Hawaii Seminar
TRI Pension Services is holding the 12th Annual Hawaii Seminar, in Honolulu, on November 16-18, 2011 at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, in Waikiki. The seminar is an ERISA update with a focus on "hot" pension topics and current developments. Some topics on this agenda were included in response to surveys taken of attendees at prior years' programs.
Registration is at 1 pm on Wednesday, November 16th, with the seminar running from 1:30 until 6 p.m., and a cocktail reception immediately following. Breakfast is provided on Thursday and Friday, beginning at 8:00 a.m. See below for a complete agenda. Registration is subject to the cancellation terms described below.
Accommodations
Registrants are responsible for their own accommodations. Outrigger Reef has made a room block available – $179 per night for "Moderate View," $199 per night for "City View", $229 per night for "Partial Ocean View", and $259 for "Ocean View." To book with the Outrigger Reef, call 1-877-863-6860 (Monday - Friday) 6am-5pm Hawaiian time. Identify the event as "TRI Pensions Seminar" to obtain the discounted rate. Alternatively, you can book your hotel room online.
There is a large convention in town that ends the weekend before our seminar, so book early!
Materials
Registration includes materials. Materials for the seminar are provided ONLY in electronic format (PDF files). They will be e-mailed approximately 1 week before the seminar. Registrants may choose to bring the materials in electronic form (laptop, electronic reader, tablet) or to print out the materials. There will be power outlets available in the meeting room for those that wish to have the materials loaded on a laptop.
Agenda
Please note that this agenda is subject to change to accommodate any major new developments in the pension area. Also note that we meet in the afternoon of the first day, immediately followed by a cocktail reception, and in the mornings on the other two days.
Day One (November 16)
- 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Registration
- 1:30 p.m. to 3:10 p.m. Current Developments Update.
We will spend the entire first session on a review of all important current developments affecting retirement plans. The session will explore the new regulations, IRS/DOL/PBGC guidance, and court rulings from the last 12 months, with emphasis on how these current developments affect plan design, plan administration, or enforcement issues.
Issues addressed include: (1) final versions of new service provider fee disclosure and participant disclosure requirements, (2) latest guidance on PTIN requirements, (3) IRS guidance on Internal Roth Conversions, (4) determination letter procedures applicable to 2011 and 2012, (5) mandatory electronic depositing of withholding, (6) QDIA guidance, (7) special funding elections for defined benefit plans, (8) market rate of return rules for cash balance plans, (9) guidance on terminating 403(b) plans. This list was prepared in March 2011 and will be expanded as new guidance and rulings are issued this year.
- 3:10 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. Break.
- 3:20 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. Current Developments Update (cont.)
- 4:50 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Break.
- 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Current Developments Update (cont.)
- 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception.
Enjoy some pupus while chatting with your fellow attendees.
Day Two (November 17)
- 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
- 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Rehired employees/Breaks in Service.
Many firms have found themselves rehiring employees as the economy has started to recover. With rehires, a host of administrative issues arise that can be affected by plan design. First we'll explore the rules under ERISA and the tax code break in services, and how a break in service (or a series of consecutive breaks in service) can affect an employee's eligibility, accruals and vesting rights under the plan. Then we'll talk about other administrative and plan design issues that arise with rehired employees.
- 10:00 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. Break
- 10:10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Rehired Employees/Breaks in Service (cont.)
- 11:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Break
- 11:40 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Forfeitures.
This session focuses on the forfeiture rules, and the practical applications they have to plan administration and plan design. When is a forfeited permitted? As of what date may the plan treat a nonvested benefit as forfeited? Are there circumstances under which the forfeited amount will have to be restored? Are there any amounts that are prohibited from being forfeited? Can forfeitures occur when a plan terminates? How are forfeitures reallocated under a defined contribution plan? Is there a time by which forfeitures MUST be allocated? What plan expenses may be paid out of forfeitures? How does the forfeiture of benefits under a defined benefit plan affect minimum funding requirements? These questions and others will be answered in this session.
- 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Hike and Happy Hour (optional).
Join the group for our traditional Wednesday afternoon hike. Details will be provided as we get closer to the seminar. Following the hike, Transamerica will host the group for Happy Hour at a location to be determined (within walking distance of the hotel). Transportation is provided to the location for the hike, and from there to the Happy Hour location.
Day Three (November 18)
- 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Breakfast
- 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Related employer issues.
In past years we have focused on related employers from the definitional perspective(i.e., how to identify a controlled group or affiliated service group). This time, we will look at the consequences of being a controlled group or affiliated service group. How is plan design affected? May the individual members of the related group maintain their own plans? How are the coverage and nondiscrimination testing rules applied to a related group? How should separately-maintained plans handle a transfer of an employee from one related group member to another? How are highly compensated employees identified? How are the top heavy rules applied? Are there special issues associated with the plan limits, such as the annual elective deferral limit or the IRC §415 limit? What is the determination letter process for multiple plans maintained within the related group? What happens when a new related group member is added, or one of the related group members leaves the group? Practical case studies will help us navigate through these issues.
- 10:00 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. Break.
- 10:10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Related employer issues (cont.)
- 11:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Break.
- 11:40 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Anti-cutback rules.
This is a topic that is not often addressed in workshops. The anti-cutback rule prohibits the adoption of plan amendments that reduce a participant's accrued benefit or eliminates an optional form of benefit or early retirement benefit or subsidy. Sounds pretty straight forward, but operational mistakes are made all the time. And many plan sponsors (and practitioners for that matter) are not informed about the scope of the rule or the important exceptions that exist.
In this session we will address the following issues. (1) When is a benefit considered accrued under a defined contribution plan? (2) When is a benefit considered accrued under a defined benefit plan? (3) Are there exceptions in the law that allow a participant's benefit to be reduced after it has accrued? (4) May a plan eliminate a participant's right to continue accruing benefits under a plan? (5) What optional forms of benefit must be protected? (6) What plan design/operational options are available when an optional form of benefit is eliminated? (7) What are "rights and features" and what are the consequences of eliminating them? (7) How do the vesting rules coordinate with the anti-cutback rules? (8) How does nondiscrimination testing coordinate with the anti-cutback rule?
ERPA, ASPPA and NIPA Continuing Education Credits
The program qualifies for 15 credit-hours of continuing education for Employee Plans Retirement Agents (ERPAs), ASPPA members and NIPA members (based on 50-minute hours). TRI Pension Services is an accredited ERPA continuing education provider.
We have entered into an agreement with the Office of Professional Responsibility, Internal Revenue Service, to meet the requirements of 31 Code of Federal Regulations, section 10.6(g), covering maintenance of attendance records, retention of program outlines, qualifications of instructors, and length of class hours. This agreement does not constitute an endorsement by the Office of Professional Responsibility as to the quality of the program or its contribution to the professional competence of the Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent.
For persons seeking ERPA credit, sign-in and sign-out procedures are required. A certificate of completion will be presented to ERPAs at adjournment on the third day of the seminar.
Cancellation Policy
For cancellations before September 1, 2011, the full amount (less $150 per person processing fee) will be refunded. For cancellations during the month of September 2011 or in the first half of October, $450 per person is deducted from the registration amount, and the balance is refunded. For cancellations after October 15, 2011, there is no refund of any portion of the registration amount.
|
 |
