Can You Invest Your Way to Plan Termination?

Some interesting dynamics have been developing in the retirement industry with respect to defined benefit pension plans.  Most plan sponsors that have maintained these plan types have either suspended or frozen them.  This has been an effort to reduce/control their liabilities and funding obligations and to better respond to a younger workforce by replacing defined benefit plans with defined contribution plans.

For many sponsors, the strategy was to simply look to positive investment returns to “close the gap,” expecting that assets would grow faster than liabilities, creating a positive scenario that would reduce the cash contribution requirements and lead to eventual plan termination.  Unfortunately, this has not happened.

Taxability of Disability Benefits

Many employers provide disability benefits to their employees as part of a comprehensive employee benefits package. Disability benefits replace a percentage of pre-disability income if an employee is unable to work due to illness or injury for a specified period of time. Employers may offer short-term disability coverage, long-term disability coverage, or integrate both short- and long-term disability coverage.

Group disability benefits can be structured in a number of ways. The taxability of these benefits generally depends on how the premiums for the coverage are paid. For example, if an employer and its employees split the cost of premiums for disability coverage, and the employees’ premiums are paid on a pre-tax basis through a cafeteria plan, the disability benefits are fully taxable to employees.

This Compliance Overview answers common questions regarding the taxability of disability benefits.

Q1 Market Recap: Taxes, Tariffs, and Tech

After nine consecutive quarters of gains, the S&P 500 lost 0.76% in the first quarter of 2018. The 0.76% loss masked a spike in volatility driven by the reduction in corporate tax rates in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and the prospect of new government regulation of technology firms.

Read the Q1 Retirement Market Recap to learn more about the 1st quarter market volatility. Also included are tips on managing defined benefit plans in the feature on "Can You Invest Your Way to Plan Termination?"

If you have any questions, or would like to begin talking to a retirement plan advisor, please get in touch by calling (855) 882-9177 or e-mail us at sbs@hanys.org.

The hidden cost of identity theft to employees and employers

Strategic Benefit Services is pleased to partner with CyberScout, a leading identity management and data theft services company. CyberScout delivers valuable prevention education, proactive protection services, and swift and appropriate incident remediation for more than 17.5 million households and more than 770,000 businesses.

The hidden cost of identity theft to employees and employers:

When identity thieves take advantage of employees’ stolen personal information to obtain credit or loans, or to commit various types of fraud, both employees and employers pay a steep price. For example, victims:

• need 165 hours, on average, to resolve identity theft; 
• are absent five times more than average; and
• use twice as much sick time.

The Financial Burden of Defined Benefit Plans

Defined benefit plans were the predominant retirement plan at the time the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was introduced in 1974. Many hospitals and other healthcare provider organizations in New York State had defined benefit pension plans. In a defined benefit plan, the total financial obligation falls strictly on the sponsor. The amount of benefit is stipulated and the funding of that benefit is the responsibility of the sponsor. As time went on, defined benefit plans became more onerous to maintain, more difficult to sponsor, and more expensive.

The Revenue Act of 1978 included a provision under which employees were not taxed on the portion of income they elect to receive as deferred compensation rather than as direct cash payments, thus making 401(k) plans possible. The emergence of defined contribution plans began a transition away from the plan sponsor offering and managing the retirement benefits, to participants having the ability to directly manage their retirement savings.

Changing Times: Impact of the shift in types of retirement plans

The days are gone when a typical employee works for the same employer for 30 or 40 years and then collects a check every month for the rest of his or her life. Although the majority of employees had little understanding of how a defined benefit plan worked, they knew exactly how much they would get each month at retirement. Together with what they would earn from Social Security, it was relatively easy to plan for the future.

2018 Retirement Services Compliance Calendar and Notices Reminder

Strategic Benefit Services wants to help you stay compliant with the 2018 Retirement Services Compliance Calendar and Notices Reminder.

Compliance is just one of many services we provide. Strategic Benefit Services created this document to remind plan administrators of the compliance deadlines and notices required for distribution.

If you have any questions regarding compliance requirements or their application to your plan, contact us at (855) 882-9177or at sbs@ hanys.org.