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Government Affairs
By a large bipartisan majority, the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed tax-extender relief legislation that includes a provision that would affect multiemployer pension plan funding.The legislation, H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, was supported by 202 Republicans and...
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January 2015 will mark more than the beginning of a new year — on Jan. 2, a different IRS office will take on technical responsibilities concerning qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The IRS spelled out the chance in Announcement 2014-34.On that date, the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (...
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The Illinois General Assembly has sent legislation to Gov. Pat Quinn (D) that would create the nation's first state-run automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA program for private sector employers. The Illinois Senate on Dec. 3 approved by a 30-25 margin a version of the bill passed earlier in...
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While it is not unusual for federal agencies to update their planned agenda for new regulations and other guidance periodically, some recent updates the Department of Labor (DOL) announced to its Fall 2014 Regulatory Agenda have drawn heightened interest.Conflicted AdviceOne specific regulatory...
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The IRS has amended the safe harbor explanations provided with eligible rollover distributions to accommodate recent guidance on in-plan Roth rollovers and the allocation of taxable amounts.Notice 2014-74 amends the two safe harbor explanations provided in Notice 2009-68, explanations that are...
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Five Senate Finance Committee members are asking Treasury Secretary Jack Lew for some retirement plan relief.The letter — signed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) — cites...
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When the 113th Congress wraps up in December, it won’t have much to show for its term. Will the 114th Congress that convenes in January be any different? Will Congress use retirement savings as its own piggy bank, or can we hope for something better? Might there even be real progress in expanding...
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Having regained their Senate majority and deepened their hold on the House, the GOP — with a wary eye on the 2016 elections — may be ready to deal. In a recent webcast (note: you must be logged in as an ASPPA member to view this page), ASPPA Executive Director Brian Graff and Political Director Jim...
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They say that real estate is all about “location, location, location.” But could location be a factor in retirement plan participation as well?Apparently so, according to a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). It notes that, not only do workers’ demographic characteristics...
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The ERISA Advisory Council has now made its final recommendations of 2014, and got an update on regulatory proposals in return.On Nov. 4, the DOL’s ERISA Advisory Council followed up on its August meetings with the presentation of this year’s final recommendations to secretary of labor Tom Perez...
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ASPPA, NAPA and NTSA submitted a joint letter Nov. 3 to the Connecticut Retirement Security Board (CRSB) in response to the board’s request for public comment in order to help the CSRB develop and implement a state-run plan for employees of private employers. In the letter, the three sister...
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It's been a year since DOL's Phyllis Borzi, addressing the 2013 ASPPA Annual Conference, provided details about how the department planned to proceed with its regulatory initiative reshaping the definition of a plan fiduciary. A year later, in the same room at the 2014 conference, ASPPA’s...
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Any employer, plan administrator, third party administrator, plan sponsor etc. knows how many moving parts there are to meeting reporting deadlines and complying with IRS rules and regulations. Apparently the IRS does as well, and it has updated “Retirement Plan Reporting and Disclosure...
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The IRS has issued the much-anticipated final regulations on hybrid retirement plans — and has also provided regulations on the tax treatment of distributions from Roth accounts under tax-favored retirement plans, such as 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans. In a 111-page document, the final regulations...
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When it rains, it pours — in a single week we have had two announcements of congressional hearings on retirement plan issues slated for next week.The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on retirement issues, titled “Retirement Savings 2.0: Updating Savings Policy for the Modern Economy,"...
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified companies that offer advances in exchange for receiving all or part of their pension funds and questionable practices that may put plan participants at risk. “Pension Advance Transactions: Questionable Business Practices Identified,” a...
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Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has named the members of a panel charged with finding “…ways to better secure retirement savings for private-sector employees in Maryland.” Established by executive order in May and chaired by former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D), the task force brings...
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The U.S. Senate passed legislation July 29 to fund the nation’s Highway Trust Fund — legislation that does not include a pension smoothing provision. The vote tally on the $8.1 billion bill was 79-18.The Senate bill differs from the $10.8 billion version that the House of Representatives passed on...
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Recently, in the review process for determination letter applications, the IRS has taken issue with “412(d)(2)” plan amendments. Some plan sponsors have been told by IRS reviewers that the amendments were not permissible if adopted after the close of the plan year, and that a closing agreement...
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Congress is expected to wrap up its business for the summer in the next two weeks as members continue to work through an extremely limited set of issues in which the two parties can find common ground in this election year. The first of those issues to address is transportation infrastructure...
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