NTSA Net Staff
By NTSA Net Staff 6/15/2015
What is an employer’s responsibility under the 403(b) regulations it changes from a multi-vendor 403(b) platform to a single vendor? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us about what an employer must do when such transfers take place.
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/12/2015
In its current form, the Labor Department’s fiduciary reproposal would “lock out” American small businesses from retirement plans, a new report says.The paper notes that small business owners, through SEP and SIMPLE-type IRA plans, provide roughly $472 billion in retirement savings for more than 9...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/11/2015
The Department of Labor intends to finalize its re-proposed rule defining a fiduciary in May of next year, Groom Law Group Chairman Steve Saxon said on June 8. Saxon made his remarks at the SPARK Institute’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.That timing is fueled by political considerations....
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/10/2015
The Internal Revenue Service has provided a new, permanent program for late filing Form 5500-EZ.The program, outlined in Revenue Procedure 2015-32, replaces last year’s one-year pilot program – which ended Tuesday, June 2, 2015.The permanent program generally follows the requirements of the pilot...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/10/2015
Plans with calendar year plan years — and that’s most of them — must file their 2014 Forms 5500 by this July 31. So the reminder the IRS included in its latest issue of Employee Plans News concerning the changes to the Form 5500 and its schedules for 2014 reporting is particularly timely.The...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/9/2015
Summer has begun, and for many parts of the United States, so has hurricane season. Residents and proprietors in areas at risk of a landfall — as well as inland areas that also can be affected — often hear exhortations to be prepared, just in case. The IRS has issued a reminder about the importance...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/8/2015
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives June 4 would allow pension plan participants to be automatically opted in to electronic delivery of documents. And a recent study suggests that the sponsors of the bill have good timing. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) introduced...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/5/2015
Ministers are subject to certain exclusions from federal taxation and an “in-kind” housing allowance under the federal tax Code, and regulations that implement that rule provides a broad definition of the term. In MarketBeat, Kimberly Flett discusses how the allowance works.
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By ASPPA, NTSA Net Staff 6/5/2015
A school district elects to change from a multi-vendor 403(b) platform to a single vendor. It allows transfers between vendors, but only if going to the single-provider solution. In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us if this kind of restriction is allowed.
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/5/2015
A majority of households age 55 and older do not have retirement savings. That sobering news comes from a recently released study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). “Retirement Security: Most Households Approaching Retirement Have Low Savings” says that 52% of such households are in...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/4/2015
For those keeping score at home, a total of 36 individuals and organizations submitted comments on the Department of Labor’s April 14 fiduciary proposal during the first month of the comment period.The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has created a “public comments” page on its...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/4/2015
Will the third time be the charm? House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) and Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) in a June 2 letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez have again repeated a request for additional information...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/2/2015
How do you reach your clients? Future clients? Do you rely on traditional media, or have you expanded the repertoire so that it includes a 21st-century edge? In a June 1 NTSA podcast, John Hall, Vice President of Digital Marketing at PlanMember Services, offered his insights on the best ways for...
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/2/2015
The Treasury Department took a huge step into lifetime income when it issued regulations creating qualified longevity annuity contracts to be provided by 401(a) plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) governmental plans and IRAs. In MarketBeat, Robert J. Toth discusses what QLACs do and how they work.
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By NTSA Net Staff 6/2/2015
Suppose your competitors insist that the IRS 10% penalty will apply to a 403(b) plan participant who left her employer in the same year as her 55th birthday, but before she actually attained age 55. In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us if this is correct.
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/29/2015
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a long-awaited — and controversial — set of rules April 14 expanding the definition of a fiduciary under ERISA. The proposed rules would affect NTSA members, including those who service non-ERISA plans or work in the IRA market.We’ve just created a special...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/28/2015
Funds in 403(b)s were invested more heavily in fixed annuities than in any other kind of investment in 2014, according to the Spectrem Group, a financial analysis firm.Spectrem reports that last year, 43% of 403(b) funds were invested in fixed annuities; 33% were invested in variable annuities; and...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/28/2015
The Bipartisan Policy Center convened what at least one participant termed a “policy wonk throwdown” in the nation’s capital May 27. The subject? The Department of Labor’s fiduciary proposal.The actual title of the event was “Champions, Critics and Consequences of a New Fiduciary Standard,” and it...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/28/2015
The Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal — or more specifically, its “appropriate standard of care” for brokers and dealers — was the focus of comments by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Ketchum at the 2015 FINRA Annual Conference May 27...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/26/2015
The Illinois legislature is considering a measure that would reform the public pension system in Cook County, the state’s most populous and where Chicago is located. The legislature’s action, which began before the state Supreme Court upended the 2013 pension reform law on May 8, is continuing to...
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