The Pension Protection Act Blog

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 interview mentions the 401(k) fee disclosure legislation which Rep. Miller sponsored during the last Congress. One of the [...]

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In a sign of the times, Motorola announced that, effective March 1, 2009, it is freezing its defined benefit plan and, effective January 1, 2009, it will end matching contributions to its 401(k) plan. Motorola also announced that its co-CEOs will take a 25% decrease in base salary in 2009, and that one CEO [...]

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So what happens if you (or your employer) distributed a safe harbor notice last October or November that stated there would be a safe harbor matching contribution in 2009, and now, with the worsening economy, the employer needs to rescind that promise of making a safe harbor matching contribution in 2009. Treas. Reg. 1.401(k)-3(g) [...]

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ROBS, or Rollovers as Business Startups, have been bouncing around the employee plans arena for a couple of years. I first hear an IRS official mention ROBS during the 2006 Cincinnati Benefit Conference as part of the presentation on tax avoidance transactions. This week, the IRS finally released a Memorandum of Understanding, or [...]

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With the economy headed south, or already at rock bottom, depending upon where you live, it is not surprising that participants are borrowing from their retirement plans. What is surprising is the amount of buzz suddenly appearing in the popular media on this topic. Since most of the public seems to actively ignore [...]

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The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has created an interactive retirement game, and posted it on their website. The game is called Get Rich Slow, and follows a fictional couple through several decades starting when they are in their 40’s. For each decade, the game asks retirement-related questions about such topics [...]

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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. More immediate concerns raised by LaRue are [...]

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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. 4, Winter 2008, released last Friday, February 15, 2008, by the IRS, the [...]

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David McCann of CFO magazine is reporting that IBM has proposed a new type of 401(k) plan designed to reimburse employees’ tuition expenses for higher education. Employees become eligible to participate after five years of service. Participants are then permitted to defer up to $1,000 each year into an interest bearing account. [...]

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The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral argument in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Assoc. At the heart of it, this case is about a failure to follow investment instructions, and a participant seeking the lost profits which he may have received if his investment instructions were followed.
The transcript of the argument, available here, [...]

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