Employee Benefits Update
Showing 65–80 of 395 results
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Help retirees plan their retirement spending, survey says
June / July 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 803
Abstract: Long after defined benefit (DB) plans became scarce in the private sector, many employees still mourn their departure. With DB plans, participants are given an estimate of their monthly benefit at retirement. However, with defined contribution (DC) plans, participants often lack confidence in their understanding of how much their DC plan will provide in monthly income when they start drawing down their accounts. This article discusses why more and more 401(k) plan sponsors are beginning to try to address this concern in various ways — without revisiting the DB plan model. A short sidebar provides some statistics for plan sponsors on keeping plan assets from being transferred out of the plan.
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COMPLIANCE ALERT
April / May 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 74
Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for April and May.
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Take a close look at your plan expense categories
April / May 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 381
Abstract: Keeping a sharp eye on your 401(k) plan’s expenses — a fundamental duty of fiduciaries — can require the use of a magnifying glass, at least metaphorically speaking. Take the case of what’s paid out of retirement plan investment funds, as opposed to paid directly by the plan or the company as the plan sponsor. Individual pieces can be measured in basis points (hundredths of one percent), but they add up. This article briefly explains some common contributors to a plan’s gross expense ratio and how even small distinctions can substantially affect participant investment returns over time.
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Have you outgrown the need for matching 401(k) contributions?
April / May 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 592
Abstract: Administrating a retirement plan is an evolving process. For example, many plan sponsors provide matching contributions on participant 401(k) plan deferrals without realizing there’s an alternative: making substantial nonelective contributions instead of matching contributions. It’s not a strategy that will work for all employers, but this article explains that there is nothing to lose — and perhaps much to gain — by at least considering it.
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Fiduciary liability – First Circuit shifts burden of defending a fiduciary breach claim
April / May 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 701
Abstract: A recent ruling could set the stage for a definitive U.S. Supreme Court opinion regarding retirement plan fiduciaries’ liability on the subject of monitoring plan expenses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s ruling in Brotherston v. Putnam Investments shifts a key aspect of the burden of proof of a fiduciary breach from the plaintiff employees to the plan sponsor defendant. This article reviews the case and the court’s decision. Brotherston v. Putnam Investments, No. 17-1711, October 15, 2018 (First Cir.)
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Proposed IRS regs liberalize rules for hardship withdrawals
April / May 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 949
Abstract: How hard should a hardship be to justify a hardship withdrawal from a 401(k) plan? Proposed IRS regulations could, according to the agency itself, enable eligible plan participants “to access their money more quickly with a minimum of red tape.” This article provides a short summary of several key provisions of the detailed proposed regulations. A sidebar looks at different ways employers might respond to the changes.
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COMPLIANCE ALERT
February / March 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 140
Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for February through April.
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2018 vs. 2019 retirement plan limits
February / March 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 114
Abstract: This chart contains updated retirement plan limits for 2019.
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Are you ready for VCP electronic filing?
February / March 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 631
Abstract: As of April 1, the IRS’s Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) will no longer accept paper forms and paper checks to pay fees. Instead, forms and fees must be submitted electronically via Pay.gov. This article discusses the changes made in the IRS’s Revenue Procedure 2018-52; it’s the most recent change to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System.
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IRS OKs student loan debt reduction program linked to 401(k)s
February / March 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 787
Abstract: Student loan debt can be a significant deterrent to many employees’ retirement savings efforts. Combining student debt payment support with a 401(k) plan is a tricky business. But one employer managed to navigate ERISA restrictions to combine tuition repayment and 401(k) plan benefits in a way that passed muster with the IRS. This article summarizes a recent private letter ruling in which the IRS gave its approval to an employer whose plan was subsequently rolled out to employees. “Contingent benefit” rule, 26 USC 401(k)(4)(A), 26 CFR 1.401(k)-1(e)(6). PLR 201833012.
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Failing to enroll eligible employees in your plan – What to watch out for and how to fix it
February / March 2019
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 866
Abstract: Administrative glitches are practically inevitable at some point when operating a retirement plan, given the myriad ways things can get off track. Case in point: inadvertently failing to add a newly eligible employee to the roster of 401(k) plan participants. While excluding an eligible employee isn’t the worst mistake plan sponsors could make, this article looks at why it’s important to identify the error sooner rather than later and take prompt remedial action.
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COMPLIANCE ALERT
Year End 2018
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 188
Abstract: This feature lists a few key year-end tax reporting deadlines for December and January.
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What to do if you inadvertently blow through 415(c) limits
Year End 2018
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 411
Abstract: What happens if a plan allocates too much money to a plan participant’s 401(k) account in a given year? This article reviews recent IRS guidance about the steps for plan sponsors to take in this situation.
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Not planning for early retirement threatens employees’ financial security
Year End 2018
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 695
Abstract: Employees often are unfazed by retirement calculators or other recommendations telling them they’ll need to step up the pace of their retirement savings to retire at a “normal” age. The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s latest “retirement confidence survey” compared what employees say their retirement timing plans are to when people in general (not the same people stating their intentions) actually do retire. This article looks at the study and what employers can do to help participants avoid being surprised when they do retire.
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Is there a “MEP” in your future? Streamlined retirement plan model under review
Year End 2018
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 627
Abstract: For small employers, the costs of administering a retirement plan can be intimidating. Legislation in Washington could provide some relief — particularly for very small employers — by easing regulatory restrictions covering “multiple employer plans” (MEPs). This article highlights how the changes will help small employers participate in MEPs.
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It may be time to offer a self-directed brokerage account option
Year End 2018
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 821
Abstract: Self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBAs) within a 401(k) plan typically offer participants the ultimate investment smorgasbord: a virtually unlimited selection of stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds, and mutual funds to feast on. Yet relatively few sponsors — only 16% of plans on the platform of one of the largest 401(k) recordkeepers — offer them. This article looks at the pros and cons of SDBAs, as well as the ongoing monitoring and fiduciary aspects of these types of accounts. A short sidebar reviews recent market data about the typical SDBA account holder.