Industry News...
Below are links to resources that contain
information about current developments in the retirement industry.
Retirement News for
Employers: Winter
2010IRS Website (www.irs.gov)
April 30, 2010, Filing Deadline for Adopting Employers of Pre-Approved Plans -
Filing Tips for Submissions. The IRS wants to remind employers entitled to
use the pre-approved plan six-year cycle of an upcoming April 30, 2010, deadline
to adopt the final approved version of the defined contribution pre-approved
plan and submit applications for determination letters, if applicable.
IRS
to Mail 401(k) Compliance Questionnaires
PlanSponsor.com
New York accounting firm Eisner LLP has issued a warning that the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) will begin sending questionnaires to 401(k) sponsors to
gather information about their level of compliance with applicable tax
rules.....
IRS Reminds Employers of
April 30th Deadline for DC Pre-Approved Plans
IRS Website (www.irs.gov)
A special edition of the IRS Employee Plan News reminds employers of the
deadline to adopt their new pre-approved plan.
DOL Audits of Retirement Plans Expected to Increase
PlanSponsor Website (www.plansponsor.com)
Several signs suggest that the number of EBSA investigations and penalties will
increase.
ROTHS: Your Questions, Our
Answers
The Wall Street Journal
by Anne Tergesen
Our recent column about tax rules that are about to give more people access to a
Roth individual retirement account prompted many questions from readers...
Employee
Plans News - Winter 2010
IRS Website (www.irs.gov)
Protecting retirement benefits through educating customers.
Employee Plans News -
Fall 2009
IRS Website (www.irs.gov)
Protecting retirement benefits through educating customers.
IRS Retirement Plans NavigatorIRS Website (www.retirementplans.irs.gov)
The IRS has launched a new site
www.retirementplans.irs.gov to encourage small-business owners to establish
retirement plans for their employees. The site will help employers choose
the right plan for their business and has information and resources on
maintaining plans and correcting plan errors.
Retirement News for
Employers: Special Edition September 2009IRS Website (www.irs.gov)
This special edition discusses the Retirement & Savings Initiatives, Rollovers
From Employer Plans to Roth IRAs, the IRS Retirement Plans Navigator and Life
Events That Can Affect Retirement Savings.....
Retirement News for
Employers: Summer
2009IRS Website (www.irs.gov)
7 Steps to making a Hardship Distribution. In these challenging economic
times, participants may seek hardship distributions from their retirement plan.
Before making hardship distributions, review the steps below to make sure you
follow .....
With EGTRRA
Restatement, a perfect time for plan changes
By Philip J. Fogli
Employee Benefit News
If you offer a defined contribution plan to your workers, your plan
document must be restated with the IRS sometime within the next year. This
is a result of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Tax Reconciliation Act of
2001....
Proposed Regulations on "Exiting" Safe Harbor Nonelective Issued
Sungard Relius
The IRS has issued proposed regulations that will permit employers who maintain
a safe harbor 401(k) plan to reduce or suspend ("exit") that safe harbor
nonelective contribution during the plan year without disqualifying the 401(k)
arrangement....
Mid-Year Safe
Harbor 401(k) Plan Changes
Sungard Relius
Current Economic conditions have raised considerable questions regarding
required Safe Harbor contributions. This article from Sungard Relius
covers how an employer can eliminate or freeze fixed contributions under a safe
harbor 401(k) plan.
Required
Minimum Distributions for 2009 Have Been Waived!!
Sungard Relius
Here is a link to the Sungard Corbel website. They have provided a good
Q&A regarding the specifics to H.R. 7327, the "Worker, Retiree, and Employer
Recovery Act of 2008".
ERISA Fidelity Bonding
Requirements --- Department of Labor Guidance
DOL Website (www.dol.gov)
The Field Assistance Bulletin from the DOL (link above) is an in-depth
Q&A article providing guidance and valuable information about current bonding
requirements.
Department of Labor Fact
Sheet on QDIA's
DOL Website (www.dol.gov)
The DOL recently issued a fact sheet with
information relating to Qualified Default Investment Alternatives in
Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans.
THE LOAN DANGER -
Borrowing from 401(k) Accounts can be a bad deal all around
by Randy MyersCFO Magazine
The credit crunch has come home to roost in many unlikely places, from the
student-loan market to the municipal-bond arena. Here's another improbably
victim: your human resources department. The subprime crisis and its many
ripple effects are prompting more financially strapped homeowners to borrow from
their 401(k) plans....
Consumers risk taxes, penalties when they raid their
401(k) retirement accountsby Eileen
Alt Powell; AP Business WriterAssociated Press
Although 401(k) and other employee-sponsored retirement accounts are supposed to
be for long-term saving, many of the plans allow participants to take money out
early under special circumstances. But under tax laws, there can be
serious investment and tax consequences if people borrow or withdraw from their
accounts before age 59 1/2...
401(k) Loans Can Bite You
by Eleanor LaiseThe Wall Street Journal
Feeling a cash crunch? Think twice before tapping into your 401(k)
account--especially as the economy slows.....
New Defined Benefits Funding Rules
by Jessica MarquezWorkforce Management
The
IRS April 1 deadline for employers to have Defined Benefit Plans certified by
Enrolled Actuaries is less than a month away and HR executives at companies with
underfunded plans should be preparing to tell employees how new funding rules
might affect their pension payouts......
Proposed
Regulation on Depositing Deferrals
This
proposed regulation, upon adoption, would establish a safe harbor period of 7
business days during which amounts that an employer has received from employees
or withheld from wages for contribution to employee benefit plans must be
deposited. Plans with more than 100 employees would have different
requirements......
Recent Supreme Court Decision
On
February 21, 2008, the U.S. Supreme court ruled in LaRue v DeWolf, that
individual participants in Defined Contribution Retirement Plans can file suit
(under ERISA) for loss of assets/investments in their individual accounts
allegedly caused by fiduciary breach.....
Smoothing Your Retirement Plan
by Andrea CoombsWall Street Journal Online
Nobody
ever said figuring out how much you need to set aside for retirement is easy.
Among the many variables: your income for the next decade (or two or three),
future inflation and investment returns, and the magnitude of expenses such as
medical care once you retire. The real kicker: You have to guess how long
you'll live.......
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