Newsletter Articles

Nearly five years in the making, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published its long-awaited plan sponsor fee disclosure regulations under ERISA section 408(b)(2). With these new regulations taking effect on July 1, 2012, plan sponsors and service providers alike will be scrambling to prepare.

One of the most fundamental requirements in managing a qualified retirement plan is counting an employee’s length of service. It is the basis for determining such items as plan eligibility, entitlement to company contributions, vesting and even retirement itself. Although this seems like a straightforward task, the rules are quite complex and create traps for the unwary.

Cash or deferred retirement plans, more commonly referred to as 401(k) plans, have become the backbone of the private pension system in America. They long ago replaced employer-sponsored pension plans as the most common vehicle for retirement savings.

Last year the Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations requiring broad disclosures of fees, expenses and certain other plan and investment-related information to participants and beneficiaries under individual account plans.

Sooner or later, every retirement plan will have to deal with participants who have terminated employment but still have balances in the plan. In most circumstances, the plan document provides guidance on how to proceed; however, there are a number of factors that can make the determination a little more complex than what it seems at first blush.

It seems that every month there are new stories in the financial press about participants suing their employers for mismanagement of the company 401(k) plan. While most of these suits have been directed at larger companies, the increasing frequency has employers of all sizes looking for ways to minimize their liability. One way to do that is to comply with a set of “safe-harbor” rules found in section 404(c) of ERISA.

Very few employers have any desire to get caught in the middle of the divorce proceedings of their employees; however, when company retirement benefits become part of the negotiations, unsuspecting employers can be pulled into the fray.

USA Today recently ran an article describing how many companies are using alternative work arrangements to meet staffing needs during the economic recovery. Such arrangements may include use of leased employees, independent contractors or part-time/seasonal workers, all of which are commonly referred to as contingent workers.

Cash balance plans have enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity. However, these plans, which can provide tax-deductible benefits as much as five times greater than 401(k) profit sharing plans, have actually existed for more than 30 years. When the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) resolved much of the legal uncertainty of these plans, small and large companies alike showed a renewed interest. According to a recent research report, the number of cash balance plans increased by more than 23% from 2006 to 2007 and more than 75% of existing cash balance plans are sponsored by companies with fewer than 50 employees.

Maximum compensation limit, Defined contribution plan maximum contribution,
Defined benefit plan maximum benefit, etc.