Ascensus - Latest News

EBSA Corrects Recent Disclosure FAQs

May 21, 2012 – The Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a correction to Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2012-02, which contain FAQs on investment, fee, and expense disclosures in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The EBSA discovered an error in Question 19 and has corrected it the FAB.
Specifically, as initially released on May 7, 2012, a sentence in the answer to Question 19 concerning quarterly website updates to average annual total return information inadvertently referred to the most recently completed calendar “year” rather than the most recently completed calendar “quarter.” The Department corrected this error on May 17, 2012, in order to accurately restate the requirements of the regulation. The word “calendar” also was removed from the phrase “... 10-calendar year periods ...”' in the same sentence.
Following is the corrected FAB. Note that the EBSA calls attention to this error in a footnote for Question 19.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/fab2012-2.pdf

June 2012 Interest Rates

May 17, 2012 – The IRS has released the applicable federal interest rates for June 2012 as included in Revenue Ruling 2012-15. These rates are used for such purposes as calculating retirement arrangement distributions that meet the substantially equal periodic payment requirements of IRC Sec. 72(t)(2)(A)(iv).

Revenue Ruling 2012-15 may be accessed as follows.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-12-15.pdf

ASCENSUS IS A TOP PLACE TO WORK

Dresher, Pennsylvania–April 26, 2012–Ascensus, a leading retirement plan solutions provider, has been recognized by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a 2012 Top Workplace. With almost 500 employees in its Dresher, PA, location and more than 1000 nationally, Ascensus earned this distinction in the mid-size category for companies with 150 to 500 employees based in the Delaware Valley. Winners are selected based on anonymous employee responses to the Workplace Dynamics survey.

Employees provided feedback that paints a picture of a company with a culture that remains true to its Core Values: People Matter. Quality First. Integrity Always.®

“I like being part of a team who walks the talk. [Senior leadership] doesn't just ask that the associates live up to the Core Values, but [they] live up to them as well.”

“…the company takes care of the employees…They appreciate ethics and honesty. They listen to your ideas and really believe that the employees are a vital part of the company, not a replaceable component.”

“I love my job because I am good at it and appreciated.”

Along with a competitive benefits package, Ascensus offers comprehensive programs to help employees grow in their careers. This includes ongoing reward programs to recognize exceptional performance. In addition, Ascensus offers a formal mentor program and a job shadowing program that enables employees to learn about other positions within the company firsthand. Other perks include the option to purchase additional vacation time, a paid volunteer time off program and an onsite cafeteria.

“We recognize a direct correlation between associate satisfaction and client satisfaction. Satisfied and engaged associates make Ascensus a great place to work and deliver better service to our clients,” explains Bob Guillocheau, President and Chief Executive Officer at Ascensus. “It is clear that the industry-leading ratings we receive for client service and support in numerous high-profile surveys can be directly attributed to the investment we make in our talented associates.”

“The fact that we earned this distinction solely based on the opinions of our associates makes this honor even more meaningful,” says Amy Walker, Vice President, Human Resources at Ascensus. “We like to think of ourselves as a big organization with the heart of a small business—where associates have opportunities to excel in an enriching work environment where they are truly appreciated.”

About Ascensus
With more than 30 years of industry experience, Ascensus is a leading provider of high-quality retirement plan solutions for organizations of all sizes. Through its 1,000+ highly trained associates and one of the largest ERISA consulting practices in the U.S., Ascensus provides recordkeeping and administrative services to over 27,000 defined contribution plans and administers over 1.5 million IRAs. Ascensus partners with financial institutions to offer tailored solutions to meet the needs of financial professionals, employers and individuals. For more information, visit www.ascensus.com.

Ascensus Sponsors the Ronald McDonald House Charities Telethon

Dresher, Pennsylvania–March 20, 2012–Ascensus, a leading retirement plan solutions provider, is a corporate sponsor of the third annual Ronald McDonald House Charities’ (RMHC) “Change the Luck of a Child” phone bank telethon. Donations from the telethon will be used to improve the health and well-being of children in the Greater Philadelphia Region.

The telethon will be televised on CBS3 and CW Philly on Tuesday, March 20 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and will include a live check presentation by Bob Guillocheau, Ascensus’ President and Chief Executive Officer.

Associates voted to make RMHC one of the national charities supported by Ascensus in 2012 as part of the company’s community engagement program. Last year, associates used Ascensus’ volunteer time off program to participate in the Ronald McDonald House Guest Chef Program, in which volunteers prepare, serve and clean up meals for families of critically ill children receiving treatment at local hospitals.

About Ascensus
With more than 30 years of industry experience, Ascensus delivers high-quality outsourcing solutions for every segment of the retirement plan marketplace. Ascensus services nearly 27,000 defined contribution plans in the micro to large markets and administers over 1.5 million IRAs. Ascensus provides the tools and services to help people prepare for retirement: ERISA consulting, compliance and technology support, trust services, multilingual participant education, training and documentation. Solutions are offered with open architecture investment capabilities tailored to the needs of institutional partners, third party administrators, financial advisors, plan sponsors and participants. Learn more at www.ascensus.com.

CONTACT:
Neil Smith
Executive Vice President,
Strategic Business Support Services
Ascensus
Tel: 215-648-4813
Email:neil.smith@ascensus.com

Alert! - Automatic Rollovers Effective March 28, 2005

February 22, 2005

About the BISYS® Retirement Services "Alert"

BISYS Retirement Services publishes its Alert when time is of the essence regarding important changes that affect the retirement services industry. BISYS has advised financial organizations that offer Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) and employer-sponsored retirement plans since 1975. Presently, BISYS provides services to over 7,000 financial organizations nationwide.

Automatic Rollovers Effective March 28, 2005

New automatic rollover rules for certain mandatory distributions (cash-outs) from tax-qualified retirement plans take effect March 28, 2005. Financial organizations must act quickly to ensure their retirement plan programs remain in compliance with the new requirements. If a tax-qualified retirement plan contains a mandatory distribution provision and a separated participant does not elect a distribution option, the employer may distribute the separated participant’s account balance without consent if the present value of the participant’s nonforfeitable accrued benefit is $5,000 or less. Beginning March 28, 2005, employers can only issue cash distributions for mandatory distributions of $1,000 or less. Mandatory distributions between $1,000 and $5,000 must be directly rolled over to an IRA on behalf of the terminated participants who do not select a payout option.

The automatic rollover rules apply to qualified retirement plans, such as Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sec. 401(k) plans and profit sharing plans, as well as to IRC Secs. 403(b), 414(d) and 457(b) governmental plans, and certain church plans.

Financial Organizations Need to Address IRA Issues

Automatic rollovers from tax-qualified retirement plans will only add to the growing rollover market trend. Financial organizations will undoubtedly receive requests from both current and potential customers to accept these rollover amounts. Financial organizations must ensure they have the appropriate documentation and procedures in place to accept these mandatory rollovers. The process is simple and creates new opportunities for financial organizations to enhance their level of service.

Automatic Rollover Amendment May Be Required

On December 28, 2004, the IRS released Notice 2005-5, which provided guidance on automatic rollovers of mandatory distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans. In addition, the Department of Labor set an effective date of March 28, 2005 to comply with the automatic rollover requirement. A retirement plan that has a mandatory distribution provision but does not yet include an automatic rollover provision must adopt an amendment incorporating automatic rollovers by the end of the first plan year ending on or after March 28, 2005. (Government plans and certain nonelecting church plans have a later amendment deadline.)

BISYS Works With IRS to Expand Amendment Options

In response to comments from BISYS and others within the retirement plans industry, the IRS issued a News Flash on February 16, 2005, which clarifies that pre-approved plans may be amended to reduce the mandatory distribution limit to $1,000 or less, or amended to eliminate the mandatory distribution provision, without losing reliance on existing IRS approval letters. The News Flash also clarifies that plans have until the end of the first plan year ending on or after March 28, 2005, to amend to incorporate the automatic rollover rules, to reduce the mandatory distribution limit, or to eliminate the mandatory distribution provision. Specific timelines are listed below.

Calendar Year Plans—For plans operating on a calendar year basis, an amendment must be adopted by December 31, 2005.
Fiscal Year Plans—For plans operating on a plan year other than the calendar year, an amendment must be adopted by the last day of the first plan year ending on or after March 28, 2005. For example, if a plan operates with a plan year beginning April 1, the plan must be amended by March 31, 2005.

BISYS Document Sponsors

To incorporate the full spectrum of options and keep the amendment process simple, BISYS is offering two amendment solutions. Document sponsors must consider what type of amendment will best fit their plan documents and their adopting employers’ needs.

Amend at the Document Sponsor Level (Prototype Plans Only)

This amendment option allows financial organizations to select one approach to mandatory distributions that will apply to all employers using its plans. BISYS’ standard amendment reduces the mandatory distribution threshold to $1,000. This option allows employers to issue cash distributions for amounts of $1,000 or less and avoid the automatic rollover requirements. This amendment occurs at the prototype sponsor organization level and, therefore, does not require a signature from adopting employers. BISYS can also provide customized amendments for financial organizations that wish to mandate a rollover option or use a mandatory distribution threshold lower than $1,000.

Amend at the Employer Level (Prototype or Volume Submitter Plans)

This amendment option allows employers to elect either to retain the mandatory distribution threshold of $5,000, which will require automatic rollovers of amounts between $1,000 and $5,000, or elect to reduce the mandatory distribution limit to $1,000 or less. This amendment option will require each adopting employer’s signature because the election must be made at the employer level.

With either amendment option, BISYS qualified plan document sponsors will soon receive an amendment packet from BISYS containing the following.

- Basic Plan Document Amendment

- Adoption Agreement Amendment

- Sample Cover Letters to Employers

- Summary of Material Modifications

- Automatic Rollover Notice for Terminating Participants

- Sample Board Resolution

In order to further serve our clients, BISYS will be providing a complimentary seminar to its document sponsors to review the next steps they need to take and why.

IRA Documentation Available

In order to allow our IRA clients to best serve their customers, BISYS has created a simple document solution for accepting automatic rollovers from employer-sponsored plans. For financial organizations that use BISYS’ IRA Simplifier® and choose to accept automatic rollovers from tax-qualified plans, BISYS has created the necessary supplement to the current IRA Simplifier®. The documentation satisfies the Department of Labor requirement for a written agreement between the plan administrator sending the rollover and the financial organization accepting the rollover.

ACTIONS YOU MUST TAKE

BISYS Document Sponsors

1) Watch for the amendment package.

2) Attend a free Web-enhanced telephone seminar that provides details of the amendment process. (BISYS Document Sponsors only.)

All Financial Organizations

1) Register for the Automatic Rollover Rules and IRAs Web-enhanced telephone seminar to receive a complete overview of this market change.

2) Develop and forward the appropriate amendment material to your retirement plan sponsors.

3) Develop appropriate IRA documentation and operational procedures to enable your organization to accept IRA rollovers.

4) Call BISYS at (800) 346-3860 for additional products and services that can assist in the amendment process and ongoing plan maintenance.

Look to BISYS for Assistance

BISYS offers a number of support services to help you prepare for and execute the amendment.

Amendment Mailing Service

Your organization can outsource the amendment process to BISYS. Our trained staff can work with you to select and develop the appropriate amendment package for your customers. In addition, BISYS can coordinate the entire mailing process and confirm its completion.

800 Consulting Service

Subscribing to BISYS’ 800 Consulting service will provide direct access to ERISA and industry experts to ensure your staff have the answers they need to assist your customers in completing mandatory rollovers successfully. BISYS provides immediate, accurate answers that save valuable staff time lost to research or correcting errors. BISYS’ 800 Consulting service is your best source for questions about:

- Qualified Plans,

- IRAs,

- SEPs,

- SIMPLEs,

- Education Savings Accounts, and

- Health Savings Accounts.

Telephone Seminars

March 10, 2005, 1:30 PM, CST – For BISYS Qualified Plan Document Users

This Web-enhanced telephone seminar will detail BISYS’ amendment options, factors to consider in making the amendment decision, and the steps to follow to complete the amendment process.

March 16, 2005, 11:00 AM, CST – Automatic Rollover Rules and IRAs

This Web-enhanced telephone seminar will provide an overview of the automatic rollover rules and will discuss how IRA providers can easily incorporate automatic rollover IRAs into their product offering.

Qualified Plan Document Solutions

The use of qualified plan prototype and volume submitter documents has become the standard in today’s marketplace. Well-designed prototype and volume submitter documents can have a positive impact on market share and plan retention. The majority of retirement plans established by employers use prototype and volume submitter documents because they are easy-to-use, can be designed with specific features, and are affordable.

IRA Document Solutions

As the rollover market continues to gain momentum, having the right documents to establish IRAs is a critical component to your success. BISYS' IRA Simplifier® has been used by thousands of financial organizations nationwide to provide an easy-to-use solution for IRA establishment. BISYS also offers the documentation that allows your financial organization to receive automatic rollovers.

Customized On-Site Training Solutions

BISYS will customize a training program specific to your organization and tailored to your automatic rollover objectives.

Newsletters and Technical Reference Materials

The IRA Reporter and the Retirement Plans Bulletin keep you informed of new developments and explain rule changes. Available in print or Internet delivery.

The BISYS e-Resource Center is a comprehensive online reference service. It contains all the award-winning retirement savings content that BISYS has delivered to its clients for more than 30 years through its printed publications.

Consulting Services—Strategy and Implementation of Automatic Rollovers

Each financial organization approaches the market in its own unique fashion. Whether your concern is automatic rollovers or compliance in general, BISYS consultants can provide an in-depth review of your processes and procedures to answer your questions.

- What are the compliance considerations?

- What changes in operations and processes will be required?

- How will you train operations, customer service and sales staff?

- What are the new business opportunities for your financial organization?

BISYS Calendar of Events

March

2 - IRA Update*

8 - IRA Beneficiary Distributions*

17 - IRA Required Minimum Distributions*

22 - Comparing Roth and Traditional IRAs*

24 - IRA-to-IRA Transfers and Rollovers*

29 - SEP Plans*

31 - IRA Contributions*

April

5 - Basic IRAs*

7 - Conversions and Recharacterizations*

12 - IRA Required Reporting*

19 - Basic HSAs*

May

Two-Day IRA Workshop nationwide tour begins. Call or check our Web-site for details.

4 - IRA Update*

9 - May 9 - July 31 IRA Online Institute****

10 - Roth IRA Distributions*

16-20 - BISYS 5-Day IRA Institutes*** Alexandria, VA

17 - Handling IRA Legal Issues*

19 - General Traditional IRA Distributions*

24 - 72(t) Payments*

25 - Plan Design Trends I—Safe Harbor 401(k)*

26 - Direct Rollovers and Other Portability Issues*

June

1 - Plan Design Trends II—New Comparability and Age Weighted Plans*

8 - Advanced Distribution Issues and Loans*

7 - IRA Compliance*

16 - IRA Beneficiary Distributions*

July

6 - IRA Update*

12 - Basic HSAs*

14 - Basic IRAs*

21 - IRA-to-IRA Transfers and Rollovers*

26 - Advanced HSAs*

August

4 - Roth IRA Distributions*

8-12 - BISYS 5-Day IRA Institutes*** San Diego, CA

9 - Coverdell Education Savings Accounts*

11 - Comparing Roth and Traditional IRAs*

16 - IRA Required Minimum Distributions

18 - IRA Beneficiary Distributions*

23 - General Traditional IRA Distributions*

25 - SEP Plans*

September

BISYS nationwide fall seminar tour begins. Call or check our Website for details.

7 - Conversions and Recharacterizations*

7 - Plan Design Trends I—Safe Harbor 401(k)*

8 - Handling IRA Legal Issues*

12 - Sept. 12 - Dec. 4 IRA Online Institute****

13 - IRA Contributions*

13 - Plan Design Trends II—New Comparability and Age Weighted Plans*

14 - IRA Update*

15 - SIMPLE IRA Plans*

21 - Advanced Distribution Issues and Loans*

22 - Basic HSAs*

26-28 - Fall Forum 2005 Atlanta, GA**

27 - 72(t) Payments*

29 - Direct Rollovers and Other Portability Issues*

October

6 - Basic IRAs*

10-12 - Fall Forum 2005 Minneapolis, MN**

18 - IRA-to-IRA Transfers and Rollovers*

20 - General Traditional IRA Distributions*

24-26 - Fall Forum 2005 Boston, MA**

25 - Withholding*

27 - IRA Required Reporting*

November

2 - IRA Update*

3 - Roth IRA Distributions*

10 - Establishing IRAs and Amendments*

14-16 - Fall Forum 2005

December

6 - IRA Compliance*

8 - Direct Rollovers and Other Portability Issues*

13 - Advanced HSAs*

15 - 72(t) Payments*

* Web-Enhanced Telephone Seminars – are 90-minute programs brought to you at your location.

Train your entire staff at one time without leaving the office.

** Fall Forums – are comprehensive 3-day conferences developed for retirement plan professionals. From four concurrent sessions, attendees can tailor a training program to fit their specific retirement plan education needs.

*** IRA Institutes – are the most comprehensive IRA training programs offered.

Spanning five days, the Institutes integrate extensive IRA knowledge, objective-based training methods and practical applications of the rules to create the ideal learning environment.

**** IRA Online Institutes – are an innovative alternative to on-site seminars, offering the opportunity for remote access and independent study within a set, yet flexible, schedule.

Contact BISYS Today!

To obtain additional information on these or other services, please contact a BISYS Sales Representative at (800) 346-3860 or email sales.support@bisys.com.

(800) 346-3860 • Fax: 218-825-5010 • http://www.bisysretirement.com/

Automatic Rollover Amendment Required

Automatic Rollover Amendment May Be Required

On December 28, 2004, the IRS released Notice 2005-5, which provides guidance on automatic rollovers of mandatory distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans and sets a March 28, 2005, effective date for complying with the automatic rollover requirement. In addition, Notice 2005-5 includes a sample amendment that can be used to add the automatic rollover provision to a plan. Plan sponsors can adopt the amendment verbatim or can use the sample text to draft individualized plan amendments. A retirement plan that has a mandatory distribution provision but that does not yet include an automatic rollover provision must adopt this “good faith” plan amendment by the end of the first plan year ending on or after March 28, 2005. For retirement plans operating on a calendar year, the amendment must be adopted by December 31, 2005. Plans with noncalendar plan years may have to be amended as early as March 28, 2005. BISYS® Retirement Services plans to provide an amendment to sponsors of BISYS’ prototype and volume submitter qualified retirement plan documents by mid-February 2005.

Can Plans Amend to Reduce the Mandatory Distribution Amount?

BISYS’ prototype and volume submitter plans (pre-approved plans) contain a mandatory distribution provision for accounts of $5,000 or less. In the past, most plan sponsors (i.e., employers) have not wanted to retain small account balances for terminated employees because this increases the administrative costs of the plan. Until recently, administrative costs could not be charged to the accounts of former employees unless all participants’ accounts were debited uniformly. Now, employers can pay plan expenses for current employees while requiring former employees to cover their own administrative costs. In other words, employers can pay current employees’ expenses out-of-pocket while debiting the accounts of former employees. (See Department of Labor (DOL) Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-03 and IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-10.)

Because BISYS’ prototype and volume submitter plans contain a mandatory distribution provision, these IRS-approved plans must comply with the automatic rollover rules. If an employer is using a BISYS pre-approved plan and does not want to be subject to the automatic rollover requirement, it must amend its plan either to eliminate the mandatory distribution provision or to reduce the mandatory distribution amount to $1,000. (Mandatory distributions of $1,000 or less are not subject to the automatic rollover requirement.) Notice 2005-5 indicates that amending a plan to eliminate a mandatory distribution provision will not violate anti-cutback provisions of Internal Revenue Code Sec. 411(d)(6). Unfortunately, the notice does not provide a means to amend prototype or volume submitter plans. Plans that are pre-approved by the IRS and that are changed without IRS approval risk losing reliance on their approval letter, so this is an issue of tremendous concern in the industry. BISYS is actively working with the IRS to obtain guidance permitting pre-approved plans to reduce the mandatory distribution amount and to permit such amendments to be made to a plan until the last day of its 2005 plan year.

In the Meantime

While working with the IRS regarding this amendment issue, BISYS is also drafting a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) and revising Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) for BISYS prototype and volume submitter plans. In addition, BISYS is drafting plan amendments either to 1) implement the automatic rollover requirement, or 2) reduce the mandatory distribution amount. BISYS’ materials will be ready by mid-February.

IRA Providers

The DOL regulations on automatic rollovers state that a financial organization opening an IRA to receive a mandatory distribution must have a written agreement with the plan administrator rolling over the mandatory distribution. BISYS is currently evaluating whether this agreement will be incorporated into BISYS’ IRA Simplifier® or will be a separate document. If an IRA provider does not plan to accept automatic rollovers from employer-sponsored retirement plans, it does not need to alter its plan agreements or IRA-related forms in any way.

Summary

BISYS is drafting plan amendments, SMMs and revised SPDs to incorporate the automatic rollover requirement. BISYS is also actively seeking IRS guidance that would allow pre-approved plans to amend to reduce the mandatory distribution amount to $1,000. BISYS will directly contact BISYS document sponsors as soon as possible with amendment options and procedures.

February 2, 2005