Pension Funding Relief Enacted – Sans 401(k) Fee Disclosure
Congress has again enacted temporary relief from the tough Pension Protection Act funding rules – only this time with some strings attached.
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SEC Proposes Additional Disclosures For Target Date Funds
"Target date funds" have become increasingly popular investments for 401(k) and similar participant-directed plans and are often selected as "default" options where participants do not provide investment instructions under DOL's rules for "qualified default investment options". Market losses in 2008, coupled with the increasing significance of target date funds in 401(k) plans, prompted concerns about how target date funds are named, marketed and selected for plans.
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Final DOL Guidance on Late QDROs and Modifications
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 directed the DOL to issue regulations clarifying the treatment of domestic relations orders that modify previously issued QDROs, as well as the treatment of orders issued at various times other than at the time of the divorce itself.
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DOL Expands Class Exemption For Settlement of Plan Claims
The Department of Labor recently amended Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2003-39, which provides relief from the restrictions of section 406(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, for a plan's receipt of certain types of assets from a party in interest as consideration for a release of the plan's or plan fiduciary's claim against the party in interest. The amendment expands the categories of assets a plan may receive upon releasing its claim against a party in interest and makes certain clarifying changes.
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PBGC Provides Relief Procedure for Variable Rate Premium Payers
For a large number of variable-rate premium payers, a failure to check "box 5" on the PBGC's comprehensive premium form created a potentially expensive "catch 22." PBGC initially invalidated these payers' efforts to use the currently less-expensive alternative premium funding target to compute their variable-rate premium, even though another box on the same form and the premium computation itself showed a clear intention to make that APFT election.
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Grandfather Status under PPACA — Interim Final Rule
On June 14, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue Service, jointly released their highly-anticipated "Interim Final Rule for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Plan under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act".
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Agencies Issue Interim Final Rule On Pre-existing Condition Exclusions, Annual & Lifetime Limits, Rescission, Choice Of Providers, And Emergency Services
On June 28, 2010, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury published a new Interim Final Rule addressing several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The new Regulation includes requirements related to preexisting condition exclusions, annual and lifetime dollar limits, rescissions, choice of providers, and coverage of emergency services.
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HHS Issues Final Application for Early Retiree Reinsurance Program
On June 29, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services posted the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program Official Application, Instructions for the Official Application, and a document entitled "Application Submission Do's and Don'ts" to the Office of Consumer Information and Insurer Oversight website. Along with the publication of this information, HHS announced that they are accepting applications immediately.
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