Fiduciary Rules and Practices
As the Department of Labor (DOL) finalizes new fiduciary regulations, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are considering new legislation to address their concerns with DOL’s proposal.On Sept. 30, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing on the regulations’...
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The IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Office has issued its priorities for fiscal year 2016. Among these priorities are plans that concern TEGE’s work with employee plans and with government entities and shared services. Employee Plans Office For FY 2016, TEGE’s Employee Plans (EP) office...
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has expressed concerns about conflicts of interest in a study critical of the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal — and that has forced the resignation of one of its authors.According to a report in The Hill, the left-leaning Brookings Institution has forced one of...
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Even if the bill makes it to the floor of the full House, American Retirement Association Director of Congressional Affairs Andrew Remo does not think much of its prospects, remarking, “President Obama's forceful support of the fiduciary rule in February has muted House Democratic support for the...
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The latest issue of Employee Plans News, which the IRS issued on Sept. 30, provides comprehensive access to information concerning forms, correcting mistakes, plans and more that have been updated since the last issue of the newsletter.The information that can be accessed through Issue No. 2015-10...
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As the comment period window closes on the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal, the American Retirement Association has filed a supplemental comment letter with the DOL — and another House subcommittee schedules a hearing on the subject.Specifically, the ARA sought to “amplify and clarify” two...
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The period during which the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) will accept public comments on the fiduciary proposal closes on Sept. 24.A comment may be submitted through one of the following methods: Email: [email protected]; include ZRIN 1210-ZA25 in the subject...
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Skepticism about the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed fiduciary rule is mounting — and not just from President Obama’s opposition. Concerned about consumer choice and access to advice, as well as the possible effect of the rule on the cost of saving for retirement and on the poor and middle...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) hearings may be over, but a House committee plans to hold a hearing of its own on the fiduciary rule reproposal and its impact on younger savers.House Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) proclaimed 2017 as “the year when tax reform...
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Guidelines for sharing participant data of 403(b) and governmental 457 plans provided by the SPARK Institute have been widely accepted and are used by the majority of plan vendors. In MarketBeat, Diane Capone discusses the updated standards and best practices.
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If there is a bankruptcy, will a 403(b) come under attack or will other creditors be able to attach the 403(b) funds? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us how 403(b) assets are handled in a bankruptcy.
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The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) has updated the information concerning its project on terminated plans with outstanding participant loans.Through the project, the EPCU is attempting to determine if outstanding loan balances at the time all plan assets were distributed were treated...
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The DOL recently published a “Q&A on Small Savers” which leads off by stating, “Small IRA savers may not be who you think they are,” and goes on to point out that more than two-thirds of small-IRA owners may have small IRAs, but they are “wealthy and upper-middle class households.”The six-...
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We’re months away from December, but it felt like a fiduciary rule Festivus on Capitol Hill Sept. 10 as members of Congress aired their grievances about the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed extension authority to regulate assets contained in retirement accounts.
Two subcommittees of the House...
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If you have comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary reproposal, you only have a couple of weeks to share them. The DOL announced Sept. 8 that the public comment period will close on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, and that no hand-delivered comments will be accepted after 6:00 p.m. ET on...
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San Diego County, Calif., has made changes to how its pension plan is run in an effort to protect its funds and how they are managed. The changes come in the wake of a ruling by the State Superior Court for the County of San Diego in San Diego County Employees Retirement Association v. County of...
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The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is considering adopting new risk-mitigating strategies — investing a portion of its holdings in more stable funds not subject to the vagaries of a volatile stock market. The plan could shift up to $20 billion of CalSTRS’ $191 billion into...
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Newer is not always better, and Moody’s Investor Service has provided fresh proof — at least for defined benefit plans. According to Pensions & Investments, a report Moody’s released Sept. 1 says that the IRS’ continued use of existing mortality tables could save DB plans $18 billion or more....
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Congress returns from its summer break next week, and House Republicans are wasting no time reengaging in oversight of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule re-proposal.On Sept. 10, two subcommittees of the House Financial Services Committee are planning to hold a joint hearing on the...
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There were four days of hearings on the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule and I kept waiting… and watching… and waiting. But it never came up. And that surprised me.You see, I was fully expecting someone to ask these two questions: “What about individuals who actually want to be...
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