Opinions

The Olympics are already a distant memory for many, but despite the challenges of trying to keep up with events that are occurring halfway across the world, there...

September 2, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - A plan provider asks: "Assuming the requirements under 404(c) are met, is 404(c) protection available to 403(b) plan sponsors? If so, does...

September 2, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - Yes, Virginia, the Internal Revenue Code does have non-discrimination rules for 403(b) plans. And the rules have been expanded in the Treasury...

Last week, the Department of Labor took another step toward finishing another piece of unfinished business when it proposed regulations necessary to implement (in confidence, anyway) the provisions...

August 19, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - New 403(b) regulations include nondiscrimination rules and testing not previously required by the Internal Revenue Service.

At the moment, the industry is scrambling to respond to the DoL's call for comments on the proposed participant fee disclosure regulations by September 8.

Like most of you, I have found the soaring price of gasoline to be enormously frustrating.

August 5, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - The good news is, if responses to PLANSPONSOR's (b)lines Compliance Survey are any indication, most 403(b) plan sponsors are on track to...

August 5, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - In the wake of the 403(b) regulations under the Internal Revenue Code, tax-exempt entities are asking whether they should forget the 403(b)...

Last week, the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released its much-anticipated proposal regarding participant fee disclosures.

By some accounts, I just spent the past week in "retirement"—driving around sightseeing, reading some good books, and yes—even sitting on a beach.

July 15, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - A plan adviser asks: "Will the 403(b) rule changes begin January 1, 2009, for sponsors who have a plan year end other...

July 15, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR ((b)lines) - Moscow citizens are Mosquitoes? Janitors are a main cause of dust?

July 15, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR (b)lines) - You are a public school or a 501(c)(3) employer who is approaching the January 1, 2009, deadline for complying with the Internal...

Over the past several years, it has become "fashionable" in some quarters to bash the workplace retirement savings plan; most frequently, the 401(k).

July 1, 2008 ((b)lines) - First, the new 403(b) regulations. Now, expect to see the IRS at your door with a stepped up audit program to ensure compliance.

July 1, 2008 ((b)lines) - A plan administrator states: "We administer a 403(b)(9) plan for our national church body, and we currently have about 2,500 churches and schools...

This coming Friday, the nation will, in large part, set aside its normal business for a three-day weekend filled with cookouts and fireworks displays, as we commemorate the...

Having just spent most of the past week in Chicago at our annual Plan Designs conference (bigger and better than ever, I might add!), my head is still...

June 17, 2008 ((b)lines) - A 403(b) plan adviser asks: "If a small 501(c)(3) organization serves as a conduit for its employees to contribute to a 403(b), is...