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Timing is Everything Bookmark

For years now, we have been hearing from the Department of Labor (DOL) about the importance of depositing employee 401(k) deferrals and loan payments as quickly as possible. While that continues to be the case, it seems that there is not nearly as much commentary about when to deposit company matching or profit sharing contributions. That is about to change with this article.

Year-End Compliance Testing Overview Bookmark

The end of the calendar year is fast approaching which means the plan year end for many qualified plans. It will be time for plan sponsors to collect complete employee data to enable their service providers to perform the numerous compliance tests required to retain the plans taxqualified status.

The Ultimate Plan Sponsor Checklist Bookmark

While they don't have a book called Retirement Plan Sponsorship for Dummies, they should. So in the interim, here is a checklist that plan sponsors should review that can help them develop good practices and avoid unnecessary liability in their stewardship of retirement plans for their employees.

Down With DOMA Bookmark

Signed into law in 1996, the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a small law that has caused big controversy.

Introduction and Background

DOMA is small in the sense that it consists of only three sentences, making it shorter to include the full text of the law here rather than attempting to explain it.

The IRS Meets Letterman Bookmark

Anyone who has ever watched late night television is familiar with the ubiquitous Top 10 List, counting down humorous examples of whatever is in the news. Not to be upstaged, the IRS has its own Top 10 List—the top 10 plan compliance failures found in voluntary correction filings.

How to Survive a Visit from the IRS or DOL Bookmark

There are few things that will give a person that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach like opening the mailbox and seeing an envelope with the words "Internal Revenue Service" (or Department of Labor) in the return address. It is similar to seeing that police car as you drive down the highway; you might not even be speeding, but you immediately slow down and wonder how you will look in stripes.

The Final Fee Disclosure Regulations Have Arrived Bookmark

Nearly five years in the making, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published its long-awaited plan sponsor fee disclosure regulations under ERISA section 408(b)(2). With these new regulations taking effect on July 1, 2012, plan sponsors and service providers alike will be scrambling to prepare.

Participant Fee Disclosure Requirements for Individual Account Plans Bookmark

Last year the Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations requiring broad disclosures of fees, expenses and certain other plan and investment-related information to participants and beneficiaries under individual account plans.

The purpose of the new disclosure requirements is to ensure participants and beneficiaries have access to adequate information to enable them to comparison shop among investment options to make informed investment decisions.

Below is a general overview of the regulations' key disclosure requirements that become effective in 2012.