Service Providers
Retirement plan professionals of all stripes expect to have to adjust to the Department of Labor’s final fiduciary rule. But businesses are gearing up for more than the obvious adjustments they’ll need to make.A strong majority — to the tune of 75% — of retirement plan providers told the LIMRA...
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Every so often, a measure or a regulation comes along that is the legal equivalent of a river changing course. To Michael Kitces, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule is one of them, recently calling it a “watershed moment.” And that’s not all — Kitces considers it only the beginning.“I...
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Is the plan sponsor in a non-ERISA (public education) 403(b) plan responsible for oversight of individual annuity contracts and individual custodial accounts? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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A recent report by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) highlights four myths about automatic enrollment. Myth 1: A 3% default is common, so it must be good. DCIIA notes that the default contribution rate of 3% under automatic enrollment gained popularity early on...
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When a participant in a non-ERISA 403(b) plan wishes to roll assets over from another non-ERISA 403(b) plan into this plan, what best practices can the receiving plan sponsor or vendor use to ensure compliance with IRS guidance and Treasury regulations? In MarketBeat, Sue Diehl and Ellie Lowder use...
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Does a charitable contribution from required minimum distributions (RMDs) from a 403(b) have to be 100% of RMD or can it be just part of the RMD? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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Republicans in the House of Representatives recently finalized the last plank of their policy agenda, with the release of their comprehensive tax reform blueprint. The bold plan calls for significant cuts in the statutory tax rates on both the wage and investment income for individuals — a move...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) has partnered with Morningstar, Inc. to develop a program that sets a new standard in fiduciary education and best practices.The IRA Fiduciary Adviser education program is designed to prepare advisers for a continuously shifting regulatory environment. The...
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The American Retirement Association (ARA) has partnered with Morningstar, Inc. to develop a program that sets a new standard in fiduciary education and best practices. The IRA Fiduciary Adviser education program is designed to prepare advisers for a continuously shifting regulatory environment....
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A new private letter ruling (PLR) from the IRS says that the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules apply to a designated IRA beneficiary even though a state court modified the beneficiary designations. The IRS released PLR 201628006 on July 8.Note that PLRs are applicable only to the specific...
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The IRS specifically recognized the termination of a 403(b) plans as being a “distributable event” in its 2007 regulations. But that doesn’t mean that questions don’t arise. In MarketBeat, Robert Toth addresses issues that arise concerning 403(b) plan terminations and distributions.
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Can one make charitable contributions from required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 403(b)s? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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The Department of Labor (DOL) has made some “technical corrections” to the Best Interest Contract (BIC) Exemption of the fiduciary regulation. The DOL issued the corrections on July 7; it had published the BIC Exemption in the April 8, 2016 Federal Register.The DOL notes that all of the corrections...
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Employer-provided retirement benefits in general are holding steady, according to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). In “2016 Employee Benefits: Looking Back at 20 Years of Employee Benefits Offerings in the U.S.,” SHRM reports that some aspects of employer-provided retirement...
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Top leadership at the Department of Labor (DOL) has indicated that the department will not bend on its fiduciary rule, but then again, it may. Bad cop, good cop?Not entirely. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)...
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“Auto” features — enrollment and escalation, that is — have received fresh boosts in recent reports concerning private as well as public-sector employers.The National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc. (NAGDCA) in its report, “Using Auto-Enroll to Improve...
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There is a sizable number of pre-retirees and retirees who do not enlist the assistance of a professional when devising a financial plan for their retirement, according to a recent study. It also takes a look at how they do in the effort.The study, by the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute, found...
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A new survey finds that, among plans automatically enrolling participants, 7 in 10 use all three features of an autopilot program (auto enroll, contribution acceleration, and qualified default investment alternative (QDIA)), but the adoption rate varies by plan size. According to “How America...
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As the first-time-ever Prototype/Volume Submitter 403(b) approvals approach, it may be necessary to include counting hours for adjunct professors in a plan’s operations manual, in order to protect the employer in the event of an audit. In MarketBeat, Susan Diehl provides a brief explanation of the...
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A client has a 403(b) account which was established in 2006. He now wants to roll over that account to an IRA, since is he over age 59½ and has also severed employment. In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us who needs to sign off on the rollover and what the employer’s role is.
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