Although many people think that governmental section 457(b) plans and private sector 401(k) plans are the same – because they both allow pre-tax deferrals of similar amounts of income – they are not the same. Due to their differing origins, their rules and...
Sponsors of governmental retirement plans seem to be hiring, firing, or transitioning to new third-party administrators (TPAs) or recordkeepers all the time. The differing roles, duties and legal responsibilities of plan administrators, TPAs, and recordkeepers need to...
Although most public employers are familiar with the concept of a “pick-up” of employee mandatory contributions, many do not appreciate what is required to properly document a “pick-up”. This post reviews the basics of employer pick-ups and the documentation...
As previously discussed, a public agency that does not have a section 218 agreement has a choice of participating in Social Security or providing a Social Security Replacement Plan (SSRP). Although many California local governments rely on CalPERS as their principal...
Due to the rising costs of health care and health insurance, pressure from union bargaining partners, and the application of the “equal contribution rule” for public agencies that provide health coverage through CalPERS, many California cities and special districts...
This post addresses the availability of participant-directed investments in practically all California public school district 403(b)s and why the special rules mentioned in California Government Code section 53213.5 must apply if the 403(b) plan is employer-sponsored....
Continuing our commentary on California public school and charter school 403(b)s, we shift focus from the ability of a 403(b) employer to limit investment selection to a discussion of the California law on the selection by public school districts and charter schools...
When it comes to 403(b) plans of California school districts or charter schools, there is confusion about the ability of the sponsoring district or charter school to limit the participant’s ability to select a particular insurance provider for their tax-sheltered...
Just the other day, a public agency client contacted us to find out what to do with a participant’s 457(b) plan deferral election following the participant’s untimely death due to COVID. As with most cases, cities and special districts would owe the former employee...
The vast majority of public agencies already maintain a 457(b), or eligible deferred compensation plan. A much smaller number also maintains one or more 401(a) plans in addition. This post discusses some of the reasons a public agency might want to add a 401(a) plan...
Most public agency defined contribution plan sponsors can easily recall the current amount being contributed to participants in their plan; however, not all can tell you “how” the contribution is being allocated amongst the participants. The distinction between a...
Although financial industry reports reveal that more and more plan sponsors are offering managed account options, it is not clear that public agency 457(b) and 401(a) plan fiduciaries understand their responsibilities to select and monitor these investment options....
Recently announced changes in the IRS-sponsored Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) may encourage public agencies with known plan compliance problems or defects to apply this calendar year under Anonymous VCP, before that option is replaced in 2022. As part of its...
Quite often, a review of the participant status within an agency’s 401(a) and 457(b) plans will reveal that the plans have a large number of dormant accounts – accounts relating to previously terminated, deceased, or divorced employees (who have divided their accounts...
Previously, we have discussed a number of the do’s and don’ts of switching plan providers, such as investment advisors and recordkeepers. This post focuses on why plan sponsors, plan administrators and plan recordkeepers all should take greater care in reviewing plan...
Investment fiduciaries and plan administrators of California public sector 457(b) and 401(a) plans are required by law to act as “prudent experts” for the sole and exclusive purpose of providing benefits and defraying “reasonable expenses” of administering the plan....
In earlier posts, we discussed the plan documents you should keep as well as some of the policies and procedures you will need to properly maintain and administer your governmental 401(a) or 457(b) plan. This post discusses the participant-level records that you may...
As we previously explained, most public agencies are not automatically subject to Social Security. They have a choice between voluntarily participating in Social Security pursuant to a section 218 agreement, or they can exempt some or all of their payroll by providing...
Many public agencies have come to sponsor and maintain multiple 457(b) plans, which can unnecessarily increase the compliance burden as well the fees paid by participants. Although the human resource and finance managers who typically oversee these plans know that it...
Whenever you engage a new recordkeeper for your governmental 457(b) or 401(a) plan, the plan sponsor will be asked to complete, sign and return an authorized plan representatives form (APRF). The APRF designates the so-called “contact persons” and the plan sponsor...
Although many of our municipal and special district clients have sophisticated contracting and RFP departments, they often do not have balanced and well-negotiated administrative service agreements (ASAs) with their 401(a) and 457(b) recordkeepers. This is due in part...
Having worked with dozens of cities and special districts, we are familiar with the focus and attention placed on memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and management employment contracts – especially provisions relating to retirement benefits and compensation....
If you are responsible for the administration of a public agency 457(b) or 401(a) plan, you know that these tax-favored plans are complicated and subject to myriad rules and requirements found in the plan document, the Internal Revenue Code (and related IRS guidance),...
Many cities and their retirement plan investment advisors believe that the city must periodically issue an RFP for defined contribution plan recordkeeping or investment advisory services in accordance with the city’s RFP policy or ordinance. Having reviewed the...
Many investment advisors for public agency 457(b) plans believe that their public agency clients must have a retirement plan committee in order for the plan to have a proper plan administrator or fiduciary structure. As discussed below, we think that there are a lot...
Previously, we described the duties and responsibilities of the plan administrator of a public agency 401(a) or 457(b) plan. While it is important for public agency employees to understand the potential scope of the plan administrator position, there is little...
Many public agency 457(b) plans offer a stable value fund investment option. When a plan moves to a new 457(b) plan recordkeeper, the plan’s investment lineup will usually change. In those cases where the lineup includes a stable value fund, the plan’s investment...
A surprisingly large number of public employees accept appointment as the plan administrator, or a member of the administrative committee, for their agency’s 457(b) or 401(a) plan. An explanation of the typical duties and responsibilities of a plan administrator...
Over the past several months, we have seen a number of public agency clients struggle through the process of evaluating and selecting a retirement plan adviser based only on generic questionnaires, a few phone calls, and an occasional video conference. It’s hard to...
Not surprisingly, many cities and special districts no longer have monies available in their budgets to spend on things such as legal fees to analyze and correct plan administration problems and compliance issues. When it is not feasible for the plan sponsor to pay...
When it comes to retirement plan servicing arrangements for most public agencies, there are basically two flavors: bundled and unbundled. It is important for public plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries to understand the differences between these arrangements so they can...
There is a novel recordkeeping and plan investment arrangement for governmental 457(b) plans that could create a number of problems for the plan’s sponsor, fiduciaries and participants. There may be a significant number of these arrangements throughout California....
Based on numerous requests for plan documents from public agency clients, we know that many cannot find complete sets of their historical and current retirement plan documents that are properly authorized, signed and dated. If this sounds like you, here’s what you...
As many California public agencies are forced to furlough employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, questions arise as to how furloughs are treated for retirement plan distribution rules’ purposes. Let’s begin with a bit of terminology: What is a “furlough?” Although...
Although many employers plan to make changes to their retirement plans to take advantage of employee-friendly CARES Act provisions, public agencies should not blindly adopt recommended changes without thinking about the steps involved. The last Focus on Public...
As expected, the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act contains provisions providing affected workers with greater, more tax-favored, access to portions of their retirement savings. Although it will be possible to make Coronavirus-related...
During the Coronavirus emergency, it may make sense for state and local governments that sponsor 457(b) plans to allow their employees to access the monies in their accounts as unforeseeable emergency distributions. Not all governmental 457(b) plans provide for these...
Many cities and special districts in California maintain one or more defined contribution retirement plans (i.e., a 457(b) or 401(a) plan) in which the participants are given investment responsibility over their respective accounts. However, many agencies are...
There are several tools that can be used to correct or fix governmental plan problems. First, some classification. Practically all the retirement plans we discuss are “tax-advantaged” in one form or another. However, within this group, there are three main subgroups:...
Perhaps the biggest news coming out of California’s Legislature this year was the passage of Assembly Bill 5 – the new law that codifies the 2018 Dynamex case and which imposes a new test for determining employee or independent contractor status for California wage...
With very few exceptions, the rules governing governmental 457(b) plans require a "severance of employment" to occur before a distribution can be made. Recently, we came across yet another of those arcane, little-known rules that will likely trip-up hundreds of...
There continues to be new, complicated problems arising from the improper completion and use of off-the-shelf governmental pre-approval plans. Generally, a pre-approved plan from the document provider is reviewed and pre-approved by the IRS for its general use and...
Like the Energizer Bunny, some retirement plans continue to “run,” even though the employer believes they are “no longer in use.” This problem is particularly prevalent with public agencies that have a tendency to switch from one provider to another without merging...
This is a blog about “public” benefits issues — one that focuses heavily, but not exclusively, on California developments. If we are focusing on California’s public agency retirement and welfare plans — which are generally exempt from ERISA — why worry about ERISA...
Many public sector employers maintain various defined contributions plans (either 401(a) or 457(b)) in addition to their participation in a large, public-defined benefit system, such as CalPERS, CalSTRS or a '37 Act county plan. There are a number of reasons that...
We all sometimes lose track of things hidden away in the back of the closet or fail to stay in touch with friends we haven’t heard from or seen in a while. These common tendencies can cause inconvenience in our everyday lives — but may lead to catastrophic failures...
Most of the special districts and municipalities we represent have numerous collective bargaining units, and many have multiple service locations and facilities. While advising these entities on their retirement and welfare benefits, we've come to realize that their...
Recently, we have dealt with an "epidemic" of retirement plans, both very large and very small, that all have the same problem – the lack of a proper fiduciary structure. Why? As with so many personnel and benefits-related programs, new managers and new advisers...