Welcome to quarterly interacCve ediCon of ReCrement

Welcome to quarterly interac0ve edi0on of Re0rement Plan Edge, a MetLife Resources newsle=er for Plan Sponsors. Each quarter, Re0rement Plan Edge brings you important legisla0ve, industry and MetLife news that impacts your clients’ re0rement plan programs. 1 In this issue, you’ll find the latest informa0on about: Upcoming Compliance Communica0ons Defending Public Safety Employees’ Re0rement Act Employee Plans Determina0on Le=er Program Has Been Revised MetLife Resources Adds to Its Sales Organiza0on Na0onal Save for Re0rement Week MetLife 3 R’s to Re0rement 2 These key communica0ons and compliance services occur during the third and fourth quarters of 2015 for calendar year plans – January 1st through December 31st. Visit the Plan Service Center (PSC) at mlr.metlife.com to access informa0on and conduct a broad range of plan administra0ve ac0vi0es. With MetLife, plan administra0on for your clients is user-­‐friendly and convenient with virtually 24/7* online access to par0cipant-­‐level informa0on using advanced technology and self-­‐
service tools. The Plan Service Center (PSC) at mlr.metlife.com helps employers conduct a broad range of plan administra0ve ac0vi0es. 3 President Obama signed and enacted the Defending Public Safety Employees’ Re0rement Act on June 29, 2015. The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the exemp0on from the 10% penalty tax on early distribu0ons from a government re0rement plan for qualified public safety employees who have reached age 50. The Act expands the exemp0on to include specified federal law enforcement officers, customs and border protec0on officers, federal firefighters, and air traffic controllers who similarly have reached age 50. The Act also eliminates the restric0on that only distribu0ons from governmental plans that are defined benefit plans qualify for the exemp0on, thus allowing an exemp0on of distribu0ons from defined contribu0on plans and other types of governmental plans. Addi0onally, early distribu0ons are not treated as a modifica0on of substan0ally equal payments for purposes of determining an increase in the penalty tax. The Act applies to distribu0ons made aeer December 31, 2015. 4 Effec0ve January 1, 2017, revisions to the Employee Plans Determina0on Le=er Program for qualified re0rement plans will eliminate the staggered 5-­‐year determina0on le=er remedial amendment cycles for individually designed plans and will limit the scope of the determina0on le=ers to ini0al plan qualifica0on and qualifica0on upon plan termina0on. This announcement also provides a transi0on rule with respect to the remedial amendment period for certain plans currently on the 5-­‐year cycle. The IRS is reques0ng comments on specific issues rela0ng to the implementa0on of these changes to the determina0on le=er program. The changes to the determina0on le=er filing procedures will be reflected in an update to Rev. Proc. 2007-­‐44, 2007-­‐2 C.B. 54, and in a successor to Rev. Proc. 2015-­‐6, 2015-­‐1 I.R.B. 194. In addi0on, effec0ve July 21, 2015, the IRS no longer accepts determina0on le=er applica0ons that are submi=ed off-­‐cycle, except as otherwise described below. 5 In connec0on with the modifica0ons to the determina0on le=er program described in this announcement, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the IRS are considering ways to make it easier for plan sponsors to comply with the qualified plan document requirements. This may include, in appropriate circumstances, providing model amendments, not requiring certain plan provisions or amendments to be adopted if and for so long as they are not relevant to a par0cular plan (for example, because of the type of plan, employer, or benefits offered), or expanding plan sponsors’ op0ons to document qualifica0on requirements through incorpora0on by reference. For addi0onal background and to learn how to submit comments in wri0ng on or before October 1, 2015, please see h=p://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-­‐drop/a-­‐15-­‐19.pdf Also, effec0ve October 1, 2015, Employee Plans (EP) will no longer answer technical ques0ons by email, including ques0ons forwarded from Customer Account Services. This change is due to realignment of legal work and decreased resources for research and answering legal topics. Customer Account Services employees at 877-­‐829-­‐5500 will con0nue to help with: Account-­‐specific ques0ons Basic informa0on about EP forms Status of pending applica0ons For legal ques0ons, you may want to request a private le=er ruling (PLR) -­‐ a wri=en 6 Effec0ve October 1, 2015, Employee Plans (EP) will no longer answer technical ques0ons by email, including ques0ons forwarded from Customer Account Services. This change is due to realignment of legal work and decreased resources for research and answering legal topics. Customer Account Services employees at 877-­‐829-­‐5500 will con0nue to help with: Account-­‐specific ques0ons Basic informa0on about EP forms Status of pending applica0ons For legal ques0ons, you may want to request a private le=er ruling (PLR) -­‐ a wri=en statement that interprets and applies tax laws to the taxpayer’s specific set of facts. See Revenue Procedure 2015-­‐1 on how to obtain a PLR and the applicable user fees. 7 MetLife Resources (MLR) is pleased to welcome Raffaele Bruno to its new na0onal sales organiza0on for re0rement plan services. MLR is the division of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) that specializes in providing comprehensive defined contribu0on re0rement plan products and services for not-­‐for-­‐profit and governmental employers. Our experienced team of professionals is ready to work with you to find op0mal re0rement plan solu0ons for your clients. Raffaele has been in the financial services industry for more than 18 years and with MetLife Resources since November 2014. In his current role, he provides support to every aspect of the business development process, including RFP responses, business development, developing finalist presenta0ons and plan implementa0on. Raffaele is a graduate of Siena College, with a degree in Finance, and the College of Saint Rose, where he earned his MBA. He currently holds FINRA Series 7, 63 and 26 registra0ons and his Accredited Investment Fiduciary AIF® . MLR’s commi=ed team provides end-­‐to-­‐end services throughout the sales process – from the proposal stage through implementa0on. Profiles of our team members, and the states they are responsible for, are provided on the following pages. 8 Having begun his career in the financial services industry in 1985, Tony joined MetLife Resources in September 2006. Today, as Divisional Marke0ng Director, Tony u0lizes his extensive experience to promote plan sponsor solu0ons that meet the challenges of offering a comprehensive and effec0ve re0rement program. He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Quan0ta0ve Business Analysis, holds FINRA Series 7, 66, 63, 26 and 51 registra0ons, and is an Investment Adviser Representa0ve. 9 Andy began his career in the re0rement services industry in 1993 and joined MetLife Resources in 2013. With an extensive background in defined contribu0on, defined benefit and non-­‐qualified plans, plan sponsors have consulted with him on developing investment strategy, plan design, par0cipant educa0on and fiduciary requirements. During his career, Andy has held leadership roles at Diversified Investment Advisors, Allegiant Asset Management, Manning and Napier and Hun0ngton Re0rement Plan Services. Andy received his BS from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and his MBA from Tiffin University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 63 and 65 registra0ons. 10 Chris has been in the financial services industry and with MetLife Resources for 15 years. In his current role, he provides support to every aspect of the business development process; including RFP comple0on, developing finalist presenta0ons and plan implementa0on. Chris graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Economics and the University of Denver -­‐ Daniels College of Business, where he earned his MBA. He currently holds FINRA Series 6 and 26 registra0ons and his Cer0fied Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designa0on. MetLife Resources remains commi=ed to providing robust products and services that meet the needs of not-­‐for-­‐profit employers. Our sales organiza0on is a reflec0on of this commitment, and our team stands ready to work with you and your clients to find comprehensive re0rement plan solu0ons. For addi0onal informa0on or to schedule a mee0ng, please contact: Eastern Region Tony Agentowicz, [email protected] Raffaele Bruno, [email protected] Western Region Andy Rosselot, [email protected] Chris Marx, [email protected] 11 MetLife Resources is pleased to support Na0onal Save for Re0rement Week, from Oct. 18 through Oct. 24. The goal of this na0onal effort is to encourage employees to enroll in or contribute more to their employer-­‐sponsored re0rement plans. We look forward to helping you deliver this important message to your employees. By par0cipa0ng in Na0onal Save for Re0rement Week, you can help your employees work toward building re0rement security. To help you deliver this important message to your employees, we’ve produced a number of marke0ng materials and a comprehensive new website. Employees can now visit 3r.metlife.com to access re0rement 0ps, tools and resources. Join us in observing this na0onal event by contac0ng your MetLife Financial Services Representa0ve for more informa0on. Materials are available to help employees understand the importance of saving for re0rement, no ma=er what age or stage of life. Please work with your MetLife Representa0ve to offer your par0cipa0ng and non-­‐par0cipa0ng employees these informa0ve materials. 12 It’s important for employees to prepare for re0rement throughout their career. To keep re0rement planning top-­‐of-­‐mind with employees, we’ve developed a new campaign that iden0fies three stages of planning for re0rement, and the ac0ons one should take. Our new crea0ve theme is: “MetLife 3 R’s to Re0rement”. Review. Reassess. Re0re. To help you deliver this important message to your employees, we’ve produced a number of marke0ng materials and a comprehensive new website. Employees can now visit 3r.metlife.com to access re0rement 0ps, tools and resources. To further help your clients and employees to understand the three steps to re0rement, contact your MetLife Financial Services Representa0ve. 13 Thank you for staying updated with MetLife Resources’ Re0rement Plan Edge Newsle=er. Stay tuned for the next quarterly issue, coming to your e-­‐mail box in December 2015. In the mean0me, if you have ques0ons or sugges0ons, please connect with your MetLife Representa0ve. . 14