Break from the Grind May 14, 2015

A Little Friday File Fun

Reported by

In Bakersfield, California, a woman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming she was fired for disabling an app that tracked her 24/7. The former sales executive for money transfer service Intermex claims that her boss fired her shortly after she uninstalled the job-management Xora app that she and her colleagues were required to use on their company-issued iPhones, arstechnica.com reports. According to the lawsuit, the woman and her co-workers asked whether Intermex would be monitoring their movements while off duty. The boss admitted that employees would be monitored while off duty and bragged that he knew how fast the woman was driving at specific moments ever since she installed the app on her phone. The woman likened the app to a prisoner’s ankle bracelet and informed her boss that his actions were illegal, to which he replied that she should tolerate the illegal intrusion.                

In Mount Morris, New York, owners of Build-A-Burger told the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office that their surveillance system and cash register had been stolen early one morning. Deputies checked out a nearby hiking and biking path, where they found cash register parts, surveillance system parts, rubber gloves, loose change and “a steady trail of macaroni salad,” the Associated Press reports. Police say they later learned that three men had stolen a large bowl of the salad and took turns eating it while making their getaway.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

In Beaver, West Virginia, a 43-year-old man went into a pharmacy wearing full camouflage and a paintball mask. The Associated Press reports that the would-be robber started spraying pepper spray in an effort to take down employees, but walked into the cloud of pepper spray in front of him. He staggered out of the business and got into a vehicle. Police investigating the incident discovered the name of the man who was driving the vehicle, and the driver identified the suspect.

In Coventry, Vermont, the latest Mother of the Year award contender—NOT!—has been charged with reckless endangerment and child endangerment. A concerned citizen showed police video of a Subaru station wagon driven by a man, with a woman and 5-year-old child on top. WCAX News reports that police say the car reached speeds of 50 to 55 mph during the two-mile ride. The child has been taken into protective custody.

In Xuzhou City, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, a 74-year-old man swears his cat gave birth to a Chihuahua. He says he took the cat to his friend’s house personally for her to mate, the UK’s Metro reports. She was put in a cage with a male cat for two days. But, he says he is certain he hand-delivered a Chihuahua. “This is very confusing. I hope the media reports this and we get some sort of explanation from a scientist,” he said, according to the news report.


cat births chihuahua

One of the potential hazards of living to see your 102nd birthday.

If you can't view the below video, try https://youtu.be/vXV3wVE5xgU

Whether they like the house or not, potential home buyers won’t forget this house tour.

If you can't view the below video, try https://youtu.be/kcJijx8RIMM

This is how your tooth gets pulled when your father is an Olympian javelin thrower.

If you can't view the below video, try https://youtu.be/id954084Vcs

Compliance May 14, 2015

Experts Say Hardship Self-Certification Was Never Allowed

Some industry groups and providers say a recent IRS publication goes against prior guidance, but experts at the ASPPA Virtual Conference disagree.
Reported by

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a publication about appropriate documentation retirement plan sponsors should keep for participant hardship and loan requests.

For hardship withdrawals, the plan sponsor should retain the following records in paper or electronic format:

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

  • Documentation of the hardship request, review and approval;
  • Financial information and documentation that substantiates the employee’s immediate and heavy financial need;
  • Documentation to support that the hardship distribution was properly made in accordance with the applicable plan provisions and the Internal Revenue Code; and
  • Proof of the actual distribution made and related Forms 1099-R.

The agency says it is not sufficient for plan participants to keep their own records of hardship distributions, and electronic self-certification is not sufficient documentation of the nature of a participant’s hardship.

Speaking at the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries’ (ASPPA’s) first-ever virtual conference, Bob Kaplan, ASPPA Government Affairs Committee co-chair and national training consultant with Voya Financial, noted that after the issuance of the publication, industry groups and providers, including the American Benefits Council and Fidelity, sent a letter to the IRS saying that prior guidance led them to believe they could rely on participant self-certification.

Ilene H. Ferenczy, managing partner at Ferencszy Benefits Law Center LLP, and Craig P. Hoffman, ASPPA general counsel, said that at different events, the IRS has consistently said there needs to be proper documentation of the nature of the financial hardship, and self-certification is not sufficient.

Kaplan speculated that some people in the retirement industry may have misconstrued guidance issued in 2008 in relation to Hurricane Katrina. At that time, the IRS said plan sponsors do not have to have documentation of the nature of the hardship to issue a distribution. However, he pointed out, the guidance said plan sponsors have to follow up to get the documentation after the distribution.

Kaplan said plan sponsors can rely on self-attestation that the participant has an immediate and heavy need for the assets to be distributed, unless the plan sponsors knows for sure otherwise.

He suggested that getting documentation of the nature of the hardship up front is a good idea because it may be harder to get documentation after a participant gets his money. Having documentation will protect plan sponsors in case of audits.

Because of the letters to the IRS, “there may be more to come,” Kaplan stated. “But, the publication shows how the IRS feels about appropriate documentation right now.”

«