Pension Protection Act Blog: Benefits & ERISA Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Benefits & ERISA Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Benefits & ERISA Law

Pension Protection Act Blog

The Pension Protection Act made the most sweeping changes in thirty years to ERISA and employee benefits law. This blog examines how PPA impacts every aspect of employee benefits and focuses on qualified plans - both defined contribution and defined benefit.

Post Frequency: 1.5/day

Last Entry: March 21, 2011 at 17:06:17

The Great 403(b) Prototype Urban Legend

Posted on April 17, 2008
In the pension geek handbook, Chapter Three is devoted to Urban Plan Legends. You know those stories - someone worked at a firm with an ERISA attorney who went to law school with another ERISA attorney who knows a guy who….. One of my favorite Urban Plan Legends is the one about the [...

Effective Dates for Code Section 430 and the Code Section 430 Regulations

Posted on April 16, 2008
The effective dates for the Code section 430 regulations are an interesting mix. Congress made new Code section 430 effective to plan years beginning after December 31, 2007. With the Pension Protection Act being enacted into law on August 17, 2006, implementing regulations to encompass the changes made by Code section 430 by December 31, [...

More Proposed Regs Released for New Code section 430

Posted on April 13, 2008
When Congress created new Code section 430 in Section 112 the Pension Protection Act in 2006, the impact of this new Code section was not immediately clear. The IRS has now provided a clear statement on their belief of the impact of new Code section 430 with the latest installment of proposed regulations for [...

IRS Re-Designs Form 5307

Posted on April 10, 2008
The new Form 5307 is available at IRS.gov, and it is better. Since the old Form 5307 can be used until September, 2008, and filing season for the EGTRRA defined contribution prototypes and volume submitter plans begins May 1, 2008, we had a competition around the office today to see which Form 5307 is [...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

7th Circuit Applies Supreme Court?s Decision in LaRue to Defined Contribution Overvalued Stock Lawsuit

Posted on April 07, 2008
ERISA is a different statute, in a different title of the United States Code. Plaintiffs seek to use ERISA to recover for events that as a result of PSLRA could not support an action on behalf of shareholders at large. - Judge Easterbrook With the ink barely dry on the Supreme Court’s opinion in LaRue v...

A Little ERISA April Fool?s Day Humor

Posted on April 04, 2008
From the brilliant mind of Kevin B. Segal of MullinTBG comes this bit of ERISA humor about April Fool’s Day: Today, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2008-41, authorizing the creation of a support group dedicated to helping companies avoid imposition of penalties from the inadvertent violation of Internal Revenue Code Section 409A...

Update on a Walmart Case and New Online Website for Calculating Annuities

Posted on April 03, 2008
CNN is reporting that Wal-Mart has decided to not pursue reimbursement for medical expenses paid by the Walmart Stores, Inc. Associates Health and Welfare Plan for Deborah Shank. I previously blogged about this case here. (hat tip to Paul Secunda of the Workplace Prof blog)...

More IRS Guidance on Split Dollar Life Insurance

Posted on April 02, 2008
In Notice 2008-42, the IRS has provided guidance on new Code section 101(j), which was added by section 863(a) of the Pension Protection Act, and on Code section 264(f), which was added by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Notice 2008-42 provides that a modification of a split-dollar life insurance arrangement that does not [...

Anticipation of March 31st and No EGTRRA Opinion/Advisory Letters

Posted on April 01, 2008
March 31st came and went with no EGTRRA defined contribution opinion/advisory letters. I was hoping for a nice chart like the IRS did for the GUST opinion/advisory letters. My favorite actuary has a theory about Announcement 2008-23 and April Fool’s Day…...

Married for One Year Language Defeats Claim for Benefits

Posted on March 25, 2008
Common language contained somewhere in most qualified plan documents is the definition of spouse. Within that definition can be the requirement that a participant must be married for a period of one year before the spouse is recognized by the plan as the participant’s spouse...

IRS Selecting Vendor to Administer ERPA Exam

Posted on March 24, 2008
To earn the designation of Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA) from the IRS, candidates must first pass an exam designed to demonstrate their competence. One of the first steps for the IRS in awarding the ERPA designation is for the Service to select the company who will actually administer the exam...

7th Circuit?s Decision on COLAs in Defined Benefit Case Will Not Be Reviewed by High Court

Posted on March 20, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Rohm & Haas’ petition for writ of certiorari. On theOrder List for March 17th, the Court stated: “07-906 ROHM AND HAAS PENSION V. WILLIAMS, GARY The motion of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted...

Rollovers to NonSpouse Beneficiaries Are Back With Passage of H.R. 3361 But For 2009 Instead of 2008

Posted on March 18, 2008
A little over a year ago, I started this blog to keep track of my notes about the Pension Protection Act. One of my first posts was about rollovers to nonspouse beneficiaries. One year and 126,210 visitors later, rollovers to nonspouse beneficiaries remain a hot topic...

IRS May Have Ended Form 5307 Roulette with Announcement 2008-23

Posted on March 17, 2008
In Announcement 2008-23, released on Friday, the IRS announced that: 1. The EGTRRA defined contribution prototype and volume submitter opinion/advisory letters will be issued March 31, 2008 for many plans. Some plans will have their opinion/advisory letters issued after March 31, 2008...

House of Representatives Moves Forward on Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act

Posted on March 14, 2008
In a surprise move, the House of Representatives passed the Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act, H.R. 3361, on March 12, 2008. The bill’s status is now engrossed as passed/agreed to in the House. The companion Senate bill, S.1974, was passed by the Senate in December, 2007...

Notice 2008-29 Permits Continued Reliance on Rev. Rul. 96-7 for Disability Mortality Tables

Posted on March 12, 2008
The IRS has issued Notice 2008-29, which permits the mortality tables from Rev. Rul. 96-7 for individuals who are entitled to benefits under a qualified defined benefit pension plan on account of disability until further guidance is issued. The rules of Rev...

Fifth Circuit: AD&D Plans Exist, Therefore They Are?ERISA

Posted on March 11, 2008
To be ERISA-qualified, a plan must: (1) exist; 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Per Curium, Read v. Sun Life Assurance, No. 07-10945, March 7, 2008. In an interesting opinion from the 5th Circuit in Read v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada, No. 07-10945 (5th Cir...

Shuttle Launch Tonight

Posted on March 10, 2008
What does a Shuttle launch have in common with the Pension Protection Act - really nothing except that I live and work directly across from the Kennedy Space Center, so tonight is devoted to non-ERISA/PPA related activity. Shuttle launches in general are amazing, and a night launch is really spectacular and not to be [...

IRS Provides Guidance on Qualified Optional Survivor Annuities (QOSAs)

Posted on March 05, 2008
Today, among several items released by the IRS, is guidance on QOSAs. QOSAs are Qualified Optional Survivor Annuities. Section 1004 of the Pension Protection Act amended Code section 417 to require that plans subject to Code section 401(a)(11) must offer participants a specific optional form of benefit as an alternative to a Qualified Joint & [...

DOL?s Proposed 7-Day Safe Harbor for Employee Contributions May Affect FAB 2008-01

Posted on March 04, 2008
In December of 2007, the Dept. of Labor released Field Assistance Bulletin 2008-01 addressing the trustee’s responsibility for the collection of delinquent employer and employee contributions. Part of the regulatory authority relied on by FAB 2008-01 was affected last Friday when the DOL released the new proposed safe harbor for employee contributions...

Another Possible ERISA Case for the U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on March 04, 2008
In a year of great upheaval in plan documents due to regulatory and legislative changes, the third branch of government has decided to join in and add to the ERISA stress factor. This year, the U.S. Supreme Court has already decided LaRue, has MetLife coming up on the oral argument calendar in April, and [...

Form 5500 Information Coming Soon to a Website Near You

Posted on February 26, 2008
With 5500 season about to start, now is a good time to take another look at Section 504 of the Pension Protection Act. Section 504 is the requirement that, for plan years beginning after December 31, 2007, the plan sponsor will display information from Form 5500 on an Intranet website maintained by the plan [...

U.S. Supreme Delivers Decision in LaRue on Recovery for Fiduciary Breaches

Posted on February 20, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Assoc. Inc., No. 06-856 (Feb. 20, 2008). (Hat tip to SCOTUSblog.) Numerous articles will be written in the next couple of days and months about the meaning and impact of LaRue...

IRS Settles Debate Over March 15th or March 17th

Posted on February 19, 2008
With March 15th, 2008, falling on a Saturday, there has been an ongoing debate over whether March 15th is the applicable deadline, or whether the deadline automatically is extended to Monday, March 17th. In the latest edition of Retirement News for Employers, Vol...

Compelling Decision From Court in CIGNA Cash Balance Class Action Case

Posted on February 18, 2008
Difficult, time-consuming, and expensive litigation with uncertain results - such as this case represents - is assuredly not a sensible way to manage the Nation’s retirement system for either employers or employees. - Judge Mark R. Kravitz U...

Supreme Court May Hear San Francisco ERISA Healthcare Case

Posted on February 14, 2008
SCOTUSblog is reporting that Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has asked the city of San Francisco to respond to a plea by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association in their application that San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance is pre-empted by ERISA...

Making a Bad Situation Worse: An -11g Corrective Amendment Allocating to a Non-Vested Terminated Employee

Posted on February 12, 2008
When a plan fails the minimum coverage requirements of Code section 410(b), or the nondiscriminatory amount requirement of Treasury Regulation 1.401(a)(4)-1(b)(2), or the nondiscriminatory plan amendment requirement of Treas. Reg. 1.401(a)(4)-1(b)(4), the IRS permits the plan sponsor to adopt a corrective retroactive amendment to correct any of these failures...

Welcome to the Neighborhood - Two New ERISA-related Blogs

Posted on February 11, 2008
There are two new ERISA-related blogs worth checking out: 1. The attorneys of Baker & Daniels have launched an excellent new blog named the Benefits Biz Blog. Today, Bob Toth discusses Privacy and the New 403(b) Rules. 2. Aaron Juckett of ESOP Insourcing LLC has launched The One-Stop ESOP Blog, providing in-depth information [...

April 23rd is MetLife Day at U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on February 07, 2008
The oral argument calendar for April has been released by the U.S. Supreme Court, and MetLife v. Glenn is scheduled for April 23rd, 2008. It is one of two cases scheduled for that day - the other case is Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory about the burden of persuasion under the ADEA...

More Form 5500 Information Available on the Internet

Posted on February 05, 2008
The New York Times published an interesting article on Feb. 3rd, 2008, about information derived from filed Form 5500s published on a couple of websites. Mary Williams Walsh, in Trying to Clear Fog From Pension Plans, discusses the requirement in the Pension Protection Act which classifies troubled pension plans with the label of “at [...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

Standards of Practice in Civil Protection Order Cases
The American Bar Association has recently published its new Standa...

Homeowners Have Added Protection Against Mortgage Fraud
Albany, NY: The Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, is an advocat...

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...