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Entries from March 2008

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

March 31st, 2008 · No Comments

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….
Technorati Tags: Pension Protection Act, PPA, EGTRRA, Announcement 2008-23, […]

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Tags: IRS · Industry News

Married for One Year Language Defeats Claim for Benefits

March 25th, 2008 · No Comments

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. In a recent case from the 5th Circuit […]

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Tags: Plan Language · Litigation · Defined Benefit

IRS Selecting Vendor to Administer ERPA Exam

March 24th, 2008 · No Comments

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.
In the latest edition […]

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Tags: IRS · Industry News

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

March 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment

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.
The motion of National […]

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Tags: Litigation · Defined Benefit

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

March 18th, 2008 · 1 Comment

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.
Last week, the House of Representatives finally passed […]

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Tags: Nonspouse Beneficiary · Legislation · Distributions · IRS

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

March 16th, 2008 · No Comments

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.
2. April 30, 2010, is the restatement deadline for plan […]

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Tags: IRS · Determination Letters

House of Representatives Moves Forward on Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act

March 14th, 2008 · No Comments

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.
It was a surprising move by […]

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Tags: Legislation

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

March 12th, 2008 · No Comments

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. Rul. 96-7 on determining whether a benefit is payable on account of […]

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Tags: IRS · Defined Benefit

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

March 11th, 2008 · No Comments

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., March 7, 2008), the Court held that the […]

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Tags: Litigation · Cafeteria Plans

Shuttle Launch Tonight

March 10th, 2008 · No Comments

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 […]

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Tags: Legislation