Technical Competence
Nice try, but no. That appears to be the message from a court that said that a couple who used funds from an early IRA distribution to pay state and federal taxes cannot claim that qualifies as an exception to the penalty for taking an early distribution.In “Close Is Not Enough When it Comes to the...
READ MORE
In a written response to a judge in litigation involving the fiduciary rule’s anti-arbitration provision, the Labor Department says the provision will “likely be mooted in the near future.”The letter (Thrivent Fin. for Lutherans v. Acosta, D. Minn., No. 0:16-cv-03289-SRN-DTS, letter to judge filed...
READ MORE
The Sunshine Act has been around longer than all the Millennials. And fee disclosure has been required for years. And still, with all that — not to mention the advent of electronic means of research and communication — the head of a consultant firm in a series of blog entries warns employers and...
READ MORE
A new excessive fee suit claims that plan fiduciaries “abdicated” their responsibilities, allowing the plans’ trustee to “…to load the Plans with high-cost mutual funds.”The most recent excessive fee suit involves both the 401(k) and 403(b) plans of Allina Health System, which have nearly $2.3...
READ MORE
Automatic features continue to take hold among 403(b) plans, the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) found in a recent study.PSCA’s annual 403(b) survey reports that more plans are offering auto enrollment, and that auto escalation is becoming more widespread as well.“Over the past several years...
READ MORE
The American Retirement Association has filed a comment letter raising concerns about the application of a new fiduciary regulation in the state of Nevada.The comment letter includes a legal analysis conducted by the law firm of Trucker Huss that concludes that courts would find that the Nevada...
READ MORE
Determining how assets must be disbursed from retirement accounts after a participant’s death can be quite complex. In MarketBeat, Barbara Webb discusses how required minimum distributions (RMDs) should be handled in certain circumstances.
READ MORE
A client was taken over by another firm. They are preparing the plan 5500 and seek information regarding the old voluntary part of the 403(b) plan. In Tech Talk, Susan Diehl tells us how Form 5500 reporting should be handled in such a situation.
READ MORE
A group that generally advocates for large, multistate employers has issues with a new fiduciary law in Nevada that it says would have a negative impact on small employers.In a comment letter to Diana Foley, Securities Administrator, Securities Division, at the Nevada Office of the Secretary of the...
READ MORE
The Pew Charitable Trusts recently published a report reviewing the findings of a survey to gauge employer reactions to leading state retirement policy ideas where they found strong support among small and mid-size businesses for automatic IRA programs, multiple employer plans (MEPs) and online...
READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Aug. 9 proposal that the transition period and full Best Interest Contract (BIC) applicability date of the fiduciary rule be delayed 18 months to July 1, 2019 no doubt was hailed by some as good news. But such a reaction is not universal.The Economic Policy Institute...
READ MORE
Compliance with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule has reduced access to brokerage advice services and choice, cost billions, and disrupted retirement savers, according to a new study. The study, commissioned by long-time opponent and fiduciary rule litigant SIFMA and conducted by Deloitte...
READ MORE
Mighty ERISA is not, in the end, all-powerful — there are employee benefit plans it does not cover. Among them are 403(b) plans sponsored by non-profit employers. A recent blog entry discusses the fine line that employers with 403(b) plans can tread.In “Non-ERISA 403(B) Plans Must Walk a Fine Line...
READ MORE
A handful of states have put in place plans intended to help make sure that retirement plan coverage and participation expands. In MarketBeat, John Iekel covers a recent conference session that points out that the fact that states are acting to fill the coverage gaps doesn’t spell the end of...
READ MORE
Where can one find the new rule for correcting IRA excesses? In Tech Talk, Susan Diehl tells us.
READ MORE
It’s a summertime trap: the poor baseball player trapped between bases who is going to be tagged out no matter which direction he goes. A recent blog entry argues that such a pickle faces employers and plan administrators too concerning distributions, but at any time of the year.Any employer and...
READ MORE
The Labor Department has submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend the transition period and full BIC applicability date of the fiduciary regulation. The notice – which indicates that the Labor Department intends to push back to July 1, 2019 the full Best Interest...
READ MORE
Earlier this year, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the participants in a university’s plan do not have to exhaust administrative remedies before they pursue claims of ERISA violations. A recent blog entry discusses what this ruling means for plan fiduciaries.In “Exhaustion of Plan...
READ MORE
Can substitute teachers participate in 403(b) and/or 457(b) plans? In Tech Talk, Susan Diehl tells us.
READ MORE
The “in which/for which” saga continues, writes Susan Diehl in MarketBeat. She discusses the new rule for correcting IRA excesses, starting with a look at the operational procedure for such corrections under Internal Revenue Code Section 408(d)(4).
READ MORE
Pages
Most Popular
