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In part one of this article we explored the Department of Labor’s (DOL) guidance for locating missing participants in the event of a plan termination. Today we will look at what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable alternatives.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a private letter ruling (PLR) on August 17 that appeared to give the go-ahead to an employer-sponsored student loan repayment benefit offered through the company’s 401(k) plan.
Q Is it legal to ask employees what prescription medications they use and whether the medications may affect their behavior or cause a safety issue?
Plan sponsors regularly handle situations that arise from a deceased participant’s failure to designate a beneficiary for his or her employer-sponsored retirement account. A private letter ruling (PLR) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) earlier this year could provide some insight into the agency’s thinking about allowing surviving spouses to roll over a deceased participant’s […]
If you offer a 401(k) for employees, you may have noticed that not nearly all employees who qualify for it have signed up for it. This can be perplexing for employers. After all, this is a benefit to help employees, and it typically reduces their tax burden while helping them save. Yet many employees don’t […]
Financial wellness is becoming an increasingly important component of employee benefits packages and a common topic of conversation for human resources professionals nationwide. And with good reason! Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Americans report being stressed about finances and that anxiety can negatively affect their overall health. As a result, employers are expanding financial wellness programs […]
Automated features now standard for most employer-sponsored retirement plans helped bring about a record 8.3-percent average participant deferral rate in 2017—the highest level in a decade, according to a recent T. Rowe Price study. The rise in employee deferral amounts perpetuates a trend started in the years after the 2008 financial crisis.
The HR industry is on the front lines of America’s fight for financial health; it just doesn’t realize it yet. Millions of lower- to middle-income Americans—including hourly wage earners and Gig Economy workers, are struggling with income volatility, low savings rates, and high personal debt. HR teams and executives have a unique opportunity to make […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) confirmed that neither it nor the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would punish prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) violations by investment advice professionals who are fiduciaries working in good faith to comply with impartial conduct standards.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should modify its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) to expand its use by retirement plans seeking to self-correct errors, according to the American Retirement Association (ARA). Doing so would reduce the burden of newly increased Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) fees (see, IRS Adjusts Voluntary Correction Program User Fees Starting […]