Outline for Presentation:



Employee Benefits Research Tips and Techniques:

Finding Answers in the Complex World of Employee Benefits

Louisville Employee Benefits Council

March 10, 2009

B. Janell Grenier

The Grenier Law Firm

1554 Paoli Pike #308

West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380

610.431.6677

jgrenier@



“Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves,

or we know where we can find information upon it.”

Samual Johnson, 1775

I. Laws Affecting Benefits

A. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”)

History of ERISA

1. Professor James Wooten, University at Buffalo Law School, SUNY: “The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 – A Political History”

2. Professor Wooten’s History of ERISA: “A Legislative and Political History of ERISA Preemption” (In three parts)

• Part I:



• Part II:



• Part III:

B. Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”)

C. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”)

D. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”)

E. Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”)

F. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”)

G. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”)

H. Medicare

I. Securities Laws

II. Governmental Agencies Governing Benefits

A. Department of Labor (“DOL”) - Federal agency responsible for administering and enforcing ERISA.

B. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) - Federal agency responsible for administering and enforcing the Internal Revenue Code.

C. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) - Federal government corporation established by ERISA to ensure the timely and uninterrupted payment of benefits to pension plan participants and beneficiaries. The PBGC is financed through premiums collected from companies that sponsor plans.

D. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) - Federal agency responsible for enforcing federal securities laws.

E. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”): Federal agency responsible for overseeing the ADEA.

F. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”): Federal agency responsible for overseeing HIPAA.

III. Finding Source Documents (Hard Copy or Online)

A. ERISA and Internal Revenue Code

1. CCH:

• 2-volume set containing Code and ERISA, and all final regulations

• 4-volume contains preambles to regulations, temporary regulations and selected committee reports.

2. Online Source Documents

• Internal Revenue Code (via Cornell University Law School website):



• ERISA (via Cornell University Law School website):



*Updates to the Code and ERISA in the right hand column of the Cornell website

• You can find links to the Code and ERISA on Benefitsblog () in the sidebar on the right.

B. Internal Revenue Service Documents

1. IRS Regulations

• Final Regulations: [1]

• IRS Website (Links to Final and Proposed Regulations):

• Benefitsblog () link to the Final Regulations in the sidebar.

2. IRS Rulings, Rev. Proc.’s, PLRs, TAMs

• IRS Website:

← Guidance Issued in 2009:



← Going back to 2000:

← Advance copies before published:

• Legal Bitstream:

3. Examination Guidelines

• Provide guidance on specific technical topics of particular interest relating to qualified retirement plans. These guidelines are for reference and use by EP personnel.

4. Employee Plans Continuing Professional Education Technical Instruction Program (referred to as “CPE Texts”)

• Materials are designed for training of IRS personnel.

• Helpful topics such as:

← Compensation

← EGTRRA

← Controlled Groups

← Plan Terminations

← Church Plans and Governmental Plans

← Statute of Limitations

← 457 Plans

5. Quality Assurance Bulletins

• The Employee Plans Quality Assurance Staff (“EP QAS”) reviews and analyzes case files in an effort to improve accuracy and quality and to discover opportunities for improvement. The EP QAS issues Employee Plans Quality Assurance Bulletins (“QABs”) on topics of interest to ensure the consistent processing of case files by EP Specialists.



• Part-Time Revisited QAB:



C. Department of Labor/EBSA resources for understanding ERISA:

1. General Information:

• 679,000 private retirement plans

• 2.5 million health plans,

• Similar numbers of other welfare benefit plans

2. EBSA Contact Numbers:

3. DOL Regulations

• Regulations:



• Final regulations listed by year:



• Proposed Regulations:

4. Advisory Opinions, Information Letters, FABs, Class Exemptions



5. Wirtz Labor Law Library (in honor of Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor, 1962-1969):



Wirtz Labor Digital Library (includes links to Benefitsblog and other blogs)



6. ERISA Advisory Council Working Group Reports



D. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Documents

1. PBGC Regulations:



2. Significant Guidance Documents:



3. Technical Updates:

4. Opinion Letters:



5. Pension Search Directory:



• As of 2007, PBGC was holding $133 million in unclaimed pension benefits for 32,000 people owed money from terminated defined benefit pension plans.

6. Brochure on Finding a Lost Pension:



7. Center on Federal Financial Institutions:



E. Case Law

1. Supreme Court Cases:

• Official Supreme Court site:

• Oyez:

• Cornell University Law School:

• Scotusblog:

• ScotusWiki:

2. Circuit Courts of Appeals and District Court Cases:

• Circuit Map and Court Locator

• Circuit Court Cases:

← Findlaw:

• District Court Cases:

← fastcase® (free or paid service with Bar Association):

← Pacer ($.08 per pg):

← Westlaw (by subscription)

← LexisNexis (by subscription)

IV. Researching Answers and Finding Information

A. By Type of Plan, Task or Issue

1. Drafting Plan Provisions

Qualified Plans

• Listing of Required Modification: A collection of information packages designed to assist sponsors who are drafting or re-drafting plans to conform with applicable law and regulations. Includes sample plan provisions for qualified plans, IRAs, SEPs and SIMPLEs.



• Alert Guidelines (Worksheets), Explanations and Plan Deficiency Paragraphs (Checksheets): These forms are tools used by Employee Plans Specialists during their review of retirement plans.

• 2008 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements: Guidance published annually in mid-November of each year that identifies, on a year-by-year basis, all changes in the qualification requirements resulting from changes in statutes, or from regulations or other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin that are required to be taken into account in the written plan document that is submitted to IRS for an opinion, advisory, or determination letter (as applicable).



Drafting Benefit Plans In General

• : free database of documents extracted from securities filings submitted to the SEC.

• : Can purchase 401(a), 403(b), nonqualified, and health plan documents.

• RIA

• EBIA

• SunGard: (A number of sample plan amendments posted)



• Qualified Retirement Plans, Michael J. Canan, vol. 2.

2. Determination Letter Process

• IRS Website:

• Forms:

• User Fees:

• Chart for Determining Submission Period for Remedial Amendment Cycle:



• Status of Determination Letter Request:

3. IRS Audits

• IRS Website:

• IRS’s EP Examination Process Guide:

• Initiation of an Examination:

• Top ten tips to prepare for an efficient audit:

4. Self-Audits and Correction Programs

IRS Resources:

• 401(k) Check-up:

• 403(b) Check-up:



• Common Plan Mistakes and their Fixes:

• IRS’s Correcting Plan Errors Webpage:



• 401(k) Fix-It Guides:



• Rev. Proc. 2008-50:



• AICPA Website:



• Seth Tievsky’s “IRS-Approved Voluntary Corrections Under EPCRS: 1993 – 2008” (through BNA or Westlaw)

DOL Resources:

• Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (“DFVC”)

• Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”)



(This is a link to the IRS’s website, but it contains links to DOL resources.)

5. 401(k) Plans

• Sal Tripodi’s ERISA Outline Book

• EBIA’s 401(k) Plans

• Thompson Publishing’s 401(k) Handbook

• RIA’s Checkpoint

• 401k Help Center ()

6. 403(b) Plans

• IRS Website (including links to final regulations and other guidance):



• Index to the 403(b) regulations:

• IRS Check-up for your 403(b) plan:

• Top Ten 403(b) Compliance Issues:

• Association of School Business Officials International:



7. 457(b) and (f) Plans

• BNA Portfolio: Employee Benefits for Tax Exempt Organizations (373-3rd)

• BNA Portfolio: Deferred Compensation Arrangements (385-4th)

• Aspen’s 457 Answer Book

• IRS Website on 457(b) Plans:

• IRS EP CPE Text for 457 Plans:

8. Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans and 409A

• CCH 409A Sourcebook

• Benefitsblog:

(links to the Code, Final Regulations and other 409A guidance)

9. Governmental Plans

• Carol Calhoun’s Governmental Plans Answer Book

Her website () has links to all the state governmental plans

• ALI-ABA Retirement, Deferred Compensation, and Welfare Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers Conference (held in September of each year)

10. Health Plans

• EBIA Products (now on RIA):

← Cafeteria Plans

← Consumer Drive Health Plans

← COBRA

← ERISA

← HIPAA

← Group Health Plan Mandates

11. 125 Plans, FSAs, HRAs, HSAs

• EBIA:

← Cafeteria Plan Manual

← Consumer Drive Health Plans

• Aspen’s Health Savings Account Answer Book

12. VEBAs/MEWAs

• BNA Portfolio: VEBAs and Other Self-Insured Arrangements (305-2nd)

• DOL’s: Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA): A Guide to Federal and State Regulation



13. Controlled Group Questions

S. Derrin Watson’s

• Website:

• Book: Who's the Employer (4th Edition) (online edition)

• Reading Room:

• Q & A’s for BenefitsLink: They are organized by topic here:

14. ERISA Fiduciary Issues

• DOL’s E-laws – ERISA Fiduciary Advisor:

• ERISA Outline Book by Sal Tripodi

• ERISA Fiduciary Answer Book

• ERISA Fiduciary Law by Susan Serota

• Fiduciary360:

15. Benefits Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions

• Ilene Ferenczy’s Employee Benefits in Mergers & Acquisitions

• JCEB Conference: Employee Benefits in Mergers & Acquisitions: Benefits in Transactions During Troubled Times – April 24, 2009

16. Required Minimum Distributions (401(a)(9)

• Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits

By Natalie Choate

17. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (“QDROs”)

• DOL:

• PBGC:

• Gary Schulman’s Qualified Domestic Relations Order Handbook

18. Benefits Issues in Bankruptcy

• American Bankruptcy Institute’s Pension Manual: A Practical Guide to Pension Issues Arising in Business Bankruptcy Cases (Hard Copy)

o Focuses on the intersection between bankruptcy law and ERISA. Incorporates BAPCPA provisions, as well as the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

• Nell Hennessy’s Website:



B. Top Research Tools

• CCH ‘s Pension and Employee Benefits Code and ERISA Regulations

• RIA Checkpoint

• Sal Tripodi’s ERISA Outline Book

• EBIA’s ERISA Compliance for Health and Welfare Plans (either via RIA or ebook)

• EBIA’s Consumer Driven Health Plans (either via RIA or ebook)

• Ilene Ferenczy’s Employee Benefits in Mergers & Acquisitions (Hard copy)

• BNA Portfolio on VEBAs and Other Self-Insured Arrangements

• Gary Lesser’s 457 Answer Book

• Carol Calhoun’s Governmental Plans Answer Book

• Gary Schulman’s Qualified Domestic Relations Order Handbook (Hard copy)

C. Places to Look When You Can’t Find an Answer

• Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Q & As from DOL, CMS, EEOC, HHS, IRS, PBGC,

and the SEC. Q & As for some agencies going back to 1994:

• PBGC Blue Book:



• ALI-ABA Course Materials and MP3s:



• Google:

Article by Florida State University College of Law:

“Basic Legal Research Series: Google Tips and Techniques”



• Rollyo: Create your own benefits search engine



• Search :



V. Staying Current

A. News

Best Free Resources:

• Benefitslink



• Plan Sponsor Magazine’s NewsDash



• EBIA Weekly



• CCH



• Cyberisa



By Subscription:

• BNA Pension & Benefits Daily and/or Pension & Benefits Reporter

• RIA’s CheckPoint

• CCH Pension Plan Guide

B. Blogs

• Aaron Jucket’s One-Stop ESOP Blog:



• B. Janell Grenier’s Benefitsblog:



• Baker & Daniel’s Benefits Biz Blog:



• BNA’s Pension & Benefits Blog:



• Jerry Kalish’s Retirement Plan Blog:



• Pension Watch Blog:



• Roy Harmon III’s Health Plan Law Blog



• Stephen Rosenberg’s Boston ERISA & Insurance Litigation Blog:



• Susan Mangiero’s Pension Risk Matter Blog:



• Suzanne L. Wynn’s Pension Protection Act Blog:



• Workforce Prof Blog:



• Joe Kristan’s Tax Update Blog:



• Professor Paul Caron’s Tax Prof Blog



• Broc Romanek’s Blog



• Kevin LaCroix’s D & O Diary



C. Twitter – Mini-blogs

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

D. Recommended Conferences

• Joint Meeting of the Great Lakes Area TE/GE Council, Gulf Coast TE/GE Liaison Council, Mid-Atlantic Pension Liaison Group and Pacific Coast Area TE:GE Council – February, 2009 Baltimore

• ABA’s Section of Taxation May Meeting

• ASPPA

• ALI-ABA

E. Groups

• Liaison Council for your area

• ASPPA Groups

• American Benefits Council

• ABA’s Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

F. Employee Benefits Research Sites

• Georgetown Law Library Employee Benefits Research Guide:



• :

-----------------------

[1] The Government Printing Office has recently launched FDsys, the Federal Digital system, to give citizens a one-stop place to access government information and documents. FDsys has been a work in progress since 2004, but is now operational.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download