Compliance April 14, 2020

DB Plans Get Relief for Certain Premium Payments and Filings

Due dates for filings or actions that would otherwise have been due on or after April 1, and before July 15, have been extended to July 15.

Reported by

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced extended deadlines for upcoming defined benefit (DB) plan premium payments and other filings with the agency.

Due dates for filings or actions that would otherwise have been due on or after April 1, and before July 15, have been extended to July 15.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

The PBGC explains that when the IRS provides relief to employee benefit plans because of a major disaster by delaying the Form 5500 due date, PBGC’s disaster relief policy provides that many PBGC due dates are similarly extended. The IRS issued Notice 2020-23 providing disaster relief, which included a Form 5500 extension. Retirement plan sponsors should note that the July 31 Form 5500 filing date for calendar year plans has not been extended.

The PBGC’s extended due dates do not apply to particularly important or time-sensitive filings on the “Exceptions List” on PBGC’s Disaster Relief webpage that may indicate a high risk of harm to pension plan participants or the insurance program. However, such filers may request individual extensions.

“PBGC understands the far-reaching effects COVID-19 is having on workers, families and companies across the country,” says PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis. “This move will offer flexibilities to deliver relief that many employers and pension plan service providers need during this unprecedented time.”

Products April 13, 2020

Two West Advisors Announces Virtual Participant Consultations

Consultations with retirement plan participants it serves will address retirement plan account questions as well as broader personal financial issues.

Reported by

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Two West Advisors, an independent CEFEX-certified fiduciary adviser, has launched a virtual, private consultation service for the 30,000 retirement plan participants it serves who may have been financially impacted by the coronavirus.

The by-appointment-only service launched March 20 through a broad email outreach to employers sponsoring the retirement plans Two West services. Participants receiving the email from their sponsors can schedule 20-minute virtual meetings in one click with a Two West financial expert qualified to address individuals’ retirement plan account questions as well as broader personal financial issues.

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

Two West President Ryan Rink says, “We’ve reconfigured our workforce and calendars have been cleared so that everyone’s available to support this service. We don’t know how long the situation will last, but people are going to need information to make good decisions about their money.”

Two West Chief Executive Officer Marko Ungashick says the service is holistic, built on technology that enables individual participants to incorporate all their finances outside of their retirement plan accounts into the discussions.

“The meetings are set appointments so our financial experts can review each individual participant’s information in advance and be prepared to have an informed conversation,” Rink says. “We want to make sure the participants and [the financial experts] understand how their other accounts are doing to ensure they’re moving in concert with one another. And for those folks who need help with even the most basic of issues, like accessing their accounts, we’ll help them with that, too.”

The service will be available for the foreseeable future, regardless of the impact on Two West. “As long as we have restrictions on travel and can’t get to see our participants face-to-face, I don’t see why we wouldn’t continue making this service available. It’s a volatile time and as long as there’s a demand for it from our customers, we’ll make it work,” Rink says.

«