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On Thursday, July 10, both the House Ways and Means (W&M) and the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) marked up bills to extend funding for the highway trust fund. Both bills include extension of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) interest stabilization provision to...
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The conference brochure for the 2014 ASPPA Annual Conference is now available on the Annual Conference website. Just click on the “Raising the Bar” artwork in the right margin to download the 30-page pdf. The brochure provides the latest updates to the conference program, as well as all the need-to...
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Voting by credentialed members on the ASPPA Board of Directors’ proposal to restructure the organization is now open. Have you cast your vote yet?The Board has decided that the best way to serve the society’s traditional members going forward is to create a new sister organization focused solely on...
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Just added to this year’s Western Benefits Conference, July 27-30 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas: an update on ERISA-related litigation and the U.S. Supreme Court, which has been very active recently in the employee benefits area. This session, led by Charles D. Lockwood, J.D., LL.M, Principal, ASC...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has announced that its ERISA Advisory Council will be examining issues and considerations related to facilitating lifetime retirement plan participation. In explaining its rationale for doing so, it cites the recent movement of...
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In honor of Ed Burrows’ contribution to the advancement of the general understanding of pension knowledge, an annual honorary payment of $2,000 is awarded for the best paper submitted on a topic selected by the Ed Burrows Award Committee. The winning submission will be the paper that in the...
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Growing professionally, making new connections and strengthening existing ones, exchanging ideas on actions you can take to build your business — there’s never a bad time for any of these. But the start of a new year is an especially good time, and ASPPA will be offering an ideal opportunity in the...
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We heard you! Market research that ASPPA is conducting has given us a good look at which industry trends cause you the most pain. After four weeks of voting, the top five concerns are: Mergers and acquisitions as they relate to retirement plan administration (tie for first) Controlled groups...
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The Treasury Department issued a rule July 1 that essentially allows employees to convert part of their IRA or 401(k) balances into a longevity annuity. Under the rule, an IRA or 401(k) can allow participants to use $125,000 or up to 25 percent of their IRA or 401(k) — whichever is less — to buy a...
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Nondiscrimination tests, sometimes described as the “rocket science” of the tax compliance world, can make an employer run afoul. And that’s exactly what happened to 57,277 of the 401(k) plans that Judy Diamond Associates reports in a study it recently released. The study says that the plans in...
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Fiduciaries of an ESOP are not entitled to any special presumption of prudence with regard to purchases or sales of employer securities, except as the duty of prudence relates to diversification of plan investments, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 25. In its unanimous decision in Fifth Third...
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According to Acting Director of IRS Employee Plans Thomas Petit, the IRS still lists 401(k) plans among its top examination priorities. Petit provided that confirmation to attendees of the ASPPA Regional Conference in Chicago.IRS EP Exam Projects and Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) projects...
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It will be a good deal more congenial than testifying before the Treasury Department — but just as informative. Maybe moreso! Robert M. Kaplan, who has more than 30 years’ worth of experience and is the recipient of the Pension Administrator’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Institute...
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The Senate Finance Committee met June 26 to consider a modified chairman’s mark of revenue raisers to pay for an extension of the highway trust fund through the end of the year. The hearing adjourned with no action, but with the stated intention of reconvening to mark up a proposal early in the...
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Early withdrawals — loans taken against plan balances, hardship withdrawals and retirement account payouts when changing jobs — can provide participants quick infusions of cash that help meet pressing needs. But these forms of “leakage” can come at the expense of their future retirement security. A...
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Proposed increases in Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums are a fool’s errand at best, says a report prepared for the American Benefits Council (ABC). “Further PBGC Premium Increases Pose Greatest Threat to Pension System,” a report Quantria Strategies, LLC prepared for the ABC, warns...
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There are just a few days left to weigh in on which industry trends cause you the most pain! There’s still time — but only a little — to be part of the market research ASPPA is conducting. After the third week, the top five pain points are: Mergers and acquisitions/Controlled groups and...
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At their current savings rate, many Americans will have tough choices to make as they age. Not only that, but a low savings rate has broader serious implications for the U.S. economy and its solvency. “Another Penny Saved: The Benefits of Higher U.S. Household Saving,” a paper by Oxford Economics,...
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Critics of 401(k)s argue that they will not deliver on what they promised. But MSN Money reports that the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) has provided empirical evidence that their assessments may be very much off the mark. To illustrate, EBRI examines the way workers age 25-29 save for...
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You were sure your filing with the IRS was accurate, but you double checked and found that you made a mistake. It’s tempting to stand pat and hope that the IRS won’t notice, but you know it could — and that could have negative ramifications. What to do? Remember that there is another option: the...
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