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EBSA Privacy and Cybersecurity Guidance

Andrew C. Liazos, partner at McDermott Will & Emery, recently moderated an American Bar Association panel on the new cybersecurity guidance for retirement plan sponsors issued by the Department of Labor (DOL). The panel slides included 10 takeaways for the new DOL guidance.

Access the slides.

As a background, the DOL’s new guidance formalized its long-held view that retirement plan fiduciaries have an obligation to ensure proper mitigation of cybersecurity risks. More specifically, the DOL expects retirement plan fiduciaries to select and monitor the cybersecurity practices of their service providers.

The DOL guidance is in three parts.

  • The first part provides plan fiduciaries with a framework for reviewing a vendor’s cybersecurity practices.
  • The second part provides a robust list of cybersecurity “best practices” for record keepers and other vendors responsible for plan-related IT systems and data. For example, the DOL recommends that all retirement plan vendors with critical participant data conduct a reliable annual third-party audit of their security controls.
  • The third part provides security tips for participants and beneficiaries who manage their retirement accounts online.



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Treasury Issues New Guidelines on Searching for Missing Retirement Plan Participants

The US Department of the Treasury recently issued guidance that retirement plan sponsors should consider as part of their obligation to take reasonable steps to locate missing participants. Specifically, the Treasury issued a memorandum which sets forth guidelines that prohibit auditors from challenging qualified plans as failing to satisfy the required minimum distribution standards under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 401(a)(9) if the plan has fulfilled all of the following with respect to participants that cannot be located:

  • Searched for alternative contact information in plan, plan sponsor and publicly available records for directories;
  • Used a commercial locator service, credit reporting agency or a proprietary internet search tool for locating individuals; and
  • Sent mail via United States Postal Service (USPS) certified mail to the last known mailing address and attempted contact “through appropriate means for any address or contact information,” which includes email addresses and telephone number.

The Treasury guidance is similar to, but also expands upon, prior guidance provided by the US Department of Labor, which addresses locating missing participants for terminated retirement plans.

Locating missing participants and beneficiaries can be challenging for plan sponsors. Many plan sponsors find that they are unable to locate participants who left employment many years prior and, as a result, are unable to make required minimum distributions. Both the IRS and Department of Labor have stepped up their enforcement of these requirements in recent years. In particular, the Department of Labor has made locating missing participants an enforcement priority for plan audits.

Continue Reading.




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Top Universities Hit with Retirement Plan Lawsuits: Lessons for Plan Sponsors

The recent wave of 403(b) lawsuits against more than a dozen prominent US universities could herald similar suits for other 403(b) plan sponsors. Plan sponsors can minimize their risk by reviewing their plan governance procedures, investment policy statements, and plan investment lineup and fee structure.

Read the full article here to learn more.




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IRS Eliminates Use of Letter Forwarding Service to Find Missing Participants and Beneficiaries

by Jeffrey M. Holdvogt and Susan Peters Schaefer

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently discontinued its letter forwarding service for missing participants or beneficiaries entitled to a benefit under an employee retirement plan.  Until now, retirement plan sponsors have frequently used the IRS letter forwarding service as a way to locate missing participants or beneficiaries to whom benefits are owed under a retirement plan.  Following this discontinuance, plan sponsors will need to utilize another more expensive government forwarding service or utilize internet search tools, commercial locater services and credit report agencies to locate missing retirement plan participants.

To read the full article, click here.




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