BenefitsNotes.com is not the only blog maintained by attorneys at Leonard, Street and Deinard. Dodd-Frank.com, developed and maintained by attorneys at Leonard, Street and Deinard, is dedicated to making sense of the complex Dodd-Frank legislation and helping businesses understand how it will affect them specifically. A recent Dodd-Frank.com post highlights how the employee benefits
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
Retirement Plans
Current Challenges and Best Practices for ERISA Compliance for 403(b) Plan Sponsors
By Stinson LLP on
The Department of Labor recently posted the report of the ERISA Advisory Council on Current Challenges and Best Practices for ERISA Compliance for 403(b) Plan Sponsors. The report contains a good side by side comparison of 403(b) and 401(k) plans that may be of interest to plan sponsors eligible for both types of plans…
Privacy and Security Issues Affecting Employee Benefit Plans
By Stinson LLP on
The Department of Labor recently posted the report of the ERISA Advisory Council on Privacy and Security Issues Affecting Employee Benefit Plans. The report contains some good due diligence questions for plan sponsors to ask their service providers about privacy and security of personal identifiable information (PII), especially for retirement plans. While banks and …
What if DOMA Is Declared Unconstitutional?
By Stinson LLP on
Most employers are aware that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for federal law purposes, including federal tax and benefits law. For benefits governed by ERISA, this means that state laws that recognize same sex marriages are preempted. Although for some benefits (e.g.,…
Thoughts on the Longevity Annuity Guidance Issued by the IRS
By Stinson LLP on
I am of an age to be contemplating retirement (and I work in the field so that age may come sooner for me than for others). My parents are both in their late 80s; I had a grandmother who died a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. So I have a personal interest in …
Section 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire — Interim Report Issued
By Stinson LLP on
Those of you interested in data regarding the prevalence of certain features in 401(k) plans may find of interest the Interim Report on the Section 401(k) Compliance Check Questionnaire. This is the first report of the IRS on the extensive questionnaire that it sent to sponsors of 401(k) plans a year or so ago. …
Deficit Reduction, Tax Expenditures and Retirement Plans
By Stinson LLP on
There has been a lot of talk in Washington about deficit reduction, tax expenditures and tax reform. One of the largest identified tax expenditures is the exclusion for employer provided retirement plans, both defined contribution and defined benefit. I was at a seminar recently where the reported number for 2011 was $112 billion for fiscal…
A Most Unusual QDRO Decision
By Stinson LLP on
Most qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) cases are fights that affect the formerly married spouses and the plan sponsor or plan administrator. They do not typically affect the other participants in the plan. The case of Milgram v. Orthopedic Associates Defined Contribution Pension Plan (No. 10-862-cv. 2d Cir. Nov. 29, 2011) is different. In that …