Products July 23, 2009

se2 Adds Features to 403(b)connect

se2 (service.end2end), a provider of business technology and processing solutions for the financial services and retirement planning sector, has updated its automated 403(b) info-sharing solution.

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se2 (service.end2end), a provider of business technology and processing solutions for the financial services and retirement planning sector, has updated its automated 403(b) info-sharing solution.

According to a press release, new features of 403(b)connect include:

  • PostAudit management to ensure that every transaction complies with IRS regulations by automatically flagging any audit failure so users can identify the solution as well as the source of the error;
  • full-featured ad hoc reporting for virtually all data in the database—from employers and third-party administrators (TPAs) to plans, participants, and transactions—with searching, sorting, and filtering on all fields;
  • new report formats from new SPARK Best Practices versions, TPA-specific formats, and/or TPA/SPARK combinations.

se2 first introduced its 403(b)connect solution last July (see “New Products Helps 403(b) Vendors Connect”).

While the increased administration resulting from new 403(b) rules has led many to pare down or consider paring down the number of vendors offering in their plans, Brent Littleton, vice president and chief technology officer for se2, said a multi-vendor environment can be sustained with the right technology (see “403b Summit: Vendor Selection: A New Opportunity?”).

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More information is available at www.se2.com.

Compliance July 23, 2009

Boehner Bill Includes RMD Provision

A provision of the Savings Recovery Act of 2009 (H.R. 2021) would extend the suspension of required minimum distribution (RMD) requirements through 2012.

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A provision of the Savings Recovery Act of 2009 (H.R. 2021) would extend the suspension of required minimum distribution (RMD) requirements through 2012.

The bill, sponsored by U.S. Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio) and 31 co-sponsors, has been referred for further action to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (see “GOP Congressmen Offer Savings Proposal”).

Among other things, the proposed bill would raise the contribution and catch-up limits for individuals and families, extend the existing SAVER’s Credit to contributions made to 529 college savings accounts, double the Social Security earnings limit from $14,160 to $28,320, and allow more Americans to increase their income without being hit by the Social Security earnings penalty.

On the U.S. Senate side, S. 157, that would waive RMD payments through 2010, has been sent to the Finance Committee for further deliberation. It was sponsored by U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) (see “Two RMD Delay Bills Filed”).

A bill signed into law by former President George Bush suspended for 2009 the requirement that individuals 70 1/2 and older must withdraw a minimum amount from their 401(k) plans or IRAs or face a 50% penalty on the amount that should have been withdrawn (see “Bush Signs RMD, Pension Relief into Law”).

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