IRS Identifies New Employee Plans Compliance Projects - Summary: IRS's Director of Employee Plans Exams identified three new compliance projects that are now within the focus of the Employee Plans Compliance Unit: plans that reported employer contributions on their Form 5500 series returns but show no participants, plans that reported being terminated on the Form 5500 series but show plan assets remaining, and plans that ceased filing the Form 5500 series but did not file the last form as "final." Source: Benefitslink.com, August 2011.

Target-Date Fund Use in 401k Plans and the Persistence of Their Use - Summary: This study examines the use of target-date funds (TDFs) by a consistent group of 401k participants in plans that offered them in 2007 through 2009. The consistent group of participants were those who were in a plan that offered a TDF in 2007, were in plans that were still offering TDFs in 2008 and 2009, and were still in the data source in 2008 and 2009. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , August 2011.

The Prudence Standard: Affiliated Products and Services - Summary: Including a retirement plan provider's affiliated funds as part of the plan's investment lineup is not a fiduciary conflict of interest or prohibited transaction under ERISA or similar state fiduciary laws, concludes a paper co-authored by noted ERISA attorney Fred Reish. Source: Great-West Retirement Services , August 2011.

Third Circuit Narrows Plaintiffs' Ability to Bring ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims - Summary: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, relying on earlier decisions of the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, has held that a district court can dismiss breach of fiduciary duty claims brought under ERISA alleging that a fiduciary selected a mix of investment options available under a 401k defined contribution plan that included funds with allegedly excessive fee profiles, where the fiduciary selected a sufficiently broad range of funds with varying fee characteristics. Source: Littler Mendelson, August 2011.

Multiple Employer Plans -- An Enticing Alternative for Plan Sponsors - Summary: An intriguing new use of a long-established concept is catching the attention of small to mid-size plan sponsors seeking a way to simplify 401k plan oversight: Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs). By merging their plan into a properly structured MEP, employers cease to be a plan sponsor and effectively transfer many of the responsibilities and liabilities associated with being a named fiduciary to the MEP. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

Best Practices in Workplace Financial Education for the Millennials - Summary: Gen Y (the Millennials) is learning how to manage their day-to-day finances since coming of age during the financial crisis, but even though they are saving in their retirement plans, they don't know if they are on track to retire. Employers who understand this generation can have a huge impact on their employees' financial success. This article reviews some of the best practices in financial education for Gen Y employees. Source: 401khelpcenter.com, August 2011.

Direct Real Estate for DC Plans Seen as Growing Business - Summary: A growing number are preparing investment strategies for what they consider a potential $50 billion business opportunity - offering direct real estate for defined contribution plans. Rather than creating a stand-alone direct real estate investment option, these managers are aiming to persuade plan executives and target-date fund managers to replace their REIT-only allocations with a direct real estate strategy in their target-date or asset-allocation funds. Source: Callan , August 2011.

Cross-Tested Plan Design - Summary: Over the past couple of decades, as the mystery of the mechanics of cross-testing has been lifted, the cross-tested plan has evolved into a popular plan design for small employers. Nevertheless, many practitioners continue to be unaware of how to design such plans and how to resolve situations in which the demographics change. This FAQ address several of the questions practitioners frequently encounter in designing cross-tested plans. Source: Sungard/Relius, August 2011.

Safe Harbor 401k Plan Design - Summary: Since the inception of the safe harbor 401k plans in 1999, safe harbor 401k plans have evolved into one of the most popular 401k plan designs. The obvious advantage of the safe harbor 401k plan is the ability to avoid the ADP and ACP tests. This FAQ address several of the questions practitioners frequently encounter in designing safe harbor 401k plans. Source: Sungard/Relius, August 2011.

What Retirement Plan Sponsors Need to Do About the New Fee Disclosure Regulations - Summary: With fee disclosure regulations to be finally implemented by the Department of Labor in 2012, plan sponsors will finally get a disclosure of all fees that their retirement plan providers received directly or indirectly. This article will help plan sponsors understand fee disclosure and what they need to do about it in order to minimize their liability as plan fiduciaries. Source: Rosenbaum Law Firm, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: Why 401k Plans Will Fall Short for Most Americans - Summary: The author writes, "It's time to end the fraudulent notion that 401k plans are adequate retirement vehicles for most Americans. They fall short in so many ways, but mostly because they're too expensive, are exposed to excessive unhedged market risk, poor allocation and contain no income guarantees. There is a better way." Source: Reuters.com, August 2011.

New 401k Rules Require Hard Questions - Summary: Plan sponsors should be concerned because starting in 2012 they'll have to share fee and expense information with employees. Plan sponsors who don't plan ahead and secure reasonable-fee solutions may be facing some awkward, difficult conversations along with some hard questions. Source: Employee Benefit News, August 2011.

Employee Plans Enforcement Activities -- An Overview - Summary: With the adoption of the "cycle-based" determination letter program, enforcement staff who used to be shifted to determinations to handle the various filing spikes. Further, over the past several years, the head count in EP's enforcement function has grown to represent a larger portion of EP's staffing. And with new outreach tools, more and more plans are coming in contact with EP's enforcement function. This column provides an overview of compliance and enforcement actions currently being undertaken by EP's enforcement function. Source: Groom Law Group , August 2011.

VIDEO: Regulatory Update: 401k Fee Disclosure Update - Summary: This is a 3:16 minute ASPPA regulatory update on the DOL's 401k Fee Disclosure regulations. Source: ASPPA, August 2011.

When is a 401k Distribution Not Subject to the 10% Penalty? - Summary: There are only a couple of situations where the IRS will waive the 10% 401k early withdrawal penalty, i.e., a withdrawal prior to the participant reaching age 59½. Here's a list of the most common. Source: 401khelpcenter.com, August 2011.

Court Issues Mixed Ruling Over Participant's Reliance on Plan Resolution - Summary: A federal court has sided with an employer in finding it properly paid retirement benefits based on terms of the plan and not on a resolution that stated its intent to change early retirement benefit calculations. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

Master and Prototype Plan Sponsors - Responsibilities and Tips - Summary: The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit recently conducted a review of how well M&P sponsors communicate with their adopting employers about compliance issues. Based on their review, they developed these 10 tips for M&P sponsors to address the potential concerns that may arise as they attempt to meet their responsibilities to adopting employers. Source: IRS, August 2011.

Four Tips for 401k Participants - Summary: Market volatility continues to provide investors with a wild, scary ride. In the face of this market turbulence, here are four timeless tips for 401k participants. Source: U.S.News & World Report, August 2011.

The Fiduciary Exception to the Attorney-Client Privilege - Summary: "Document everything" is often a best practice, but when you are an ERISA plan fiduciary communicating with your attorney, you may need to throw that thinking out the door. This article provides reminder to in-house counsel addressing employee benefit claims that their communications with their benefits personnel regarding employee benefits claims may not be protected by the attorney-client privilege. Source: Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: The Future of the Short-Sleeve 401k Advisor - Summary: It is harder for non-specialist 401k advisors to compete, something that is not going to change. But, advisors who are skilled at making and nurturing relationships, regardless of whether they wear long-sleeves or short, can continue to be successful in the 401k marketplace. Source: DCPinstitute.com, August 2011.

Fiduciary Implications: Using Reenrollment to Improve Target-Date Fund Adoption - Summary: What plan sponsors don't realize is that they are responsible -- and thus potentially liable -- for participant investing, even when the plan has delegated that authority to the participants and they have exercised control over the investments. Source: Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP , August 2011.

What do Retirement Plan Sponsors Look for in an Advisor? - Summary: The criteria most important to clients when evaluating advisors for their company retirement plans may surprise you. Despite the many changes taking place in regulations for fiduciary responsibilities, retirement plan sponsors, as of now, rate fiduciary services low on their list of things they consider when engaging a retirement plan provider. Source: Cogent Research , August 2011.

2010 403(b) Market Stats - Summary: This chart illustrates the distribution of investments in the 403(b) market as of December 31st of each year. The numbers represent billions of dollars invested. Source: 403bwise.com, August 2011.

Case Suggests That RFPs May Be Necessary to Fulfill Fiduciary Duties - Summary: DOL regulations regarding fiduciary responsibility require that fees paid by a 401k plan to its service providers be reasonable. Most 401k sponsors probably believe that hiring consultants to advise them on whether a recordkeeper's fee schedule is excessive is sufficient to satisfy the sponsor's fiduciary responsibility. A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seven Circuit concluded, however, that relying on consultants was not adequate. Source: Wagner Law Group , August 2011.

How Much Might Automatic IRAs Improve Retirement Security for Low- and Moderate-Wage Workers? - Summary: Automatic individual retirement accounts could significantly boost retirement savings for millions of low- and moderate-wage workers. Based on the Urban Institute's micro-simulation model, automatic IRAs would boost retirement incomes for as many as half of low-income retirees and three-fifths of moderate-income retirees. Source: Urban Institute, August 2011.

When 401k Loans Are a Smart Move - Summary: After two weeks of volatility in the stock market, and the potential for plenty more ahead, some unlikely winners may have emerged: The growing number of workers who have taken loans from their 401k plans recently. Source: Smartmoney.com, August 2011.

2011 403(b) Plan Buyer's Guide - Summary: As 403(b) sponsors continue to perfect their processes and prepare for more regulations, they seek help from providers, advisers, legal counsel, and actuaries. This survey provides a listing of various types of providers to 403(b) plans, including the services each one provides as well as information on which 403(b) market segments each one. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

Fiduciary Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege Extends to Documents Subpoenaed in DOL Audit - Summary: For purposes of compliance with a Labor Department investigative audit under ERISA §504, the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege rule extends to communications regarding plan administration between an ERISA trustee and a plan attorney, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond has ruled in Solis v. The Food Employers Labor Relations Association. Source: CCH, August 2011.

This Time, Target-Date Funds Do Better - Summary: They performed poorly in the 2008 meltdown, but some key "target-date" funds held up better during the market's recent plunge. Source: Marketwatch.com, August 2011.

Wrap Documents: A Simple and Cost-Effective Means of ERISA Compliance - Summary: This article addresses one of the most misunderstood aspects of ERISA compliance – proper documentation and disclosure of health and welfare plans. While most employers have been careful to comply with ERISA's plan documentation and disclosure requirements in connection with their retirement plans, few have devoted the same level of attention to their health and welfare plans. Source: Lewis and Roca LLP, August 2011.

Retirement Savings Low on Priority List - Summary: While the recession, followed by a moribund recovery, may have imperiled Americans' future retirements, market volatility is not the only culprit. A new survey from Bankrate.com has found that many Americans have curtailed or decreased contributions to their retirement savings accounts this year compared to a year ago. Source: Foxbusiness.com, August 2011.

Action Can Reduce Fiduciary Risk When Stock Markets Swoon - Summary: The stock market's plunge not only rattled the confidence of 401k participants, it increased the liability risk faced by retirement plan committees and other plan fiduciaries. This article addresses the risks and steps to build a fiduciary shield to protect them from unnecessary litigation and risk. Source: The Agbay Group, August 2011.

10 Percent Early Distribution Penalty Applied to Deemed Distribution of Plan Loan - Summary: The court found that the regulations governing the plan required the participant to notify the plan of his reinstatement in order to restore the loan, which the participant never did. Therefore, the court held that the unpaid loan balance was a deemed distribution. Source: Thomson Reuters/EBIA, August 2011.

Evaluation Scorecard for Retirement Income Products - Summary: The purpose of this paper is to propose a set of metrics that plan sponsors and their consultants can utilize in assessing the suitability of a retirement income strategy as an investment option within a participant directed retirement plan. Source: Institutional Retirement Income Council , August 2011.

Fiduciary Considerations for Insured Retirement Income Products - Summary: As with any investment or product offered to plan participants, fiduciaries must be careful to engage in a prudent, thoughtful process of gathering relevant information, assessing that information and making an informed, reasoned decision both about whether to offer GMWBs to their participants and about which of the GMWB products on the market to offer. Source: Institutional Retirement Income Council , August 2011.

CFOs Extend Reach into HR - Summary: CFOs say they're increasingly extending their scope of responsibilities to include HR. Two principal reasons are the growing importance and cost of human capital. But does this increasing involvement mean that CFOs have more -- or less -- regard for leaders in the profession? Source: HREonline.com, August 2011.

Investment Risk and the 401k Fiduciary: An Overview of Components - Summary: What is the appropriate definition of risk? There are many factors comprising investment risk, each with its own definition and its own risk reduction strategy. Here's a short overview of some of the more common components of risk. Source: Fiduciarynews.com, August 2011.

Fidelity Reports Second Quarter 401k Trends - Summary: Fidelity released its second quarter 2011 review of 401k accounts as well as an analysis of participant actions since the market decline of 2008-2009. The analysis confirmed that even during the most volatile market activity, investors who maintain a diversified asset allocation strategy and do not pull out of equities, or make sudden contribution reductions, are rewarded when the equity markets rebound. Source: Fidelity, August 2011.

2011 US Defined Contribution Survey - Summary: Mercer did a short survey in May 2011 to assess plan sponsor's views on investment trends in defined contribution plans - such as the use of inflation protection options and other asset classes as standalone options, the trend in target date/target risk options and the usage of investment advice/managed accounts. This is some of key findings. Source: Mercer, August 2011.

IRS to Sponsor a Qualified Plan Corrections Phone Forum - Summary: On August 25, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, the IRS will sponsor a phone forum on the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System ("EPCRS"). The phone forum will provide an overview and update on the EPCRS system, review common correction principles and discuss the most common qualified plan failures. Source: Masuda Funai, August 2011.

Retirement Plan Governance: What Is It and Why Should You Care? - Summary: Retirement plan governance is about more than just fiduciary responsibility. Plan governance encompasses all of the duties, responsibilities, and actions connected with the establishment and administration of the plan and the management of the plan assets. Your organization assumes risks every day in the normal course of operation. But do you know who has assumed the risk associated with your organization's retirement plan? Source: Principal.com , August 2011.

Stable Value: The Dowdy Member of An Investment Lineup? - Summary: As a conservative option that has been an important cog of 401k plans for more than three decades, stable value is receiving plenty of interest of late. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

Many Sponsors Evaluating the Key Aspects of Their QDIAs - Summary: At its most basic level, a QDIA evaluation should jibe with everything in a plan's investment policy statement. Yet, there are elements to a QDIA, because you are defaulting people into it, that are different. Here are five key aspects of a QDIA analysis. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

TPAs Have 30% Influence of Total 401k Assets - Summary: A recent study conducted by Cerulli shows the TPA marketplace has a 30% influence on 401k assets. The survey analysts see this percentage increasing in the future and their influence expanding into the 403(b) market. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

Trouble Ahead for Multi-Employer Retirement Plans? - Summary: In a surprise development, Department of Labor representatives recently noted to a group of retirement plan practitioners that a multiple-employer plan (MEP) may not satisfy the requirements of ERISA if there is not a sufficient "connection" between the plan sponsor and the participating employers. Source: CFO.com, August 2011.

Selling Small Businesses on Retirement Plans - Summary: There are many reasons why small-business owners don't establish retirement plans. Although many employees view retirement plans as an important benefit that their employer should offer, the recent economic downturn has made it hard for some employers to justify what they perceive as the tremendous costs involved in setting up and maintaining employer-sponsored retirement plans. Source: Investmentnews.com (free registration may be required), August 2011.

DOL May Consider Broader E-Delivery Regulations - Summary: The DOL has expressed concerns about moving to a default e-delivery environment, where plan sponsors would use electronic communication as the default method for delivering plan communications, while allowing participants to opt out and receive paper. The DOL has indicated it is unsure if sufficient numbers of participants have access to electronic devices and the internet, and whether participants are "computer-literate" enough to receive plan communications electronically. The DOL, however, is continuing to explore the issue. Source: Vanguard, August 2011.

Prepare Your Clients for Upcoming 401k Regulations - Summary: A new regulation set forth by the Department of Labor states that 401k plan vendors will have until April 1, 2012, to disclose fees to plan sponsors, while plan sponsors will have until May 31, 2012, to disclose fees to employees on their quarterly statements. Fee disclosure is the jumping off point for the new regulations. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, your clients will need to react to several new initiatives. Source: Accountingweb.com, August 2011.

Retirement Income Products: Will Employees Welcome or Resent This Form of Employer Activism? - Summary: The purpose of this article is to touch upon the possible employer concern that participants may view the introduction of a retirement income product as a suspicious and unwarranted instance of "employer activism." This article presents examples of how other initiatives that employers have taken with the goal of influencing retirement outcomes have been very favorably perceived by employees. Source: Institutional Retirement Income Council , August 2011.

Why 401k Plans Are Doomed From the Start - Summary: The purpose of a 401k is to provide meaningful retirement income to plan participants during his or her retirement. Most plans fail to meet this objective due to mistakes by the participants and plan sponsors. This applies to both large and small companies. Source: Forbes, August 2011.

What Is the Average Retirement Age? - Summary: Since working longer is the key to a secure retirement for the vast majority of older Americans, it is useful to take a look at labor force trends for those under and over age 65 for the last century. Report finds that the downward retirement age trajectory stopped around the mid-1980, and since then it has gradually increased. Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, August 2011.

Mid-Caps in DC Lineups: Considerations for Plan Sponsors - Summary: While the vast majority of DC plans offer at least one index fund, they are mostly concentrated in the large-cap segment of the U.S. stock market. Passive funds representing other asset classes are offered in far fewer plans, which may be due to popular misconceptions about the efficacy of indexing in markets that are perceived to be less efficient than large-cap equities. In this paper, S&P Indices considers the basis for this perception, illustrating why they believe it is unfounded for mid-cap equities. Source: Standard & Poor , August 2011.

401k Nation: Road To Retirement Gets Rockier - Summary: We have a retirement system where people's individual investments determine what they will have for income to support themselves in the last years of life. But we live in a crazy world. And the two taken together make for sleepless nights. Source: NPR, August 2011.

DOL Further Delays Service Provider and Participant Fee Disclosure Deadlines - Summary: The U.S. Department of Labor recently extended the deadlines for two major disclosure rules: the service provider fee disclosure rule and the participant fee disclosure rule. Despite the extensions, plan administrators should familiarize themselves with these disclosure requirements and begin developing their compliance plans. Article contains background and sample disclosure checklists. Source: McDermott Will & Emery, August 2011.

More Workers Dipping Into Retirement Savings to Make Ends Meet - Summary: Some workers are making ends meet by dipping into their long-term savings. More than one-in-five (21 percent) workers say they have reduced their 401k contributions and/or personal savings in the last year to get by, according to a new nationwide survey by CareerBuilder. Source: 401khelpcenter.com, August 2011.

How to Manage Your 401k Through Market Down Swings - Summary: The stock market has been a lot like riding a rollercoaster the past few weeks – one day way up and the next way down. It's been mostly a fast ride down of late and many 401k investors have become fearful to the point where they consider pulling out of stock funds. Source: Forbes, August 2011.

VIDEO: New Fee-Disclosure Rules: What Plan Fiduciaries Need to Know - Summary: In this video webcast, two Vanguard experts explain the new fee-disclosure regulations for retirement plans and participants. Barbara Fallon-Walsh, head of Vanguard Institutional Retirement Plan Services, and John Schad, an ERISA attorney and co-leader of Vanguard Strategic Retirement Consulting, provide an overview of the regulations, discuss details of the reporting requirements, and answer frequently asked questions from clients. Source: Vanguard, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: Without 401k, it Would be Worse - Summary: As the DOW rides waves of volatility, lurching up and down by hundreds of points, there is one island of stability in this stormy sea – – 401k. Source: Profit Sharing/401k Council of America, August 2011.

Secrets of a Professional Fiduciary - Summary: The challenges of the modern fiduciary are plentiful and complex. However, those fiduciaries who have a "professional" mindset and are governed by stewardship principles can follow a simplistic formula for minimizing risk, maximizing value for their stakeholders, and meeting (or exceeding) fiduciary industry standards. Source: Roland|Criss , August 2011.

Six Ways to Limit Your Chances of a Visit From the DOL - Summary: The Department of Labor is in the process of adding hundreds of investigators to its staff. And since DOL investigators are responsible for enforcement of fiduciary, reporting and disclosure requirements for employee benefit plans, that means you had better be following the letter of the law. Here are six ways to avoid a visit from your friendly local DOL investigator. Source: Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, August 2011.

Sponsors Limit Target-Date Fund Picks - Summary: Although an entire series of target-date funds may be marketed to retirement plan sponsors, they may decide to choose only a few funds out of the series. So say data from a new analysis of 401k recordkeeper platforms released by the Financial Research Corporation. Source: Advisorone.com, August 2011.

Guiding Principles in Redesigning DC Plans - Summary: Dialog with Judy Mares, Chief Investment Officer of Alliant Techsystem, about the redesign of their defined contribution plan. Judy shares the five guiding principles they established to guide the plan changes. Then she talks about how behavioral research influenced modification of their auto-savings programs, loan availability, and investment structure. Judy explains the revised three-tier investment design, including target-date funds, an active and passive core lineup, and a mutual fund-only brokerage window. Source: PIMCO, August 2011.

August 2011 ERISA Litigation Newsletter - Summary: Two articles featured that discuss the accrual of statutes of limitations for ERISA claims, providing practical insight into reliance on the statutes to bar plaintiffs' claims. The first article discusses the Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Thompson v. Retirement Plan for Employees of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., addressing the accrual of claims for benefits. The second article provides an overview of varying approaches among the Courts of Appeals regarding statutes of limitations applicable to breach of fiduciary duty claims. Source: Proskauer Rose LLP, August 2011.

Retirement Crisis Overblown, New Report Says - Summary: The retirement crisis might not be all it's been cracked up to be. A new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Rand Corp. finds seven in 10 Americans between the ages of 66 and 69 are "adequately prepared" for the consumption levels required for a successful retirement. Source: Advisorone.com, August 2011.

A Brief History of Indexing - Summary: For those unfamiliar with the history of index funds, Bogle's Folly is the Vanguard 500, the world's first index mutual fund. On August 31, 1976, it launched as the First Index Investment Trust with little fanfare, but soon attracted much derision for its central premise. Source: Morningstar.com, August 2011.

The Importance of Understanding and Monitoring Retirement Plan Fees and Expenses - Summary: This 12 page article discusses the fiduciary duties under the ERISA with respect to fees and expenses, describe the more common compensation arrangements in the retirement plan industry today, and provide suggestions for defined contribution plan fiduciaries to monitor and evaluate their plans for compliance with the applicable legal standards. Source: Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC , August 2011.

The Dark Side of Automatically Enrolling Workers in 401k's - Summary: Rightfully lauded for boosting participation rates in 401k plans, the trend towards automatic enrollment in 401k plans is having the opposite effect on overall 401k savings rates. What can companies do to combat the trend? Source: Smartmoney.com, August 2011.

401k Withdrawal Mistakes to Avoid - Summary: Simply saving in a 401k plan isn't enough to ensure your retirement security. You also have to withdraw the money from your retirement account in a way that maintains as much of your spending power as possible. Making these 401k withdrawal mistakes could cost you in retirement. Source: U.S.News & World Report, August 2011.

Experts Predict Improved Retirement Plans - Summary: The defined contribution plans of 2015 will be better-suited to help participants achieve a successful retirement, according to experts responding to Diversified Investment Advisors' Prescience 2015: Expert Opinions on the Future of Retirement Plans. Source: Plansponsor.com, August 2011.

Target-Date Funds to Face Unexpected Hurdles - Summary: New analysis of 401k recordkeeper platform data has uncovered that retirement plan sponsors are selecting only specific parts of a target-date fund series, even though asset managers market the entire target-date fund series. Source: 401khelpcenter.com, August 2011.

Do's and Don'ts of Hardship Distributions - Summary: Some retirement plans, such as 401k and 403(b) plans, may allow participants to withdraw from their retirement accounts because of a financial hardship, but these withdrawals must follow IRS guidelines. Here are some do's and don'ts. Source: IRS, August 2011.

DC Plan Participants' Activities, First Quarter 2011 - Summary: This report updates results from ICI's survey of a cross section of recordkeeping firms representing a broad range of DC plans and covering nearly 24 million employer-based DC retirement plan participant accounts as of March 2011. The broad scope of the recordkeeper survey provides valuable inferences about recent withdrawal, contribution, asset allocation, and loan decisions of participants in these plans. Source: Investment Company Institute , August 2011.

Which Fiduciary Cost Matters Most: The Broker's or the Retirement Investor's? - Summary: Research calls into question claims by politicians and industry lobbyists that suggest the costs of the DOL's proposed change in the definition of fiduciary may "hurt the economy." While increased business costs may hurt brokers forced to comply with the same rules as RIAs, it's clear the cost of not updating the definition of fiduciary entails far greater costs to retirement plan investors. Source: Fiduciarynews.com, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: A Guide to Undermining Fiduciary Duties - Summary: In a recent Fiduciary Corner column for InvestmentNews, Blaine Aikin takes a look at the Congressional model of outwardly embracing accountability and ethical behavior, while simultaneously building a system of easily circumvented rules. The model consists of four parts. Source: FI360.com, August 2011.

Best Practices for Educating Female Employees on Retirement Benefits - Summary: This article reviews how employers can shift their current benefits communication to meet women's learning styles and needs through a benefits planning approach rather than the traditional type of benefits communication. Source: Benefitspro.com, August 2011.

Understanding the Duty to Collect Contributions - Summary: The DOL is increasing activity around establishing and enforcing a trustee duty to collect delinquent contributions, in spite of plan provisions insulating the trustee from that responsibility. This article describes the current situation. Source: Sungard/Relius, August 2011.

Vendor Management: Standards for ERISA Compliance - Summary: ERISA Regulation 408(b)(2) requires diligent vendor management by retirement plan sponsors. This is a summary of the Vendor Management Standard for complying with ERISA published by the Investment Fiduciary Leadership Council. Source: Investment Fiduciary Leadership Council , August 2011.

Failure to Divest Tarnished Employer Stock in Participant's Account Breached Duty of Prudence - Summary: Defined contribution plan trustees breached their duty of prudence toward a participant when they permitted his individual account to remain invested almost exclusively in employer stock, despite a predictable plunge in the stock's value, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago (CA-7) has ruled in Peabody v. Davis. Source: CCH, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: Five Things We Can Count on Over the Next Five Years - Summary: "While it's fun and interesting to look back at what's gone on the past several years – to imagine what might have been, and perhaps to rue what has, it's clear that we've all come a long way over the past five years - and little question that we have an interesting road ahead as well. Here are five things I think we can count on for the next five years." Source: Plansponsor Institute, August 2011.

Pension Vendors Must Be Prudently Selected and Monitored - Summary: Organizations that sponsor pension plans are generally responsible for ensuring that their plans comply with federal law -- including ERISA. Many sponsors rely on other professionals to advise and assist them with their employee benefit plan duties. For this reason, selecting competent service providers is one of the most important responsibilities of a plan sponsor. In fact, hiring a service provider is a regulated fiduciary function. Source: Roland|Criss , August 2011.

403(b) Plans Looking More Like 401k Plans, Survey Shows - Summary: Retail mutual funds gained market share in 403(b) plans last year, while the use of once-popular group fixed annuities fell sharply, a survey by Cerulli Associates, Boston, shows. The firm also predicted mutual funds will play an ever-increasing role in these plans. Source: Pensions & Investments, August 2011.

Tweaking 'Target-Date' Fund Lineups - Summary: Some employers are reviewing the target-date mutual funds that have become mainstays in their 401k plans and are making changes. The changes include replacing current funds with similar ones from other providers to reduce fees, or working with asset managers to create target-date portfolios tailored specifically for the employer and its workers. Some organizations are trying both approaches. Source: Wall Street Journal, August 2011.

Form 8955-SSA Individual Statement: A New Question for a Forgotten Requirement - Summary: Recently, the IRS released the 2009 Form 8955-SSA. The new form replaces the Schedule SSA which was filed with the Form 5500. The IRS has made several changes in the new form. None was more significant than the new question asking whether " … The plan administrator provide[d] an individual statement to each participant required to receive a statement" (line 8). Because most plans were unaware of the individual statement, the requirement to provide one has largely been ignored. This article addresses the individual statement requirement. Source: Sungard/Relius, August 2011.

Ten Major Misconceptions About the Retirement Plan Business - Summary: The retirement plan industry can often be a difficult place for a financial advisor to break into and there are many misconceptions that are out there that many advisors believe for one reason or another. So this article is an attempt to debunk many of these misconceptions. Source: The Rosenbaum Law Firm, August 2011.

Obama Gets Earful of Advisors' DOL Fiduciary Rule Complaints - Summary: Advisors are taking their objections to the DOL's controversial rule amending the definition of fiduciary straight to the White House. More than 3,000 letters have poured into President Barack Obama in the last three weeks at the urging of the Financial Services Institute. Source: Advisorone.com, August 2011.

2011 Trends & Experience in Defined Contribution Plans - Summary: This Trends & Experience in Defined Contribution plans survey has been conducted every two years since 1991. The 2011 survey was responded to by 546 employers across a variety of plan types, sizes and industries. For purposes of this survey the term Defined Contribution plans include 401k, profit sharing, 403(b) custodial account, 401(a), 457(b) governmental plans, etc. The survey was fielded in the first quarter of 2011, to understand employer trends relating to retirement plan offerings, design, and investments. Source: Aon Hewitt , August 2011.

Top Small-Cap Funds in 401k Plans: T. Rowe, Vanguard Lead - Summary: A lot of investors wish their 401k plans had better fund options. One of the most problematic categories seems to be small-cap funds. Here are the 12 most popular small-cap funds held in U.S. 401k plans. Source: Barrons, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: Why ETFs Are 401k Plans Next Big Thing - Summary: Exchange-Traded Funds are quickly becoming popular in 401k plans. Why you ask? Well, there are three big reasons. Source: Forbes, August 2011.

Brown v. Continental Airlines: Have We Reached the Boundary of Fiduciary Responsibility? - Summary: On July 18, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down a decision in Brown v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 2011 WL 2780505, on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, that clarifies a plan administrator's duties in connection with reviewing QDROs that may been obtained under false pretenses but which also may curtail an ERISA plan fiduciary's ability to protect plan assets. Source: Trucker Huss, August 2011.

Are You Amending Your 401k or Pension Plan? A Court Reminds Us to "Do It Right" or Else - Summary: A recent decision provided a wake up call for plan sponsors and plan committees: the court set aside a plan amendment in an ongoing challenge to the elimination of Nabisco stock as an investment choice in the RJR Tobacco plan. Source: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, August 2011.

Embrace Your Fiduciary Responsibility - Summary: Understand your fiduciary duty to your client and embrace it. Fiduciary duty means you're responsible for putting your clients' best interests before your own. Misstating the nature of your fiduciary responsibility, even unintentionally, is an ethical violation. An interview with Ronald E. Hagan, President and CEO of Roland|Criss Fiduciary Services. Source: 403b-advisor.net, August 2011.

Fear of US Government Default Drove 401k Investors From Stock Funds - Summary: The joint impact of the economic recession and higher benefit costs has also complicated employers' hiring decisions. Companies are now dealing with high health care costs and considerable uncertainty about health care reform. Economic conditions have also driven up pension costs. Between the higher known costs and the uncertainty, many companies are waiting for the dust to settle before hiring new employees. Source: Washington Post, August 2011.

The Economic Recession: Impact on Employment Trends and Retirement Patterns - Summary: The joint impact of the economic recession and higher benefit costs has also complicated employers' hiring decisions. Companies are now dealing with high health care costs and considerable uncertainty about health care reform. Economic conditions have also driven up pension costs. Between the higher known costs and the uncertainty, many companies are waiting for the dust to settle before hiring new employees. Source: Towers Watson, August 2011.

Reducing Plan Leakage Improves Workers Retirement Income Security - Summary: The report documents the negative impact of leakage factors such as cashouts, hardship withdrawals, and loans on defined contribution plan participants' likely retirement income adequacy. It finds that plan leakage can reduce by more than 14 percentage points the probability that low-wage participants will successfully be able to replace most of their income in retirement after 31-40 years of plan eligibility. Source: 401khelpcenter.com, August 2011.

Plug the Drain: 401k Leakage and the Impact on Retirement - Summary: In this white paper, the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association examines the impact of leakage factors on workers' retirement income adequacy. They examine how loans, hardship withdrawals, distributions and cash outs impact potential outcomes. Contrary to many assumptions around leakage, the DCIIA research points to trends around cash outs and distributions to be the most harmful of the leakage points. Finally they provide recommendations on steps plan sponsors can take now to prevent retirement savings leakage. Source: Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association , August 2011.

DOL to Shift Toward Stricter Enforcement of 403(b) Regs - Summary: In a recent news briefing, a former Department of Labor official hinted that employers still struggling to comply with 415 rules outlined for 403(b) plans under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 may have played out the last of the agency's leniency regarding enforcement. Source: Employee Benefit News, August 2011.

The Need for Plan Sponsors to 'Tune-Up' Their Retirement Plans - Summary: Taking care of a retirement plan is like taking care of a car, a plan sponsor has to perform maintenance of their retirement plan. Too many plan sponsors have a "drawer mentality" when it comes to their retirement plan, they put it in the back of their drawer and forget it. This type of mentality exposes the plan sponsor to potential liability because neglect of a retirement plan is a breach of a plan sponsor's fiduciary duty as a plan sponsor. Source: The Rosenbaum Law Firm, August 2011.

Eight Tips for Conducting Successful Retirement Plan Education Programs - Summary: If you are offering a 401k plan to your employees, but not sharing the value of the plan or how to use it properly, you aren't really committing to a solid retirement program. The most successful employee education programs have eight common characteristics. Source: Employee Benefit News, August 2011.

We Need to Spoon Feed Participants - Summary: The majority of employers want to prepare employees for a financially secure retirement, but have found educational campaigns unlikely to result in substantial changes in behavior. Employers walk a fine line when they implement automatic features; some argue that they enable lax saving habits and investment ignorance by funneling participants into plans automatically. Source: Employee Benefit News, August 2011.

Research Shows Too Many Choices, Inadequate Education Impairs Participants' 401k Decisions - Summary: When individuals are faced with too many options, they become paralyzed and don't make the best decisions - even when it comes to 401k options, according to a new study co-authored by Columbia Business School and University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Source: Employee Benefit News, August 2011.

Increasing Demand for 401k Advice - Summary: Almost 80% of employers anticipate that there will be an increased demand for access to savings and investment advice about their 401k plans, according to a survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Source: Employee Benefit News, August 2011.

COMMENTARY: Asset Allocation Models Are the Only Way Forward for 401k's - Summary: There are a few main points that are outlined this article. First, the majority of participants are not engaged in their 401k plan. Second, this realization has recently influenced a substantial movement in the industry to simplify investment management for participants. Third, the industry response has been primarily target-date funds which have increased in popularity and inclusion as a result of the first two points; though they fall very short of being the best solution for plans and participants. Source: Invest n Retire, August 2011.

The Changing Prospects for Same-Sex Marriage, and Its Impact on Employee Benefits - Summary: This article provides an update on the status of same-sex marriages (and other marriage equivalents) in California and other jurisdictions, and the potential impact of same-sex marriage on employee benefit plans. Source: Trucker Huss , August 2011.

DOL Pains Wall Street; Rules Would Toughen Pension Oversight - Summary: Securities firms already have a headache over looming rules by U.S. regulators that could require brokers to do only what is best for clients. Now, the pain may be getting more intense. The Labor Department is plowing ahead with plans to expand its oversight of pension plans, 401k plans and individual retirement accounts despite resistance from Wall Street. Source: Wall Street Journal, August 2011.

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