PEPs become a real thing as of the first of the year, though there is still one heckuva paucity of guidance related to them. Many of you may now be pressed as to the question of whether or not you
The Business of Benefits
Making Sense of Retirement Plan Layers and Complexities
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The DOL’s Final ESG Investment Rules May Force Reassessment of “Church Plan Status” for Some Organizations
By Robert Toth
The DOL’s new ESG rules may have a curious impact on some church related organizations which utilize faith based standards in their retirement plan investments. Their ability to continue do may now turn on the manner in which they handle…
Remember, Some Sorts of Compensation Is Flat Out Illegal, Not Just “Prohibited”
By Robert Toth
We spend a lot of our time focusing on ERISA’s “Prohibited Transaction” rules, which extensively cover the manner in which compensation is paid under retirement plans, and how it is disclosed. Lurking darkly in the background behind all of our …
The IRS’s New 457(b) Resource Guides on Non-Compliance
By Robert Toth
The resource guide looks to be a very useful tool. It not only links to the statute and each of the regs, it also links to the IRS Manual sections on 457(b) plans. It does have its limitations (such as…
The Use, and Impact, of 408(b)(2) and 404(a)-5 Are Often Confused
By Robert Toth
A common misunderstanding between 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) is the nature of the requirements: 408(b)(2) requires the service provider’s contract with the plan’s fiduciary contain certain, specific terms. It does NOT require that those fees be disclosed to participants, nor does…
The Hard-To-Find “Pre-ERISA Vesting Rules” for Church and Governmental Plans
By Robert Toth
With few notable exceptions, the statutory and regulatory references we need in the administration of plans are at our fingertips from a number of easily accessible internet resources, a great deal of them actually available for free. One of the…
Are There “Partial Terminations” of 403(b) Plans ?
By Robert Toth
There is no “vesting on partial termination” for 403(b) plans, and no need to track the “20%” rule for vesting on partial terminations for a 403(b) plan. That rule simply does not apply. This his true for both ERISA and…
PEP Comment to DOL Outlines the Structure of PEPs
By Robert Toth
The new PEP rules do not add any new services to the marketplace. Rather, PEPs merely reorganize existing services to be provided in a different format, with the one exception is that it now permits unrelated employers to be able…
The DOL’s Fiduciary Rule Prohibited Transaction Exemption May Only Be Needed In Limited Plan Circumstances
By Robert Toth
The ERISA marketplace is complex, with a plethora of different sorts of arrangements which will be affected in a variety of different ways by the new Fiduciary Prohibited Transaction Exemption. In general, however, I would be little surprised if it…
Rep. Neal and ARA/ASPPA Differently Address Fundamental Issues Underlying the DOL’s Pooled Employer Plan “Request For Information”
By Robert Toth
Normally, all of the players in any ERISA plan’s life cycle operates under any number of these well-established PTEs. However, in that the PEP is a new sort of arrangement, it is not entirely clear that these existing PTEs will…