing predominance of men's retirement savings rates, says a recent study by MassMutual. The study says that the overall retirement savings rate is growing fast for American women; the 2014 rate...
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