In the world of science and engineering, a black box is a device or system or object which can be viewed solely in terms of its input and output without the user knowing how it works. In the world of ERISA, a black box can be an actuarial valuation, the report that your actuary provides … Continue Reading
With the increasing spotlight on fiduciaries and their responsibilities for ERISA plans, many employers are asking themselves whether it’s time to buy fiduciary liability insurance. With personal assets on the line for breach of fiduciary responsibility, there is no “one size fits all” answer. But, if you are a fiduciary considering fiduciary liability insurance, here … Continue Reading
The political and often emotional debate over unions continues to escalate, a timeline for which is reported in the Washington Post’s article, Protests Over State Budget Cuts, Anti-Union Bills Spread Throughout U.S. The focus, of course, is public employee unions. But flying under the radar – or rather limping – are the issues affecting multiemployer benefit … Continue Reading
A "T", or technical foul, is part of the game of basketball. If you’re a fan of the game, you know it’s any infraction of the rules which doesn’t involve physical contact such as unsportsmanlike conduct. The retirement plan equivalent of a "T" is when an employer misclassifies a worker in situations regarding whether: The worker is … Continue Reading
When I’m Sixty-Four is, of course, one of the classic songs by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released in 1967 on their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The theme is about aging with a young man singing to his lover about his plans of them growing old together. It was also one of … Continue Reading
Geraldine Ferraro who died yesterday at age 75 was a political trailblazer. She was, of course, the first woman named to a major-party presidential ticket when Walter Mondale picked her to be his Democratic party running mate in 1984. But while the Mondale-Ferraro ticket lost 49 out of 50 states to the Republican ticket of President … Continue Reading
Retirement plans can get get pretty complicated also, but "fixing" one doesn’t necessarily have to be. That’s the focus of the recent IRS announcement reaching out to employers who did not timely amend their Plans for EGTRRA. Here’s the background. Most retirement plans had to be amended and restated no later than April 30, 2010 to … Continue Reading
There’s a new retirement plan design available, and it’s called a DB(k) Plan. What exactly is it? As the name and visual metaphor suggest, it’s a combination retirement plan that allows an employer to provide both 401(k) benefits and pension benefits (traditional defined benefit or Cash Balance). DB(k) Plans were added to the Pension Protection … Continue Reading
Every year the Internal Revenue Service announces the cost-of-living adjustments applicable to qualified retirement plans for the following year. The limits will remain unchanged for the second consecutive year. Following are the key retirement plan limits for 2011 recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service: 401(k) and 403(b) Deferrals: $16,500 Catch-Up for Age 50 and … Continue Reading
A little over a year ago, I postulated on the the psychology behind today’s economy. The old economy, I said, was personified in the classic “Greed is good” speech by Gordon Gekko as played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 Oliver Stone classic, Wall Street. Gekko returns in Stone’s sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. … Continue Reading
Defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans – "apples and oranges" , right? Conceptually, yes. In a defined benefit plan, it’s the employer who has to fund the promised benefit, but it’s the employee who contributes and generally invests his or her account in a defined contribution plan, e.g., 401(k). But in the real world … Continue Reading
That’s Declan Patrick MacManus pictured above, but we know him by his stage name Elvis Costello, the English singer-songwriter of Irish heritage. The picture is actually the cover art for Watching the Detectives, the 1977 single by Elvis Costello and his backing band, the Attractions, which gave him his first UK hit single. It’s my … Continue Reading
For a business owner choosing a retirement plan, it’s kinda like those compare and contrast essay questions on college exams. Except this time, it’s real life and a lot more complicated than the venn diagram pictured above. Fortunately, our friend Denise Appleby at her Appleby Retirement Dictionary has provided a handy and comprehensive chart comparing … Continue Reading
I was thinking recently about the late Shel Silverstein (September 25, 1932 – May 9, 1999). He was an incredibly talented Chicago guy whose creativity reached across the socio-economic spectrum as a poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children’s books. (And no, dear, it wasn’t about me running out and getting a … Continue Reading
No disrespect intended to the attorneys for beginning this post with a cartoon from the creative mind of Terry Hart, a/k/a, Hartboy. Rather, it’s intended as an excellent visual metaphor for my takeaway from the recent article written by our friend (and attorney) Andy Williams on his Benefits Law Group of Chicago website. Andy writes … Continue Reading
Our friends at Employee Benefit News Legal Alert published one of those "must read" articles. Attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer writes Tough Times Are No Excuse for ERISA Shortcuts. Ms. Stamer correctly points out that irrespective of the business hardships that plan sponsors are facing, the Department of Labor (DOL) will aggressively pursue enforcement if they … Continue Reading
It’s that season of the year. No, not the obvious holiday season, but the award show season. And I’ve got my own called, The Retirement Plan Year in Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The reference is, of course, to Sergio Leone’s classic 1966 movie, considered the greatest of the Italian … Continue Reading
Welcome to Adam Pozek and his new blog, Pozek On Pension to the cadre of retirement plan bloggers. He is Vice President, Consulting Services for Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group. In the few posts Adam has published so far, he provides context for what’s happening with retirement plans with a point of view. And here’s one that … Continue Reading
Our blogging buddy, attorney Bob Toth, blogging from a ski slope in Quebec province, discussed the demise of defined benefit pension plans, Continuing the DB Demise Discussion. He notes that there are only 19,000 defined benefit plans now being covered by the PBGC. The context in which Bob writes is what is generally perceived to … Continue Reading
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), an independent non-partisan research organization, in their annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) has been asking workers how confident they are in having enough money for a comfortable retirement since 1993. And in today’s economy, it should be no surprise that EBRI reported The 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey: Economy Drives … Continue Reading
Most annual retirement plan limits are indexed to inflation; and because of the decline in the Cost of Living Index in 2009, many of the limits remained unchanged for 2010. Following are the key retirement plan limits for 2010 as announced by the Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) and 403(b) Deferrals: $16,500. Catch-Up Limit (Age 50 … Continue Reading
In a recent series of three Revenue Notices and four Notices the Treasury Department issued Retirement Savings & Initiatives to help Americans save for the future. The new Initiatives: Expand automatic enrollment in 401(k) and other retirement savings plans Create easier ways to save tax refunds Allow unused leave to be converted to 401(k) savings … Continue Reading
Gimme Shelter is, of course, one of the classic songs by The Rolling Stones, and it first appeared as the opening track on the band’s 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song was written in the context of the cultural turmoil of the 1960s, e.g., the Vietnam War, and the lyrics speak of seeking shelter … Continue Reading
Form 5500 isn’t just transforming disclosures as our friend and fellow blogger, Bob Toth, explained in his post 2009 Form 5500 Schedules A and C Will Create New Fiduciary Burdens For Plan Sponsors. The reporting road will be also be different, and there will be red flags along the way. Here’s why.… Continue Reading