The Internal Revenue Service announced October 23, 2014 the cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2015. Many of the pension plan limitations will change for 2015 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. Read More
As detailed in an article by Greg Stohr, 401(k) Fees at Issue as Court Takes Edison Worker Appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider giving 401(k) participants more power to sue their plans over investments that impose excessive fees, accepting an appeal tied to a wave of suits against employers. Read More
The DOL recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2014-01 which details procedures fiduciaries should take to find missing participants and properly distribute account balances. The Bulletin suggests that fiduciaries use certified mail, check related plan and employment records, ask the designated plan beneficiary, and search the Internet to find missing participants. Read More
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) publicly released on July 29, 2014 a report on managed accounts in defined contribution plans. Below is the summary of the report (GAO-14-310). Why GAO Did This Study 401(k) plan sponsors have increasingly offered participants managed accounts— services under which providers manage participants’ 401(k) savings over time by making investment and
Rules provide for greater security by giving American families more flexibility to plan for retirement and protect themselves from outliving their savings On July 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued final rules regarding longevity annuities, which can help retirees manage their savings and ensure they
The IRS has issued Notice 2014-35 which provides relief from late-filing penalties from the annual reporting requirements under Form 5500 series with respect to employee benefit plans. Under the notice, the IRS will not impose penalties relating to the filing of Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and Form 8955-SSA or the filing of required actuarial reports with