Deflation Could Wallop Your 401k Plan - Summary: A decline in consumer prices this quarter – i.e., deflation – could result in 401k contribution limits being lowered next year for the first time since Congress imposed the limits in 1986. Located at: The Dallas Morning News, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

The Future of the 401k - Summary: After the latest market drop, planners and investors are trying to figure out that means for their retirement plans. Located at: CNN Money, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Five Tips to Maximize Your 401k Match - Summary: The median Vanguard 401k account balance fell by 14 percent among continuous participants between 2007 and 2008. Ongoing contributions and maximizing your 401k match are the best way to recoup those losses. Located at: US News, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Safe Harbor for 2010 - Summary: It will soon be time to consider whether to start or continue a safe harbor 401k plan for next year. Obviously, the harsh economic times have influenced the future use of the guaranteed NEC option and brought new favor to the use of the flexible NEC. Located at: McKay Hochman, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Constructing New Retirement Systems: Choosing between Insurance and Investment, Choice and Default - Summary: This paper summarizes what the Council has learned to date about the balance between investment and insurance, choice and default, highlight roles for stakeholders and suggest new ways of bringing people together to prepare for their retirement. Located at: Pension Research Council, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

In 2010 IRS Could Cut 401k Contribution Limit to $16,000 - Summary: Low inflation has made food and gas more affordable during the recession, but there's a downside: Social Security beneficiaries probably won't get a raise next year, and the IRS may reduce the amount workers can contribute to their 401k plans. Located at: USA Today, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Audit CAP as a Dispute Resolution Technique - Summary: While Audit CAP requires the payment of a monetary sanction that can be substantial, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, there is flexibility under the program to negotiate both the amount of the sanction and - more importantly for purposes of this article - the methodology for correction. Located at: Reish & Reicher , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Important IRS Survey on New Retirement Plan IRS Determination Letter Process - Summary: An IRS advisory council is studying the retirement plan document determination letter process. A new online survey form asks for the views of employers, benefits attorneys, third-party administrators, consultants, providers of master & prototype documents, and other stakeholders. Located at: IRS, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

IRS Seeks Comments on Upcoming DB-K Plan Guidance - Summary: The IRS has issued IRS Notice 2009-71 requesting comments on guidance that it plans to issue relating to eligible combined plans under Code Sec. 414(x). Located at: CCH, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: Government Guarantee for Your 401k Is a Bad Idea - Summary: The New York Times recently ran an editorial on the problems they see with 401k plans, and suggested a solution to our retirement challenges would be some sort of government guaranteed return on our 401k plans. While it sounds nice, a guarantee would actually create more risk in the financial markets. Located at: Money Watch Blog, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: NYT About Your 401k: Missing The Point on Retirement Reform - Summary: The New York Times weighed in the debate over 401k plans this morning. There are a number of ideas that sound just peachy in the la-la land that the Editors must believe exists. But there's little in the piece that helps advance feasible retirement solutions here in the real world. Located at: CBSNews.com, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Participant Loan Extension Can Carry Unexpected Consequences - Summary: Failure to comply with the Tax Code's constraints on participant loans can subject a borrowing participant to immediate income taxation and, if the participant is not yet age 59½, a 10% penalty tax. Two recent Tax Court decisions highlight one aspect of these participant loan rules that can easily be overlooked, thereby subjecting participants to these adverse tax consequences. Located at: Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

U.S. Recession and Its Impact on Employee Retirement - Summary: This SHRM Poll provides data on approaches that companies plan to take in terms of employee retirement options. Employee confidence in the current state of their retirement savings is also explored. Nearly a third of respondents believe the biggest threats to retirement savings are that employees are simply not saving enough and the overall instability of the financial markets. Located at: Society for Human Resource Management, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Fiduciary Status for Broker-Dealers - Summary: The Administration has included a provision to establish a fiduciary duty for broker-dealers who offer investment advice and to harmonize the regulation of investment advisers and broker-dealers. While the proposal was written from the perspective of the retail investor, the authors believe that it will have a significant impact on investment advice for 401k plans—particularly in the mid-sized and small plan market. Located at: Reish & Reicher , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Dynamics of Participant Plan Contributions, 2006–2008 - Summary: A new Vanguard Center for Retirement Research study reveals that participants' inertia continues to work to their benefit, so most didn't overreact to the 2008 market downturn. Discover how participants' tendency to take no action affected their plan deferral rates over a three-year period. Located at: Vanguard , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

What Happens to Your 401k if You Lose Your Job? - Summary: You may be allowed to leave the money in your former employer's plans even if you leave. But if you're required to move the money, it should transferred directly to an IRA custodian. Located at: Los Angeles Times, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

The DB(k): Pension of the Future - Summary: An attractive new option for employer sponsored retirement plans becomes available next year. The "DB(k)" offers businesses with 500 or fewer employees an opportunity to provide a strong retirement plan for their employees with fewer hassles and less financial drain than a traditional pension plan. Located at: Kiplinger, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

A Service to Make 401k Tweaking a Piece of Cake - Summary: In the current economic turmoil, with investment portfolios melting in value, it's become harder than ever to plan for retirement. Many people lack good investment advisers, or the time and skill to do their own investment research. So a small San Francisco company has introduced an automated service that attempts to tailor a mutual-fund portfolio that will get you to retirement according to your goals. Located at: Wall Street Journal, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

New Caution in Handling of 401k's - Summary: The recession jolted many 401k investors who had had their plans on autopilot. Maybe some people didn't realize what large portions of their accounts were in stocks — and how vulnerable those stocks had become. Located at: NY Times, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

401k Participants Remain Diligent - Summary: Participants in 401k plans have shown little signs of panic, despite deep market losses and the uncertain economy, according to Vanguard. The fund company has found that plan participants continue to invest for retirement through the workplace programs and have engaged in only modest trading activity through the turbulent market. Located at: Financial Advisor Magazine, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

QVC Workers Cry Foul Over 401k Probe - Summary: QVC employees fired over alleged irregularities in their 401k withdrawals said they were treated unfairly. The employees said they were driven to seek the retirement money because of company cutbacks. Located at: Planadviser.com, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

How America Saves 2009 - Summary: Learn how the severe market downturn of 2008 affected retirement plans at Vanguard in How America Saves 2009, Vanguard's annual analysis of defined contribution (DC) plan data. Drawing on data from more than 2,200 DC plans with more than 3 million participants, the report provides important insight into the trends and developments that characterized Vanguard-recordkept DC plans in 2008, and serves as a valuable reference tool for plan sponsors. Located at: Vanguard , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

New Evidence on 401k Borrowing - Summary: Despite news reports suggesting a rise in 401k borrowing in recent years, this report finds that the share of eligible households with 401k loans in the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances was about 15 percent, roughly what it has been since 1995. Located at: Federal Reserve , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

10th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey - Summary: Employers believe health insurance is the most important benefit to employees, followed by employee-funded retirement plans, life insurance, and disability insurance. Long-term care insurance is less likely to be seen as important. Most benefits are more likely to be considered important to employees by large employers than by small employers. The exceptions are health insurance and company-funded pension plans which hold equal importance between large and small employers. Located at: Transamerica , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Class Action Suit Against Hedge Fund Highlights the Standard of Care to Which ERISA Fiduciaries Are Held - Summary: This line of cases highlights three issues relevant to hedge funds: (1) the question of when an alleged class of plaintiffs bringing suit against a hedge fund will be certified by a court; (2) the standard of care applicable to ERISA fiduciaries; and (3) the standard for consolidation and transfer of MDL cases. This article reviews each of those issues. Located at: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP , August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

Supreme Court to Clarify ERISA Plan Standards of Review - Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Frommert v. Conkright, 535 F.3d 111 (2d Cir. 2008). At issue is the degree of deference courts should accord the decision of the administrator of a plan subject to ERISA that is made outside the context of an administrative claim for benefits. The Supreme Court will also consider what standard an appellate court should use in reviewing a lower court's interpretation of an ERISA plan's terms. Located at: McGuire Woods LLP, August 2009. Click on headline for full article.

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