Compliance February 26, 2016

Plan Sponsors Can Skip Compliance Questions on Form 5500

Once “strongly encouraging” plan sponsors to answer the new questions, the IRS is now telling them to skip them.
Reported by

The big news after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the Form 5500 for the 2015 plan year was the addition of compliance questions. 

Answering them was “optional,” the IRS said at the time, “but we strongly encourage you to answer them.” The questions ask for information about how retirement plans satisfy discrimination testing, methods for testing requirements, if the ADP or ACP test is used, and the timeliness of plan amendments.

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

However, now the IRS has changed its stance, telling plans not to answer the questions.

Instructions released by the IRS say, “New Part VII (IRS Compliance Questions) was added to Schedule R for purposes of satisfying the reporting requirements of section 6058 of the Code. The IRS has decided not to require plan sponsors to complete these questions for the 2015 plan year and plan sponsors should skip these questions when completing the form.”

In addition, regarding new financial information reporting on the Form 5500, the IRS says, “New Lines 4o, 4p 6c, and 6d were added to Schedules H and I. The IRS has decided not to require plan sponsors to complete these questions for the 2015 plan year and plan sponsors should skip these questions when completing the form.”
Deals and People February 26, 2016

Retirement Industry People Moves

A new pension risk transfer consultant at Channel Financial Pension Services, Groom Law Group adds executive compensation expertise, and CalPERS starts CEO search.
Reported by

Nicole Ceurvorst has joined Resources Investment Advisors Inc. as a senior consultant for Channel Financial Pension Services.

Ceurvorst will counsel clients on pension risk transfer analysis, deferred vested lump sum windows, pension design and administrative support, accounting and funding strategies, and plan termination. Her stated goals are translating complicated pension requirements into English; easing the burdens of pension management; and making the transition out of those burdens as simple as possible.

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

Ceurvorst brings varied and long experience to Channel Financial Pension Services. She is an Enrolled Actuary, meaning she has been approved by the Joint Board of the Department of the Treasury and Department of Labor to perform actuarial services required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). She was a pension actuary for Towers Watson for more than 20 years, consulting on some of the country’s largest and most complex pension plans. Ceurvorst is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Alan Pitts, a retirement plan consultant for frozen defined benefit plans with Channel Pension Services, says Ceurvorst will help the organization “meet its mission of bringing the same level of expertise currently reserved for Fortune 500 companies to small and mid-sized employers who are also shouldering the burden of pension plan administration and funding,”

Channel Financial Pension Services—a division of Channel Financial, an independent retirement plan consulting firm and affiliate of RIA—provides sponsors of frozen defined benefit plans with strategies to efficiently remove pension risk from their balance sheets while protecting the interests of the plan’s participants. 

NEXT: Groom Law Group adds principal with executive comp expertise.

Dan Hogans, a nationally known executive compensation expert, has joined Groom Law Group as a principal.

Hogans worked extensively on the IRC section 409A rules and other executive compensation guidance while at the Treasury Department and then in private practice at a global law firm.  A frequent speaker at national conferences on benefits and executive compensation, Hogans also focuses on employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) matters.

Michael Prame, executive principal at Groom, cites Hogans for his government experience and thought leadership on sophisticated executive compensation issues.

NEXT: CalPERS opens a CEO search to replace Anne Stausboll.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has opened its search for a new chief executive to replace Anne Stausboll, who said in January that she would retire on June 30. 

The successful candidate will lead and manage the pension fund, health benefit programs and CalPERS' 2,700 employees. The CEO ensures that the organization achieves strategic objectives established by the Board of Administration, while cultivating a high-performing, risk intelligent, collaborative, and innovative culture. The CEO is driven by the organization's mission, vision, and values and will ensure that these are embraced by the employees who make up organization’s dynamic workforce.

The CEO is also a respected, communicative and accessible leader within the many stakeholder communities essential to CalPERS’ mission, and exhibits the highest levels of ethics and integrity.

The search is being led by Heidrick & Struggles, a New York firm. A full description of the position, including contact information, is on CalPERS’ website.

«