Welcome to the website for TRI Pension Services! The 2009 Edition of The ERISA Outline Book may now be ordered. For an order form that can be printed out and mailed or faxed in, CLICK HERE. Annual Hawaii Seminar. The dates for the 2009 seminar are set for November 10, 11 and 12, in Honolulu. Click here for details, including the agenda, hotel information, and a registration form. ERISA Views (Quarterly Newsletter on a Featured Topic). The latest issue (Spring 2009 - Issue #53) addresses plan issues that arise in a down economy, and when there is a significant loss in the value of plan assets. We have divided the discussion into 4 sections. The first section deals with distribution issues, including corrective distributions, the distribution process, minimum distributions, and whether distribution is even available. The second section deals with contribution issues, such as contribution liabilities (other than defined benefit funding), corrective contribution, and compensation issues relating to contributions. The third section deals with defined benefit plans, including minimum funding issues, benefit restrictions, and plan termination. The fourth section is reserved for miscellaneous items, including participant loans, rehired employee issues, and partial termination. To order a subscription to ERISA Views, which will include this latest issue, click here. If you would prefer to receive just the latest issue, please send us a letter with your request, and include a check payable to TRI Pension Services in the amount of $50. ERISA Views is available only in electronic form ("pdf" file as e-mail attachment), so make sure you provide us your e-mail address! eRISA Update (Quarterly Current Developments Service): eRISA Update is an electronic current developments service, providing comprehensive summaries of all the important developments in the retirement plan area. The latest issue, Issue #26 (Spring 2009), provides summaries of: (1) regulations governing eligible automatic contribution arrangements (EACAs) and qualified automatic contribution arrangements (QACAs), (2) guidance on the asset smoothing rules for determining the actuarial value of plan assets under the new minimum funding standards, as amended by the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA), (3) final investment advice regulations issued by the DOL under ERISA §408(b)(14), regarding exemptions for certain "conflicted" investment advice arrangements, which have been delayed in light of a directive from the Obama Administration to review regulations issued by January 20, 2009, that were not in effect as of that date, (4) PBGC guidance on the ERISA §4010 reporting rules, as amended by the PPA 2006, and how the new minimum funding standards affect reportable event reporting under ERISA §4043, (5) a Supreme Court opinion regarding the effect of a beneficiary designation naming a former spouse where the divorce decree waived the former spouse's interest in the plan benefits, (6) DOL guidance on the new annual funding notice required for PBGC-covered defined benefit plans (including a model notice), (7) DOL and PBGC guidance regarding investment losses incurred by plans that are attributable to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, (8) the exemption of participant loans from the Truth In Lending laws, effective July 1, 2010, (9) a court case dismissing a suit against an employer with respect to investment fee disclosures and alleged excessive fees paid through plan investments, (10) a court case alleging a fiduciary breach with respect to a decision to sell employer securities held by a plan, (11) a DOL Advisory Opinion on the use of an affiliate's deposit accounts to hold plan funds, and (12) an IRS private letter ruling regarding whether a limited liability company's employees could participate in a section 403(b) plan maintained by a tax-exempt organization that was the sole member of the LLC. To order eRISA Update, Click here and follow the instructions to print out an order form. If you would prefer to receive just the latest issue, please send us a letter with your request, and include a check payable to TRI Pension Services in the amount of $50. eRISA Update is available only in electronic form ("pdf" file as e-mail attachment), so make sure you provide us your e-mail address! ABOUT TRI PENSION SERVICES TRI Pension Services (TRIPS), started in 1994, is committed to providing consulting, professional training, and reference material in ERISA-related subjects. We provide these services to pension professionals (third party administrators, attorneys, accountants, actuaries, and pension consultants), as well as to employers who sponsor pension plans, and the human resource and pension departments of such employers. The founder of the company, Sal Tripodi, has over 20 years of experience in ERISA, and is nationally recognized as a leading expert in the field. To more efficiently deliver a number of services, TRIPS has entered into professional alliances with the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), for certain publication services; Global Benefit Advisors, LLC, (John Griffin and Charles Lockwood), for consulting and seminar; and the Law Offices of Ilene H. Ferenczy, LLC, for seminar services conducted by Ilene Ferenczy. services. Here's what you will find available through TRIPS Seminars services. We can provide in-house seminars for your firm or organization. In addition, we will work with firms to sponsor specialty seminars that will be open to the public (or to members of a professional organization). For more information click "Seminars" in the menu to the left. Reference books. TRIPS authors The ERISA Outline Book, which is fast becoming the leading pension resource in the country. For more information, click "The ERISA Outline Book" in the menu to the left. Newsletters. We offer two newsletter services. ERISA Views, available electronically or in print format, provides in-depth information about a particular ERISA-related issue. eRISA Update, available only in electronic format, provides summaries and analysis of current developments in ERISA. Both newsletters are published on a quarterly basis. For more information about these two newsletter services, click "Newsletter" in the menu to the left. Technical consulting services. Sal Tripodi provides technical consulting services on a fee basis, either by telephone or e-mail. Pension news. We will provide brief updates on significant current developments in ERISA. For the latest items, click "What's New" in the menu to the left. Please spend time reviewing each of the topics available on this webpage. Why the name "CybERISA" for our webpage? It's the blending of two terms: "cyber" and ERISA. It recognizes the integral role computers play in our lives and the ability of the Internet to deliver information. Our initial entry into the world of the Internet is just the beginning of what we anticipate will be an increasingly-used mode of delivering information to you. Thank you for your interest in TRI Pension Services.   Seminars | The ERISA Book | Newsletter | Consulting | Plan Documents | Whats New E-mail Us Copyright by Cyber FX Communications and TRI Pension Services 1998-2009