The app will serve as a one-stop shop where plan sponsors can access information and resources related to qualified and non-qualified retirement plans via several channels including articles, podcasts, and the council’s own surveys.
The Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) has launched a mobile application called the PSCA Knowledge Center.
The
app will serve as a one-stop shop where plan sponsors can access
information and resources related to qualified and non-qualified
retirement plans via several channels including articles, podcasts, and
the council’s own surveys. The app is geared toward plan sponsors,
managers, fiduciaries, participants and others in the retirement plan
industry.
“The professionals in our tight-knit community are
busy and on-the-go,” says PSCA Executive Director Tony Verheyen. “The
PSCA Mobile Knowledge Center allows retirement plan professionals to
conveniently tap into the minds of industry thought leaders, and to hear
about trends and best practices wherever they are.”
The
PSCA says new content will be added regularly. The app currently
features a sampling of audio podcasts covering administration,
investments, compliance, communication and financial wellness topics; a
sampling of articles from PSCA’s DC Insights quarterly
publication, as well as articles from other associations’ publications;
and a sampling of research from the latest PSCA survey.
“Plan
Sponsors can’t always wait for the next white paper, conference, or
webinar, and our members need to know what’s happening at PSCA,” says
Verheyen. “The Mobile Knowledge Center gives everyone access to some of
PSCA’s thought leadership and shows our members we are working hard for
them.”
The free mobile app can be accessed via the Web and most mobile devices. More information about the app can be found online here.
By using this site you agree to our network wide Privacy Policy.
In light of the devastation
following recent storms and flooding in Louisiana, the U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL) announced an update on compliance with employee benefit
plan rules for those adversely impacted in the state since August 11,
2016.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) previously announced streamlined loan procedures and liberalized hardship distribution rules for plan sponsors affected by the flooding.
The
DOL says it understands that plan fiduciaries, employers, labor
organizations, service providers, and participants and beneficiaries may
encounter compliance-related issues over the next few months in
connection with employee benefit plans covered by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) as the implications of the
Louisiana storms unfold. The updated guidance provided generally applies
to employee benefit plans, plan sponsors, employers and employees, and
service providers to such employers who were located as of August 11,
2016, in a parish identified as covered disaster area due to storms’
devastation.
The parishes are identified in a news release
issued by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These compliance updates
are in addition to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report filing relief already provided
by the IRS in accordance with LA-2016-20 Tax Relief for Victims of
Severe Storms, Flooding in Louisiana. (See the regulations under § 7508A
and Section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2007-56, 2007-34 I.R.B. 388.)
Contributions and Loan Repayments
The
DOL says it recognizes that some employers and service providers acting
on employers’ behalf, such as payroll processing services, located in
identified covered disaster areas will not be able to forward
participant payments and withholdings to employee pension benefit plans
within the prescribed timeframe. In such instances, the department will
not—solely on the basis of a failure attributable to the Louisiana
storms—seek to enforce the provisions of Title I of ERISA with respect
to a temporary delay in the forwarding of such payments or contributions
to an employee pension benefit plan to the extent that affected
employers, and service providers, act reasonably, prudently and in the
interest of employees to comply as soon as practical under the
circumstances. The IRS has informed the DOL that—subject to the
foregoing conditions—it will not seek to assess an excise tax with
respect to a prohibited transaction under Section 4975 of the Internal
Revenue Code resulting solely from such a temporary delay.
NEXT: Blackout Notices and Health Plan Compliance
Blackout Notices
In general, Section 101(i) of the
ERISA and the regulations issued thereunder provide that the
administrator of an individual account plan is required to provide 30
days advance notice to participants and beneficiaries whose rights under
the plan will be temporarily suspended, limited or restricted by a
blackout period (i.e., a period of suspension, limitation or restriction
of more than three consecutive business days on a participant’s ability
to direct investments, obtain loans or obtain other distributions from
the plan). The regulations provide an exception to the advance notice
requirement when the inability to provide the notice is due to events
beyond the reasonable control of the plan administrator and a fiduciary
so determines in writing.
Natural
disasters, by definition, are beyond the control of a plan
administrator. With respect to blackout periods related to the Louisiana
storms, the DOL will not allege a violation of the blackout notice
requirements solely on the basis that a fiduciary did not make the
required written determination.
ERISA Group Health Plan Compliance Guidance
The
DOL says it recognizes that plan participants and beneficiaries may
encounter an array of problems due to the storms and flooding, such as
difficulties meeting certain deadlines for filing benefit claims and
COBRA elections. The guiding principle for plans must be to act
reasonably, prudently and in the interest of the workers and their
families who rely on their health plans for their physical and economic
well-being. Plan fiduciaries should make reasonable accommodations to
prevent the loss of benefits in such cases and should take steps to
minimize the possibility of individuals losing benefits because of a
failure to comply with pre-established timeframes.
In addition,
the Department acknowledges that there may be instances when full and
timely compliance by group health plans and issuers may not be possible.
Its approach to enforcement will be marked by an emphasis on compliance
assistance and include grace periods and other relief where
appropriate, including when physical disruption to a plan or service
provider’s principal place of business makes compliance with
pre-established timeframes for certain claims’ decisions or disclosures
impossible.
The DOL and IRS will continue to monitor the situation to address those
issues that are most important in helping individuals, employers and
plan sponsors recover from this tragedy. For more information about
Louisiana storms relief under the ERISA, see “FAQs for Participants and Beneficiaries Following Louisiana Storms” or contact the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration online at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/ask-a-question/ask-ebsa or by calling 1-866-444-3272. Questions about IRS guidance should be directed to the IRS at 1-877-829-5900.