Digest
QDIAs Pose More Questions Than Answers for Employers - Summary: Employers are generally confused about what to do regarding qualified default investment alternatives, and brokers recently confirmed they have good reason to be baffled.
Located at: Employee Benefit News. Click on headline for full article.
How to Measure ROI of Your Financial Education Programs - Summary: Is it enough that employees say they like and appreciate the program or do there have to be tangible results? What benchmarks should they be tracking to ensure that the program is worth the money they are spending on it? There are a number of ways to track the success of your financial education program.
Located at: Financial Finesse (PDF File). Click on headline for full article.
Expert Offer Enrollment Strategy Advice - Summary: If employers wish to see robust participation rates in their 401k plans, they need to have brief and informative educational sessions, easy-to-enroll options and features that allow them to defer decisions to experienced brokers.
Located at: Employee Benefit News. Click on headline for full article.
VIDEO: IRS Enforcement Priorities - Summary: This video was produced by the IRS Office of Employee Plans and is designed to provide useful information to help retirement plan sponsors choose and operate their plans.
Located at: IRS. Click on headline for full article.
VIDEO: Stopping Abuses in Retirement Plans - Summary: This video was produced by the IRS Office of Employee Plans and is designed to provide useful information to help retirement plan sponsors choose and operate their plans.
Located at: IRS. Click on headline for full article.
VIDEO: Fixing Plan Mistakes Found During an IRS Audit - Summary: This video was produced by the IRS Office of Employee Plans and is designed to provide useful information to help retirement plan sponsors choose and operate their plans.
Located at: IRS. Click on headline for full article.
VIDEO: Self-Correcting Plan Mistakes - Summary: This video was produced by the IRS Office of Employee Plans and is designed to provide useful information to help retirement plan sponsors choose and operate their plans.
Located at: IRS. Click on headline for full article.
VIDEO: Maintaining Your Plan - Summary: This video was produced by the IRS Office of Employee Plans and is designed to provide useful information to help retirement plan sponsors choose and operate their plans.
Located at: IRS. Click on headline for full article.
The Great 401k Escape - Summary: If the offerings in your employer's plan aren't so great, put your money into an individual retirement account using a little-known maneuver: an "in-service" distribution.
Located at: Forbes. Click on headline for full article.
Court Items
Law Firm Gets to Proceed with Fee Lawsuit Against Hancock - Summary: Because John Hancock Life Insurance Co. could be judged to have been a fiduciary for a law firm’s 401k plan, the plan’s trustee can continue with his fiduciary breach excessive fee lawsuit, a federal judge has ruled.
Located at: Planadviser.com. Click on headline for full article.
Excessive Fee Suit Against Fidelity Survives Initial Challenge - Summary: A federal judge in Missouri has determined that the fiduciary breach lawsuit over excessive fees and revenue sharing practices in ABB's 401k plan, filed by the St. Louis-based law firm of Schlichter Bogard & Denton on behalf of the plan's participants, can move forward.
Located at: Planadviser.com. Click on headline for full article.
Commentary
Retirement Annuities - Investments or Insurance - Summary: Deferred Retirement Annuities could mitigate a significant and individually unmanageable risk for retirees (longevity). They could also provide the psychological comfort of maintaining a liquid asset pool and reduce the potential risks of inappropriate consumption through a fixed term spending period.
Located at: Fiduciary Investor Blog. Click on headline for full article.
Managing Investment Uncertainty - A Fiduciary Requirement - Summary: Selection bias can distort the conclusions drawn in investment evaluation based on the way investment data is calculated, presented, evaluated or processed by investors. Selection bias probably accounts for a significant amount of investment under-performance as well as fiduciary risk.
Located at: Fiduciary Investor Blog. Click on headline for full article.
DOL and IRS Items
ICI Comments on IRS Automatic Contribution Arrangements Rules - Summary: ICI suggests changes to the IRS' proposed rules to make them more flexible and cost-efficient to further the Congressional purpose of encouraging employers to offer plans with automatic enrollment.
Located at: Investment Company Institute. Click on headline for full article.
Upcoming Audio Conferences
Eligibility and Participation
This audio conference will provide you with all the basics, starting with the statutory ERISA requirements and how to apply them. Conference will address different methods of determining eligibility such as Elapsed Time or Hour of Service. We'll also clarify, with examples, the eligibility rules for rehires – typically the most challenging of the eligibility rules, and an example of the coverage ratio test -- March 19, 2008. For more information, click here.
Vesting, DC Contributions, Allocations
Vesting is a non-forfeitable right to an employer contribution and you'll benefit knowing the ins and outs of how it works. You'll come away from having attended this module knowing the vesting basics including benefits, schedules, service requirements, break-in-service rules and more. Examples of employer and employee contributions to a plan will be used to give a full picture of what is out there -- March 26, 2008. For more information, click here.
Top Heavy Rules, Keys, Attribution, HCEs
This audio conference will address a number of concepts, beginning with the definition of HCEs and the family attribution rules and ending with an in-depth overview of the top heavy rules. Conference will also discuss that the IRS does not permit a plan to discriminate in favor of the HCEs – but it doesn't stop there -- April 2, 2008. For more information, click here.
Controlled Groups, 415 Limits, Deductions
When completing an adoption agreement, it is important to know if the employer is part of a controlled group. Join us to learn the basics of control groups. When dealing with qualified plans, you'll also need to know the annual limitations for participants, the employer deduction rules and the ERISA protection from creditor rules -- April 9, 2008. For more information, click here.
Plan Reporting and Disclosure
This audio conference will focus on plan reporting and disclosure. After this session, you will be familiar with key points to know about Form 5500 and you will understand the scope and significance of ERISA-required disclosures to participants and beneficiaries -- April 16, 2008. For more information, click here.
