Compliance October 12, 2010

ASPPA Demands 403(b) Form 5500 Extension

With a Friday filing deadline looming, a retirement services trade group has asked for more time for 403(b) sponsors to file the Form 5500.
Reported by

According to a letter from Craig P. Hoffman, General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs of The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), many of the group’s 403(b) members are reporting issues with meeting the October 15 cutoff for reports on the 2009 plan year. 

Hoffman said the problems includedifficulties with source data from vendors, reports that don’t reconcile between systems, a deficit of expert auditors to assist with new requirements, and the discovery of new and unanticipated investments held by plan participants.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

ASPPA recommended the following solutions for transitional 403(b) relief:

  • Issue a one-year transitional rule to allow time for new auditing procedures to be instituted, or grant a waiver for any late or incomplete filing penalties for plans that have made a good faith effort to collect data.
  • Change the definition of “active participant” to eligible employees that make or receive a contribution during the plan year, rather than the 401(k) definition in use.
  • Form a committee of industry experts to suggest, review, and modify existing audit guidelines.

The ASPPA letter is at http://www.asppa.org/document-vault/pdfs/GAC/2010/comm100810.aspx.

Two trade groups – including ASPPA – have already called for a Form 5500 deadline delay (see Second Group Repeats Call for 5500 Deadline Extension).

The Markets October 12, 2010

ETF Investors Pile On $26B in September Asset Growth

Investors added $26 billion to U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in September, resuming the trend of monthly net inflows interrupted by $1 billion in August outflows, according to Strategic Insight, an Asset International company.
Reported by

According to SI, in the first nine months of 2010, ETFs (including ETNs) took in $73 billion in flows. At the end of September, U.S. ETF assets stood at a record $897 billion. 

“We stick by our prediction, made over a year ago, that U.S. ETF assets would hit $1 trillion by the end of 2011,” said Loren Fox, a senior research analyst at Strategic Insight. “Recent developments, such as the spread of commission-free ETF trading at certain brokerages, should only accelerate the growth of ETFs.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

«