On May 22, 2017 Alexander Acosta, the Secretary of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on the Fiduciary Rule. In it he states: “The Labor Department has concluded that it is necessary to seek additional public input on the entire Fiduciary Rule, and we will do so.
On April 20, 2017, the AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued an exposure draft, Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS), Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial Statements of Employee Benefit Plans Subject to ERISA. This proposed SAS is specific to audits of financial statements of employee benefit plans (EBPs) subject to the Employee Retirement Income
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a 60-day extension of the applicability dates of the fiduciary rule and related exemptions, including the Best Interest Contract Exemption. The announcement follows a Feb. 3, 2017, presidential memorandum which directed the Department to examine the fiduciary rule to ensure that it does not adversely affect the ability of Americans
The Board issued in March 2017 Accounting Standards Update (ASU) (ASU) No. 2017-07, Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost to improve the presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost. Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), defined benefit pension
In February 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-06, Plan Accounting: Defined Benefit Pension Plans (Topic 960), Defined Contribution Pension Plans (Topic 962), Health and Welfare Benefit Plans (Topic 965), Employee Benefit Plan Master Trust Reporting (“ASU 2017-06”). ASU 2017-06 relates primarily to the reporting by an employee benefit
The IRS issued Notice 2016-50, Updated Static Mortality Tables for Defined Benefit Pension Plans for 2017, which provides updated static mortality tables to be used for defined benefit pension plans for purposes of calculating the funding target and other items for valuation dates occurring during calendar year 2017. The IRS notice also includes a modified
The DOL’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (known as the DOL ERISA Advisory Council) issued a report, Cybersecurity Considerations for Benefit, which summarizes its examination of and recommendations regarding cybersecurity considerations as they relate to pension and welfare benefit plans. The Council focused specifically on outlining elements of cyber risk management