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Sponsor Newsletter: At Your Service

Posted Thu, 02/16/2012 - 16:40
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One of the most fundamental requirements in managing a qualified retirement plan is counting an employee's length of service. There are several different methods for counting service, each with certain advantages and disadvantages depending on how the Plan Sponsor runs his or her business.

Our February Newsletter from Benefit Insights explains the different methods for determining service and the reasons why counting service matters.

Read the full newsletter: At Your Service

Practicing Full Fee Disclosure

Posted Thu, 08/18/2011 - 15:43
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In July and October of 2010, the DOL issued regulations aimed at improving the transparency of fees and expenses associated with employer-sponsored retirement plans. The regulations issued in July – under ERISA section 408(b)(2) – create rules for disclosures made to plan sponsors by service providers, and the regulations issued in October – under ERISA section 404(a)(5) – establish a series of participant disclosures that must be made in plans that allow participant direction of investment.

Fiduciary Liability for Participant-Directed Plans

Posted Tue, 06/21/2011 - 13:37
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ERISA section 404(c) offers a “safe harbor” set of guidelines for a plan fiduciary to follow, and establishes that a plan fiduciary cannot be held liable for losses that result from participant direction of investment as long as a number of requirements are met.

Our June Newsletter from Benefit Insights details these requirements for plan fiduciaries. Read the full newsletter: Fiduciary Liability for Participant-Directed Plans

Don't Let the QDRO Be Worse Than the Marriage

Posted Thu, 05/12/2011 - 13:54
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A QDRO is a court order that is used to assign retirement plan benefits to a third party; usually a former spouse.

In order for the QDRO to be processed correctly, a number of requirements must be satisfied. For example, the QDRO must appropriately identify the distributing retirement plan and the parties to the QDRO (i.e., the retirement plan participant and the “alternate payee”). The QDRO must also clearly articulate the dollar amount to be paid, or explain the formula that is to be used in determining the amount to be paid. April's Benefit Insights Newsletter explains the requirements of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. Read the full newsletter: Don't Let the QDRO Be Worse Than the Marriage

Record Retention

Posted Wed, 02/23/2011 - 12:18
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We are often asked by our clients how long it is necessary to retain records and documents for a retirement plan. Ideally, all historical retirement plan records would be retained by the sponsoring employer, but it would be naïve to hold this expectation with the reports, filings, and documents that pile up over time. While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) statute of limitations for auditing a retirement plan year runs only through the third anniversary of the Form 5500 filing date, three years is too short a period after which to dispose of records. Our October newsletter from Benefit Insights provides some specifics that should serve as a reliable guide for retaining retirement plan records. Read the full newsletter: Record Retention