The Pension Protection Act Blog

When the IRS released the Final 403(b) Regulations earlier this year, they also announced that they would be releasing model plan language, and potentially a model plan itself, for plan sponsors to adopt. In the past, the IRS has released Model amendments and sample amendments, and even suggested plan language for prototype plans contained [...]

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With the deadline of November 24th to provide the Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIA) Notice fast approaching, neither the Dept. of Labor nor the IRS has announced a last minute extension.
When the DOL released the Final Rule on Default Investment Alternatives Under Participant Directed Individual Account Plans on October 24, 2007, it contained [...]

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For plans implementing a qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) or an eligible automatic contribution arrangement (EACA), notice of the arrangement must be provided to employees at least 30 days before the beginning of each plan year.
The IRS has issued a Sample Notice to comply with this requirement. The Service states that the Sample Notice [...]

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Tom Poje posted a sample Automatic Enrollment notice on Benefitslink.com.
Technorati Tags: automatic enrollment, sample notice, QACA, EACA, ERISA
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Yesterday, the IRS released Proposed Regulations on Automatic Contribution Arrangements. They contain some answers on the new Qualified Automatic Contribution Arrangement (QACA), created last year by Section 902 of the Pension Protection Act.
Does a QACA satisfy the 401(k)(13) safe harbor?
Yes. For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, a cash or [...]

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The proposed regulations for automatic enrollment arrangements are out, and the clock is ticking.
For calendar year plans implementing a qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) or an eligible automatic contribution arrangement (EACA) beginning on January 1, 2008, the time period for providing employees with notice of the QACA or EACA ends on December 1, [...]

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The House Ways and Means Committee is requesting comments on H.R. 3361, which is the House bill containing technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act.
Comments will be accepted until the close of business on November 1st and can be submitted by email following the procedures posted in the announcement for comments.
Technical corrections in [...]

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Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an article about how businesses are jumping on the automatic enrollment bandwagon. In “Auto Enroll Retirement Plans Take Off”, Jillian Mincer reports that, in 2006, Fidelity experienced a 95% increase in automatic enrollment in plans it administers. (hat tip to the National Center for Policy Analysis.)
Even though [...]

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With the introduction of the Automatic IRA Act of 2007, S. 1141, automatic IRAs have become a topic of conversation again. The Automatic IRA is not a new idea – Congress has seen bills containing automatic IRA provisions in the past. Automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans is not a new idea either. [...]

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