Pension Protection Act Blog

This blawg covers the impact of recent law change on retirement and health plan documents. The Pension Protection Act made the most sweeping changes to the plan documents in the last 30 years at the same time the IRS decided to restructure how it regulates qualified plans. Caught in this intersection is one ERISA attorney who writes plan documents.

Author: Suzanne Wynn is chief operating officer of Qualified Pension Consulting Inc.

Blawg Related Categories: Benefits/ERISA • Consultant

Recent Posts from Pension Protection Act Blog

Annual Limitation on Deductions for Health Savings Accounts for 2010
Today, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2009-29 containing the inflation adjusted amounts for Heath Savings Accounts (HSAs) as determined under Code section 223 for 2010. For calendar year 2010, the annual limitation on deductions under…
DOL and SEC Schedule Joint Hearing on Target Date Funds
The Dept. of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission have announced a joint one-day hearing on target date or lifecycle funds and other investment options. The hearing is scheduled for June 18, 2009. It…
Disabled by AIDS in 1994 Does Not Mean Still Disabled in 2006 According to 7th Circuit
If a condition is grave enough to warrant disability in 1994, why isn’t it sufficient to warrant disability in 2006? The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals addressed this question in Jenkins v. Price Waterhouse Long…
IRS Extends Deadline to June 30th for Multiemployer Plans
Today (April 30th) was the deadline for multiemployer plans to make certain elections described in sections 204 and 205 of the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA). Recognizing that some multiemployer plans…
8th Circuit Decides Signed Letter to Participants Plus SPD Equals Amendment
In Halbach v. Great-West Life & Annuity, No. 07-3865/07-3867 (CA8 April 13, 2009), the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed what constitutes a valid amendment to an employee welfare benefit plan. In 2004, Great-West…
60 Minutes Looks at 401(k) Fees
If you missed 60 Minutes last night, you missed Steve Kroft taking a look at 401(k) fees. Last night’s episode is available online here. The segment included a short interview with Rep. George Miller. The…
403(b) Prototype Program Excludes Plans with Vesting Schedules
Yesterday, I attended the IRS’ 403(b) Phone Forum featuring IRS Senior Tax Law Specialist Robert Architect. One of the topics briefly discussed by Mr. Architect was the new prototype program for 403(b) plans, as stated…
IRS Issues 403(b) LRMS and Details of Pre-Approved 403(b) Prototype Plans
Today, the IRS took two major steps forward toward pre-approving 403(b) plan documents when it issued the Listing of Required Modifications (LRM) for 403(b) plans and also issued Announcement 2009-34 which requests comments on the…
Termination Premiums are not Pre-Petition Claims Dischargeable in Bankruptcy
In PBGC v. Oneida, No. 08-2964-bk (CA 2nd, April 8, 2009), the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed the decision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The…
Some Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent Statistics
When the IRS first began discussing whether another category of individuals permitted to practice before the IRS was needed in the qualifed pension and retirement plan arena, the big question was how many individuals would…