Top 10 Tips for the New Form 5500 Electronic Filing Requirements Effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, all Forms 5500 must be filed electronically using the DOL's new electronic filing program, EFAST2. This article covers the top 10 things you should know about filing your Form 5500 using EFAST2 Source: McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Momentum Builds for Annuities in 401k Plans More retirement think tanks are getting on board with the idea of including annuities in 401k plans, but so far, only a handful of large employers have this as an option. Source: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required)
Time To Replace the 4% Rule How much should you withdraw from your accounts earmarked for retirement? Answer that question correctly and you get to enjoy the retirement of your dreams. Answer it incorrectly and you either outlive your assets or you leave more money to your heirs than planned. Source: Marketwatch.com
More 401k Paternalism? The recent market turmoil is fresh reminder of how reluctant (or unable) most employees are to take charge of their financial futures is spurring many employers to reconsider the pension-fund model -- at least in terms of making it "dummy proof." As a result, employer-sponsored 401k plans are moving toward a more paternalistic approach according to some. Source: CFO.com
DOL Believed To Be Examining New 403(b) Guidance The Department of Labor may provide guidance on 403(b) sponsor fiduciary responsibilities regarding participant annuity investments, private sector ERISA lawyers predicted last week. Source: Euromoney Institutional Investor
SEC's Custody Rules May Complicate Life for Advisers Financial advisers will have to stop serving as a 401k trustee or face auditing costs of $10,000 or more for each of their custodial clients as a result of new rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Source: Investmentnews.com Employers Allowing Larger 401k Contributions Sixty-eight percent of employers report that their company allows employees to contribute 25% or more of their earnings into their 401k plan, according to a recent survey of 401k practices by BLR. Source: Business & Legal Resources
Americans' Projected Retirement Age Continues to Creep Up Americans' projected retirement age has gradually increased over the past 15 years, with more than a third of non-retirees today saying they will retire after age 65, compared with 12% in 1995. This marks the first time Gallup has recorded more non-retirees saying they will retire after age 65 than before that age. Source: Gallup
401k Investors Uncertain If Assets Can Be Converted to Roth IRAs Fidelity Investments released a study that finds more than half (55 percent) of newly eligible investors who have old 401ks with former employers are not certain whether their assets can be converted to Roth IRAs. Source: 401khelpcenter.com
Retirement Income Guarantee Products Snapshot Survey PSCA conducted a snapshot survey of plan sponsors in March, 2010 to determine their views on retirement income products. This is an overview of the survey results. Source: Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PDF File)
Most Americans to Reduce IRA Savings in 2010 Almost 40 percent fewer Americans expect to fully fund their IRAs this year than did in 2009, according to the results of a survey of 1,000 Americans released today by Putnam Investments. Only one in seven (14%) survey respondents plan to fully fund their IRAs in 2010, versus 23 percent who fully funded an IRA in 2009. Source: 401khelpcenter.com
No Deference To Plan's Decision When Discretionary Authority Given in SPD But Not in Plan Document In this case, the Eighth Circuit joins at least three other circuit courts that have ruled that a grant of discretion appearing only in an SPD generally does not confer discretion on the plan decision maker. Source: Employee Benefits Institute of America
Unisys, Fidelity Win Excessive Fee Case Dismissal A federal court has dismissed charges that Unisys Corporation and Fidelity Management Trust Company caused participants in Unisys' retirement savings plan to pay excessive fees. Source: Plansponsor.com
Judge Certifies Class in 401k Case A federal judge has certified a class of as many as 160,000 Wells Fargo employees in a lawsuit against the company over its handling of their retirement accounts. Source: West Virginia Record
The Spark Institute Comments on DOL's Proposed Advice Rules The SPARK Institute filed a comment letter on the Employee Benefits Security Administration's ("EBSA") proposed invest. advice regulations. Source: 401khelpcenter.com
The Limited Scope Plan Audit Exemption The Department of Labor allows an exclusion from the annual audit of assets of the plan which are held by a bank or similar institution or insurance company that is regulated and subject to periodic examination by a state or federal agency. Source: 401k CPA Blog
DOL Wants More Employer Disclosure on Target-Date Funds The Labor Department says it will revamp a 2007 regulation to require that employers provide more information to employees about what are called target-date retirement funds for automatic enrollment 401k plans and other participant-directed retirement plans. Source: Businessinsurance.com
Year-End Plan Amendments Needed Under the HEART Act Under the HEART Act, additional relief provisions are provided for military personnel, and Notice 2010-15 provides much-needed guidance on the proper interpretations of the key pension provisions. Importantly, it clarified that plan amendments are needed by the end of the 2010 Plan Year. Source: Groom Law Group |
