Develop Your Fiduciary Toolkit
|
Click Here for Our Resource Page on Retirement Plans and the Coronavirus PandemicNewsletter Sponsor Welcome 2021! …and the New 401k Averages Book 21st Edition The 21st Edition of the 401k Averages Book has just been released with all new 401k fee benchmarking data. Use the 401k Averages Book to better understand investment, recordkeeping, and revenue sharing expenses for 401k plans. Still, the most recognized resource book for comparative, non-biased 401k average cost information. Click here to order your copy. In This Issue
Fiduciary and Plan Governance Develop Your Fiduciary Toolkit A fiduciary toolkit equips finance and human resources executives with knowledge, procedures, and performance measurements to drive operations, strategy, and compliance. This 5-page article examines the categories of best practices and how to evidence conformance to them. Source: Rolandcriss.com The Problems of 401k Plan Provider Contracts While plan sponsors now know the price of plan administration, one problem remains. The problem is the plan provider contract, and so many disputes surround the contract. Without some guidance, 401k plan sponsors may be forced to turn over plan assets or money from their pocket needlessly to a soon-to-be former plan provider because they don't have the knowledge to contest. The problem with paying plan assets needlessly to a former plan provider is that it is a breach of fiduciary duty. This article is all about plan provider contracts and what you need to know to avoid a mess. Source: Jdsupra.com »» Click here for more Fiduciary and Plan Governance Material Insight: Studies, Research, and White Papers Refining the Language of Retirement Though the use of confusing jargon remains prevalent, new Invesco survey data suggests the financial services industry has made progress in improving understanding of the defined contribution plan system. Source: Planadviser.com Plan Sponsors Mostly Prefer Retirees Stay in Plan A plurality of plan sponsors prefer that participants keep their DC plan balances in the plan after they retire, according to a new report by T. Rowe Price. Nearly 4 in 10 plan sponsors (39%) prefer that participants keep their DC assets in the plan after retirement, while only 17.8% prefer that participants exit the plan upon retirement. Source: Napa-net.org »» Click here for More Studies, Research, and White Papers Court and Legal Curtain Falls on IBM Stock-Drop Case After more than five years of litigation and a trip to the Supreme Court, the ERISA stock-drop litigation against fiduciaries for IBM's employee stock ownership plan has ended with a modest $4.75 million settlement. The opinion of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in the case -- which found plaintiffs' pleadings sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss -- still stands, possibly leaving a narrow path for future stock-drop litigation. Source: Mercer.com Lawsuit Says Changes to University of Tampa 403b Plan Made Too Late A participant in the University of Tampa's 403b plan has filed a lawsuit claiming that over the past six years, plan participants have paid at least $3 million in administrative fees, which it says is more than 10 times what they should be. The complaint says the plan's recordkeeper, TIAA, has been able to extract "such grossly excessive fees" because the fees are based not on services it provides to the plan but on a percentage of assets in the plan. Source: Planadviser.com BlackRock Signs Deal to End ERISA Class Action Claim Following almost four years of litigation, a $9.65 million settlement has been reached in a complex ERISA class action brought by investors in the BlackRock Retirement Savings Plan that included allegations of self-dealing and excessive fees. Source: Hallbenefitslaw.com KeyCorp Succeeds in Getting Some Claims Dismissed in Excessive Fee Suit A court dismissed claims regarding KeyCorp plan's stable value fund option but moved forward some claims regarding excessive administrative and managed account fees. Source: Planadviser.com »» Click here for more Court and Other Legal Issues Legislative and Washington DC What's in the New SECURE Act 2.0? Most of the provisions that were contained in the earlier version are retained in the new one. But the "SECURE Act 2.0" legislation that the House Ways & Means Committee will mark up includes several new provisions as well as changes to some of the existing provisions. This is a summary of some of the additional changes and new provisions in the SSRA. Source: Asppa.org Congressional Leaders Call for GAO Review of TDFs The Chairpersons of two of the leading retirement plan committees in Congress are calling for a review of target-date funds. Sen. Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, and Rep. Robert Scott, Chairman of the House Committee on Education & Labor, have written to the head of the Government Accountability Office, asking them to conduct a review of target-date funds. Source: Napa-net.org »» Click here for more on Legislative and Washington Actions Cyber and Plan Security Department of Labor Issues Cybersecurity Guidance The DOL addressed cybersecurity issues, not in the form of an advisory opinion, information letter, or a field advice bulletin, but rather in the form of three documents describing best practices for plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries, service providers to plans, and plan participants. There is no discussion of whether a participant's plan data is a plan asset under ERISA or the relative level of responsibility of a plan sponsor/plan fiduciary and a plan&'s service provider. Source: Wagnerlawgroup.com Data Security Concerns Force the DC Industry to Cooperate The defined contribution industry is at a crossroads. Recordkeepers, advisers, and money managers often compete in winner-takes-all battles, but to serve and protect clients, they must cooperate on cybersecurity and data access. Will that lead to sharing participant data? Source: Investmentnews.com (registration may be required) »» Click here for more on Cybersecurity Issues State-Based Private Sector Retirement Programs CalSavers Upheld in US Court of Appeals Case A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's dismissal of the case. The savings system is not a plan under the ERISA and is therefore not preempted by the law, the panel wrote in the opinion published yesterday. Source: Investmentnews.com (registration may be required) Compliance and Regulatory You're Notified of a Pending DOL Investigation -- Here's What to Expect What are the chances of getting your plan investigated by the DOL? It's not common, but it happens, and for various reasons such as a participant complaint that escalates to a case opening, information in Form 5500, bankruptcy or extreme financial distress, and other targeting that the DOL regional offices do. This article summarizes the process. Source: 401kspecialistmag.com Designing Your 401k Plan for Combined Testing Thousands of 401k plans are designed each year to promote savings in the most cost-effective manner. Most are established as stand-alone plans and will remain that way for their entire existence. Some, however, are initially set up as stand-alone, only to be paired with a cash balance plan down the road. Since most cash balance plans are designed to provide owners with the majority of the benefits, they cannot pass the nondiscrimination tests, so combining the cash balance plan with the 401k plan creates a cost-effective method to pass testing. Source: Dwc401k.com DOL Electronic Retirement Rule Reminders Just shy of a year ago on May 27, 2020, the DOL provided welcomed relief to employers and plan administrators concerning required disclosures for retirement plans subject to ERISA. This article is a reminder of the e-Delivery Rule requirements that are currently in effect as we move into year two of the rule. Source: Withum.com »» Click here for more Compliance and Regulatory Material Marketplace News OneDigital Acquires Two More Advisory Firms Intelligence Driven Advisers Launches FUTUREADY401K for Small to Midsized Sponsors American Trust Retirement Picks up Stanley Benefit Services Nominations Now Open for American Retirement Association's 2022 Board of Directors
This eNewsletter is a digest of information published by a variety of web-based sources on 401k and related issues and is published as a service to our users. 401khelpcenter.com, LLC is not the author of the material unless specifically noted. Articles are copyrighted to their publishers. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact the source site immediately. Hyperlinks in this document are provided as a convenience and we disclaim any responsibility for information, services, or products found on websites linked hereto. All links were tested before this eNewsletter was e-mailed to you to ensure that they are still functional, but publishers do move or delete articles. Therefore, we can't guarantee that the links provided will remain operational. 401khelpcenter.com does not endorse, approve, certify, or control this material and does not guarantee or assume responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, efficacy, or timeliness of the material. Use of any information obtained from this material is voluntary, and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by 401khelpcenter.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author of the article and do not necessarily reflect the positions of 401khelpcenter.com. THIS NEWSLETTER IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE INVESTMENT, TAX, ACCOUNTING, OR LEGAL ADVICE. Copyright © 2021 by 401khelpcenter.com, LLC. All rights reserved. No reproductions without prior authorization, but you are free to email this copy (in its entirety) along to colleagues or clients. This newsletter may not be posted on any website. 401khelpcenter.com, LLC
|
