The DOL issued its highly anticipated 403(b) Frequently Asked Questions as part of a Field Assistance Bulletin, FAB 2010-01. The seriousness in which the DOL is taking these 403(b) issues is reflected in the fact that it was issued as a FAB, and not merely the sort of informal guidance offered by a simple
EPCRS Issues Arising from 403(b) “Disqualification”
In a lunch conversation with Kathy Elliott , (a CPA specializing in 403(b) audits) at the annual meeting of the TE/GE Councils in Baltimore (which, by the way was pulled off fantastically by Warren Widmayer (and a few others), in the face of a snowstorm of historic dimensions), we went into more detail on my blog
The K-12 403(b) Non-ERISA Fiduciary Question: The Growing Turner/Toth Consensus
Co-authored by Richard Turner
One of my personal highlights of the just finished NTSAA Annual meeting in Palm Springs (the first under the joint auspices of ASPPA and NTSAA, which has all the looks of a marvelous arrangement for the 403(b) market), was a conversation with Richard Turner, my old friend and VALIC’s top 403(b)
The Annuity RFI: A Rare, Inter-Agency Treat
EBSA and the IRS issued their long promised Request For Information on annuities-or, should I say, as promised by the EBSA. We had not expected this particular piece to be a joint effort. It shows that Phyllis’s and Mark’s agenda is getting policy effectively done, not engaging in damning bureaucratic turf warfare. Hmm. With this
The Curious Matter of 403(b) Plan Disqualifiction
"Plan disqualification" is a well understood and managed feature of the 401(a) landscape, complete with great history, a long line of guidance and rulings, and a well developed set of correction programs. We all know what happens when a 401(a) rule is violated, its affect on plan qualification, and (ususally) what to do about it.
CORRECTION BLOG: Annuity PLR Reference Incorrect!
My everlasting thanks to Andrea-Ben Yousef of BNA. We were exploring annuities, and some confusion from my blog of January 6th, 2009. We discovered that I posted the incorrect PLR number and link on that blog, where I discussed the importance of a new PLR to DC annuitization. The link I had incorrectly provided was
IRS PLR Helps Pave the Way for DC Annuities
Annuitization from DC plans suffers from the lack of clarity on a number of key technical rules, which need to be resolved before such annuities can be widely implemented. The IRS has taken a major step in its issuance of PLR200951039, a complex PLR which- for the first time-defines what an annuity really is
DOL’s Fiduciary Proxy Voting Rules Makes Upcoming Proxy Season “Dicey” for Plan Fiduciaries
Its going to be a demanding year for fiduciaries of retirement plans, particularly of those in the small and mid-market which are not particularly accustomed to paying close attention to them. I have blogged earlier on the increased fiduciary demands related to the new data provided to fiduciaries under the 2008 Form 5500 Schedule C
The 403(b) Prohibited Transaction
I had posted in an earlier blog some of the technical differences between 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans. One of the more striking differences I did NOT mention was that of the Prohibited Transaction.
Assume a successful insurance agent sits on the Board of a mid-sized tax exempt organization with 250 employees, a Board which
The Trouble with 403(b) Cash; the 403(b) SAR; and Other 403(b) Stocking Stuffers
403(b) devotees often speak of the continuing, and significant, number of technical differences between 403(b) and 401(k) plans. The following lists a few of the differences not given a lot of attention, a sort of holiday stocking stuffer:
Handling 403(b) cash. Handling cash is much more challenging under a 403(b) plan than under