Strategic Benefit Services

Monday, June 22, 2015

Supreme Court Ruling Highlights Importance of Fiduciary Responsibility

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Tibble vs. Edison has been described as “historic,” “ground-breaking,” and even “revolutionary.” The significant attention this case has generated is due in large part to the fact that a case about retirement plans reached the Supreme Court and that the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the lower courts’ decisions.

Yet, the underlying premise behind the decision in this case is not particularly glamorous. It is very familiar to us all: the fiduciary responsibilities of a plan sponsor.

Steve Puckett of SBS Makes Top 100 Retirement Plan Adviser List

Steven Puckett, AIF®, CRPS®, Vice President of Retirement Services, Strategic Benefit Services (SBS), was recently named to the 2015 PLANADVISER Top 100 Advisers List.

The PLANADVISER Top 100 Advisers is an annual listing of the retirement plan adviser and adviser teams that stand out in terms of a series of quantitative measures. This year’s qualification standards—which rise nearly every year—were quite high. Individuals had to have 65 or more plans or at least $500 million in assets under advisement.

At SBS, Steve manages and consults on retirement plans in the areas of investment advisory services, fiduciary services, forensic plan audits, fiduciary risk mitigation solutions, compliance assistance, and fee audits for 403(b), 401(k), 457, defined benefit, and non-qualified plans. With more than 20 years of experience, he has assisted more than 1,000 companies with their retirement plans.

SBS is an industry leader in providing trusted advisory services, retirement plan offerings, best-in-class employee benefits products, and a wide array of solutions that position your organization and employees for success.

If you would like to speak with a dedicated retirement plan advisor, or have questions about Strategic Benefit Services, please call (855) 882-9177 or email us at sbs@hanys.org.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

IRS Gives Plan Sponsors Welcome Relief for Automatic Enrollment Features

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced modified correction methods for errors relating to automatic contribution features, including automatic enrollment, automatic escalation, and employee elective deferrals in both 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

The correction methods in the new Revenue Procedure 2015-28 are in addition to those previously identified in Revenue Procedure 2013-12. These new correction methods will encourage employers to more readily include automatic enrollment features in their defined contribution plans.

Retirement Plan Best Practices for Using an Independent Advisor

Best practices underscore the value of using an independent advisor with regard to developing, implementing, and overseeing a retirement plan. An experienced, independent advisor can offer valuable guidance and feedback to help ensure that a retirement plan is meeting the objectives of both the plan sponsor and participants. As a plan fiduciary, if you are lack the expertise necessary to fulfill your fiduciary obligations,

Retirement Plan Administration Best Practices

Retirement plan sponsors have a difficult challenge: balancing the desire to offer a valued and valuable retirement plan to their employees, with the administrative and regulatory requirements and expense of maintaining the plan.

Experts agree that plan sponsors can help address these issues by consistent adoption of plan administration and oversight best practices.These steps can lower costs, increase plan enrollment, boost savings rates, and better prepare employees for a more secure retirement, while helping mitigate the risk borne by plan fiduciaries.

Department of Labor Announces Changes for Form 5500 for 2014

Although the filing date for Department of Labor Form 5500 – Annual Return/Report for Employee Benefit Plans – is still several months away, plan sponsors should take a few minutes to become familiar with the changes that have been made for the 2014 reporting year.

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