Bill Would Reduce Retirement Plan Costs for Small Employers
A bill introduced to lawmakers directs the DOL and the Treasury Department to allow employers and sole-proprietors participating in retirement plans administered in the same way to file a single aggregated Form 5500.
Bipartisan legislation to reduce
duplicative filing costs for small businesses looking to offer
retirement plans to their employees was introduced in the Senate and the
House of Representatives.
The bill directs the Department of
Labor (DOL) and the Treasury Department to allow employers and
sole-proprietors participating in retirement plans administered in the
same way to file a single aggregated Form 5500, a required annual return
that provides compliance information to the DOL and Treasury.
Under
current law, despite sharing a common administrative framework, each
individual plan is still required to file a separate Form 5500 to
satisfy reporting requirements under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. The proposed bill
would eliminate duplicative reporting by plan administrators, which will
reduce costs for small businesses that maintain retirement plans. To
file an aggregated Form 5500, the retirement plans would need to have
the same trustee, fiduciary, plan administrator, plan year and
investment menu.
“As the nature of work continues to change,
increasing access to workplace retirement plans is a crucial step in
providing a secure retirement to millions of Americans,” says Senator
Mark Warner. “For smaller employers, offering a retirement plan can be
expensive and complex, so we should make it easier and reduce
duplicative filing costs for them to offer retirement plans and promote
retirement security for all workers.”
The legislation was
introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), a
member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Susan Collins (R-Maine),
the chairman of the Senate Aging Committee. In the House, the
legislation was sponsored by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (D-California),
a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and Congressman Phil
Roe (R-Tennessee), a member of the House Committee on Education and the
Workforce.
To provide the DOL and Treasury time to implement
this change, the proposal has an effective date of no later than January
1, 2021. A copy of the legislative text is available here.
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Transamerica Expands Retirement Plan Consultant Business; Standard Life Investments Appoints Director of Strategic Relations; OppenheimerFunds Expands Beta Solutions Team
Transamerica Expands
Retirement Plan Consultant Business
Peggy McDermott
has joined Transamerica as vice president and business development manager for retirement plan consultants. She will focus on large and mega
retirement plan markets and be responsible for developing and strengthening
relationships with institutional consultants serving corporate, not-for-profit
and defined benefit (DB) retirement plans
“We are delighted that Peggy has joined Transamerica’s
retirement plan team,” says Jason Crane,
executive director of business development for Transamerica. “She brings more than 25
years of retirement-focused experience in a variety of roles, including
institutional relationship management, business development and sales
management. Peggy will work with Transamerica’s regional vice presidents and
practice leaders to better serve consultants’ needs in building more effective
retirement plans for employers and their employees.”
NEXT: Standard Life Investments Appoints Director of Strategic Relations
Standard Life Investments Appoints Director of Strategic Relations
Standard Life Investments has expanded its North American client relations team with the addition
of Larry Carlson who will serve as director of Strategic Relationships, a
newly-created role in which he will focus on strategic partnerships. The firm’s
capabilities span equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity,
multi-asset solutions and absolute-return strategies.
He joins the firm
from State Street Global Advisors, where he held the role of senior managing
director, team leader. With more than 35 years of industry experience, he has
also worked for Putnam Investments and Fleet Financial Group.
“Larry’s wealth of
relationship-building experience will prove an important addition to our team
in North America,” says Jack Boyce, managing director, head of North American Distribution. “In
charge of strengthening our client service model, Larry is well-suited to
further build our Strategic Relationship capabilities, as we seek to enhance
existing and develop new and enduring relationships.”
NEXT: OppenheimerFunds
Expands Beta Solutions Team
OppenheimerFunds Expands Beta Solutions Team
Global asset manager OppenheimerFunds, has added David Mazza
to its Beta Solutions Leadership Team as head of Beta Solutions Investment
Marketing and ETF Specialists. He will be tasked with driving strategic and
sustainable growth initiatives for the firm with product and market insights to
provide actionable solutions for clients.
Mazza joins the firm from State Street Global Advisors where
he served as head of ETF and mutual fund research. He spent 12 years with the
firm assuming various management roles. He also developed thought leadership and
research that expanded SSGA’s ETF business.
OppenheimerFunds has also hired new ETF specialists
including Alex Depetris, chief operating officer of Beta Solutions, and Mo
Haghbin, head of product, Beta Solutions. They joined Michael Eschmann,
OppenheimerFunds’ Beta Solutions head of Capital Markets; and Vince Lowry, lead
portfolio manager of the firm’s Revenue Weighted offerings.
“We’re delighted that Dave joins our industry-leading team,”
says Sharon French, head of Beta Solutions. “Dave brings great ETF insights to
our expanding business, and that coupled with our Distribution team’s
client-centric approach, makes a powerful combination toward serving our
end-investors.”
NEXT: Putnam Investments Expands Small-Cap Equity Practice
Putnam Investments
Expands Small-Cap Equity Practice
Putnam Investments announced
it will be reshaping its global small-cap equity team and product strategy with
an eye on seizing opportunity in active management. In this pursuit, it will
add investment expertise and expand its research group in the small-cap equity
space.
Value investor David
Diamond will become co-portfolio
manager of Putnam Small Cap Value Fund, He is the founder of Boston-based
High Rock Capital and a senior portfolio manager with The Boston Company. In
his new role at Putnam, Diamond will work closely with co-manager Eric Harthun,
who will be retiring from Putnam at the end of
2017.
“The global small cap equity universe offers many
interesting opportunities for an active manager who fully utilizes fundamental
research,” explains Aaron Cooper, CIO of Equities at Putnam Investments. “We
are making a number of moves to further enhance Putnam’s investment
capabilities in the small cap equity area, which we think has the potential to
be a real bright spot for the firm and our clients.
Bill Wiese will
be coming on board the research team as a small
cap value analyst. Putnam Capital Opportunities Fund will be managed by
members of the small cap research team, led by co-director of Equity Research Kate Lakin. The current portfolio manager, Pam Gao, will be leaving the firm at the end of March 2017. Bill Monroe will assume management of Putnam Small Cap Growth Fund effective March 31, 2017, replacing
Pam Gao.
“Putnam has great confidence in the team and approach that
has been put in place in the small cap equity area to mine compelling long-term
investment opportunities around the globe,” says Cooper.
NEXT: TCW Hires Senior
Account Manager in Client Service
TCW Hires Senior
Account Manager in Client Services
Timothy Bitsberger
has joined the TCW Group, a global
asset management firm, as the company’s managing
director and senior account manager
in the Client Services Group. Bitsberger will work to enhance client
relationships with significant institutions throughout the globe.
Bitsberger has more than 30 years of industry experience
behind him. He served as head of Official Institutions Coverage for the
Americas at BNP Paribas, and as the treasurer for Freddie Mac. He also was the deputy
assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Bitsberger began
his career as a derivatives trader at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Bitsberger
earned his master’s degree from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from
Yale University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange and the International Research & Exchange Board.
“TCW has seen significant growth in both mutual fund and
separate account assets, and it remains a top priority to ensure we maintain
strong relationships with both existing and new clients,” says Patrick Moore, group managing director and head
of client services. “Tim brings a wealth of experience from both the public
and private sector and a deep understanding of the needs of institutional
investors that will certainly enhance our ability to be a value-added partner
to our clients.”