NTSA Net Staff
By NTSA Net Staff 5/22/2015
Another state has stepped up to try and close the coverage gap — this time by making it easier for small businesses to find a retirement plan provider through a new “retirement plan marketplace.”Washington is the latest state to take that step, as Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed into law the Washington...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/21/2015
The payroll department of a local school district wants to know if employees can make elective deferrals in their 403(b) plans after they have severed employment. In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us whether they can.
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/21/2015
IRS Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2015-27 updated the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). On April 2, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2015-28, outlining even more changes — this time, concerning autoenrollment. In MarketBeat, Michael Webb examines the autoenrollment changes to EPCRS...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/19/2015
In two newsletters, the IRS surprised many in the retirement industry with the assertion that failure to properly document hardship withdrawals or home loans is a qualification failure. In MarketBeat, Ellie Lowder discusses the positions the IRS articulated in the articles and the responses to them.
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/19/2015
Is federal income tax withholding on required minimum distributions mandatory? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/18/2015
A federal district court judge in Michigan has given preliminary approval to a settlement of the Ascension Health class action litigation. Under the terms of the settlement in Overall v. Ascension Health, the nonprofit Catholic health care system remains able to avail itself of the church plan...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/18/2015
The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a brief extension of the comment period on its fiduciary reproposal — and has set a date for a public hearing.The comment period for what the DOL calls the Conflict of Interest Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been extended by 15 days — from 75 to 90...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/13/2015
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And if the constitution prevents pension reform, make the constitution work for it. That appears to be the message of Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), whose office suggested as much as soon as the Illinois Supreme Court upended the state pension reform law....
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/12/2015
The Form 5500 is part of the bread and butter of the federal government’s information gathering concerning employers and employee benefit plans. But authority to use it is not eternal. The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has asked the Office of Management and...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/12/2015
The effect of the Illinois Supreme Court’s May 8 ruling already extends further than the heightened fiscal challenge facing the state finances and pension plans. Standard & Poors wasted no time in putting the state of Illinois on credit watch.S&P’s current ratings for Illinois are an A- Go...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/12/2015
The Oregon Supreme Court’s ruling that it was unconstitutional to apply cuts to pension cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to those who were state employees and retirees before the 2013 law was enacted will do more than restore those funds.Due to the ruling, for those who were state employees and...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/11/2015
You have a client who began to draw Social Security at age 62. He has a part-time job and participates in a 403(b) plan. He knows he’ll lose some Social Security benefits due to how much he earns at his job. In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us whether pre-tax deferrals to his 403(b) plan will...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/8/2015
On April 14, the DOL released a proposed fiduciary rule that expands the definition of who a fiduciary is and attempts to broaden the scope of its fiduciary oversight. In MarketBeat, Mike Webb makes some observations regarding the impact of the proposed rule.
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/7/2015
The IRS has put in place new ways to correct elective deferral errors in 403(b) and 401(k) plans. The IRS on May 6 updated its webpage concerning these corrections; it also included coverage of these changes in Issue 2015-5 of Employee Plans News.These methods are contained in Revenue Procedure (...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/5/2015
The National Tax-deferred Savings Association has announced the semifinalists for its prestigious NTSA Elite Advisor Award.Established in 2014, the NTSA Elite Advisor Award recognizes the contributions of advisors who, by their actions and example, have advanced best practice standards in the 403(b...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/4/2015
Financial advisors may find themselves discussing the adoption and implementation of top hat plans with one of the people who would most benefit from such a plan, says Ellie Lowder. In MarketBeat, she provides a discussion about the fundamentals of top hat plans and what interested financial...
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By NTSA Net Staff 5/4/2015
Suppose an employee is leaving one employer and is eligible to receive a distribution from that employer’s 403(b). Can the former employer control where the employee’s 403(b) is rolled? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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By NTSA Net Staff 4/29/2015
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced April 28 that she has launched an investigation into the rewards and incentives that annuity providers offer to brokers and dealers who sell annuities to families and small investors.In letters sent to 15 of the country's largest annuity providers, Warren...
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By NTSA Net Staff 4/29/2015
It’s no secret that in the private sector, defined contribution plans have expanded while defined benefit plans have declined. But a recent Federal Reserve report says that state and local governments are increasingly turning to DC plans as well.In “Defined-Contribution Pension Plans for State and...
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By NTSA Net Staff 4/28/2015
The Department of Labor (DOL) on April 14 released proposed regulations redefining what it means to be a fiduciary under ERISA. The regulations raise many questions for many retirement plan professionals — including 403(b) and 457 advisors, as well as those who work with IRAs.In a new podcast on...
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