Employee Benefits / Employment Law / HR
Showing 129–144 of 653 results
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How high can you go? Participants willing to accept higher default deferral rates
Year End 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 602
Abstract: It’s generally accepted that a 3% deferral rate won’t get many employees where they need to be financially as they approach retirement. Most employees will need a figure closer to 10%, yet 3% has traditionally been the most common default deferral rate used by plans that auto-enroll participants. This article highlights why this is changing.
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Deciding what to do with orphaned 401(k) plan accounts
Year End 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 786
Abstract: Sponsors of qualified retirement plans with orphan accounts need to consider whether such accounts are a problem. This article examines the state of orphan accounts and why the way plans charge administrative fees can help determine whether it’s beneficial to keep them in the plan. A short sidebar discusses the plan sponsor’s fiduciary duty to all plan participants, whether they’re active employees, former employees who have moved on to other jobs, retirees or beneficiaries.
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COMPLIANCE ALERT
October / November 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 96
Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for October and November.
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GAO report: Some plan designs may reduce retirement savings
October / November 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 393
Abstract: Retirement plan sponsors have ways to limit their outlays for very young employees, and those that move to other employers soon after coming on board. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently analyzed those plan design opportunities, and is sounding alarm bells. This short article highlights the GAO’s concerns that these options can reduce employees’ ultimate retirement savings potential.
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Target date fund labels can obscure their investment strategy
October / November 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 728
Abstract: The proliferation of target date fund (TDF) varieties can bewilder many plan sponsors. One survey found that, while 65% of plan sponsors consider investment performance the most important selection criterion when choosing a TDF, 54% aren’t confident about how to benchmark the TDFs against others in the marketplace. This article examines how to compare competing TDFs by segmenting them into logical categories.
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Are you going to file Form 5500 on time? Play it safe and avoid penalties
October / November 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 582
Abstract: Missing filing deadlines for Form 5500, “Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan,” for retirement and health and welfare plans can be extremely costly. The best way to avoid trouble is to ensure that meeting filing deadlines never falls between the cracks. This article summarizes the penalties for delinquent filing of Form 5500 and whether plan sponsors can use the DOL’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
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Staging a comeback – Stable value funds are back in the spotlight
October / November 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 851
Abstract: It’s been awhile since stable value funds reigned as a top investment choice for 401(k) plan participants. Very low prevailing interest rates and a booming stock market have diminished their status. Although no one is predicting they’ll unseat target date funds as the top investment election for retirement investors, stable value funds have staged a bit of a comeback recently. This article explores just what’s behind the renewed interest.
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Why employers can never be too careful when it comes to disability leave
September / October 2017
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 661
Abstract: A serious illness required one employee to request multiple leaves of absence from his job. It was up to the Sixth Circuit to determine whether, when the employee was terminated, his employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. This article reviews the case and the court’s determination on the employee’s failure-to-accommodate claim. Green v. BakeMark USA, LLC, No. 16-3141, March 27, 2017 (6th Cir.)
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Growth — not age — motivates employer to take adverse action
September / October 2017
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 571
Abstract: Job positions and corresponding duties can change over time. But if employers don’t communicate such changes with employees, they could end up in court. That’s what happened in Nash v. Optomec, Inc. This article discusses how the Eighth Circuit ruled in this age discrimination case. Nash v. Optomec, Inc., No. 16-2186, March 1, 2017 (8th Cir.)
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Don’t shoot the messenger – Court decides whether FLSA protects laid-off employee
September / October 2017
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 822
Abstract: Can a terminated employee who complained to her employer claim retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if the complaint was made on a co-worker’s behalf? This was the question before the Fifth Circuit in Starnes v. Wallace. This article describes the facts and what constitutes a prima facie case of retaliation pursuant to the FLSA. Starnes v. Wallace, No. 15-41341, Feb. 24, 2017 (5th Cir.)
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Title VII claim – Appeals court schools community college in sex discrimination
September / October 2017
Newsletter: Employment Law Briefing
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 940
Abstract: In what appears to be a judicial trend, the Seventh Circuit recently decided that Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The court in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana was guided by several Supreme Court decisions regarding sex discrimination. This article examines those cases and the theories set forth by the employee in Hively. A sidebar looks at a similar Eleventh Circuit case with a different result. Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, No. 15-1720, Apr 4, 2017 (7th Cir.) Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs., Inc. No. 96-568, March 4, 1988 (U.S.) Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, No. 15-15234, March 27, 2017 (11th Cir.) Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, No. 87-1167, May 1, 1989 (U.S.)
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COMPLIANCE ALERT
August / September 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 65
Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for September.
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Consider your options with nonvested participant forfeitures
August / September 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 332
Abstract: Employee benefit plans provide a combination of vested and nonvested assets. When employees leave a company before their matching 401(k) contributions have vested, they forfeit those amounts. This brief article reviews the options available to plan sponsors when dealing with these assets.
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Active vs. passive investment funds: Should you let participants decide?
August / September 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 597
Abstract: According to a report from Casey Quirk by Deloitte and McLagan, 72% of money invested into funds went into passive funds in 2015. While some may see this as a strong case for passive investing, the issue for plan sponsors isn’t clear-cut. This article summarizes recent data on the trend and whether passive or active funds are right for participants.
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Making age a factor in choosing QDIA options
August / September 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 783
Abstract: Target date funds (TDFs), the most popular 401(k) qualified default investment alternative, were designed to meet the investment needs of typical plan participants, no matter what their age. The theory is that employees can essentially “set it and forget it,” as TDF portfolios are automatically adjusted from aggressive to more conservative as employees approach and proceed through retirement. That theory, however, has been challenged by research pointing to participants’ failure to use TDFs as intended. This article examines why this is, and what employee benefit plans can do about it.
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Voluntary Correction Program – How to correct 401(k) plan loan “failures”
August / September 2017
Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update
Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50
Word count: 869
Abstract: “To err is human; to forgive is divine,” as the familiar saying goes. But the IRS will forgive errors involving 401(k) plan loans only when retirement plans use the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP). One of the biggest areas that trip up plan sponsors is plan loans. This article summarizes the three primary “failures” involving plan loans that require an IRS remedy: loan defaults, loans exceeding prescribed limits, and loan terms that exceed repayment limits. A brief sidebar reviews the accounting implications of loan defaults.