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Webcasts by ASC

Join us for our annual Ethics for Employee Benefit Practitioners webcast, presented by John Griffin, J.D., LL.M.

During this 2-hour, CE credit webcast, John will provide you with information so you can identify and deal with the ethical dilemmas that come your way.

The following topics will be covered during the webcast:

• An overview of ethical responsibilities
• An explanation of IRS Circular 230 from an employee benefits perspective
• Ethical concerns of the IRS' Office of Professional Responsibility
• Best ethical practices for your firm
• Practical case studies on ethical situations faced by practitioners

Don't let your professional knowledge of this ever-changing retirement plan industry become outdated!

Join John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. for his annual discussion of the most significant developments in the retirement plan industry over the past year.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, the following topics will be discussed:

• Recent retirement plan legislation
• Internal Revenue Service regulatory developments
• Department of Labor regulatory developments
• ERISA litigation trends
• Pending retirement plan legislation
• Plus other important retirement plan industry developments!

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!" This caution certainly applies in the world of qualified retirement plans. "Pushing the envelope" may be appropriate for some clients, but often simpler plan designs are better for ensuring compliance, reigning in administration costs, and meeting plan sponsor objectives.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. discusses many plan designs and techniques that keep plan administration and compliance a bit simpler.

Among the topics that will be covered during the webcast are:

• Avoiding plan eligibility confusion
• Problematic "compensation" definitions
• Choosing the right "safe harbor" plan
• Simple ways to deal with the long-term, part-time employee rules
• Automatic enrollment plans - benefits and requirements
• Limiting plan distribution options
• Simplifying loan administration
• The benefits of a comprehensive administrative policy
• AND MORE!

Plan administrators must give employees certain written information about their retirement plans. Some of this information must be provided regularly and automatically. Other kinds of information must be available upon written request. It can be overwhelming! Congress, IRS and DOL recognize the burden plan administrators have in complying with all of the participant notices and disclosures and are attempting to simplify and consolidate them.

Join John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., as he discusses the numerous participant notices and disclosures plan administrators must provide, the ability to use electronic media to deliver notices and disclosures and efforts to consolidate and simplify the notice and disclosure requirements.

The following topics will be covered during the webcast:

• IRS notices
  • Safe harbor 401(k) notice
  • Automatic enrollment notice
  • QDRO notice
  • Distribution, including rollover, notices
  • QJSA and QPSA notices
  • Suspension of benefits notice
  • Other notices
• DOL disclosures
  • Summary plan description
  • Summary of material modifications
  • Summary annual report
  • Plan documents
  • Participant fee disclosures
  • ERISA 204(h) Notice
  • Periodic benefit statements
  • Other disclosures
• Requirements for using electronic media
• Efforts to simplify and consolidate notices and disclosures

The IRS has identified the use of incorrect compensation as one of the most common qualification errors in plans. This is an area IRS often focuses on when conducting plan audits. This means plan sponsors and practitioners must "get it right!"

Using real-life questions that have come into ASC Support over the years, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will clarify the complex and often confusing issues that you, plan administrators and plan sponsors face regarding "compensation" used in qualified plans.

The topics that will be covered during this 2- hour CE webcast include:

• Different definitions of compensation that may apply under a qualified plan
• Common problems and correction options with respect to plan compensation
• How the definition of compensation can be used to improve nondiscrimination testing results
• Compensation issues for partnerships and self-employed individuals
• Matching contribution and related employer issues
• Other common compensation issues

Practitioners and plan sponsors are well into complying with the statutory requirements of the SECURE 2.0 Act. Compliance has not proven easy! While the IRS and DOL have issued some guidance on the provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act, many issues remain unresolved.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. discusses the latest IRS and DOL guidance relating to the SECURE 2.0 Act and practical considerations as practitioners and plan sponsors confront myriad SECURE 2.0 Act provisions.

The following topics will be covered during the webcast:

• IRS and DOL guidance related to the SECURE 2.0 Act
  • Expansion of the EPCRS program
  • IRS relief for mandatory Roth catch-up contributions
  • Long-term part-time employee proposed regulations
  • IRS SECURE 2.0 "grab bag" notice
  • Pension-linked emergency saving accounts
  • SECURE 2.0 Act technical corrections
  • Other IRS and DOL guidance
  • FAQs on disaster distributions
  • Proposed rules on Retirement Savings Lost and Found
  • SECURE 2.0 Technical Corrections Act
  • Proposed Regulations for Automatic Portability Transactions
• Operational compliance with SECURE 2.0 Act and plan document amendments
• Preparation for SECURE 2.0 provisions effective after 2024

Designing a qualified retirement plan for an employer that is a member of a "controlled group" presents unique challenges, including compliance testing issues.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. discusses many of the most important plan design considerations and compliance mistakes commonly made.

The following topics will be covered during the webcast:

• Basic controlled group rules for qualified plans*
• Qualification rules impacted by controlled group status
• Plan design application for specific qualification requirements, including:
  • Crediting service for eligibility and vesting purposes
  • HCE determination
  • Coverage issues
  •  Nondiscrimination testing issues
  • Top-heavy plan concerns
  • Spousal attribution problems
• Other special issues to consider:
  • Plan documents
  •  Using the Code §410(b)(6)(C) rules
  • Consequences of really being a multiple employer plan

* The webcast will include a general discussion of the controlled group rules, but will not get into the many nuances of controlled group and related employer determinations.

Last year, the IRS issued proposed regulations relating to long-term part-time (LTPT) employees. The IRS requires 401(k) plan sponsors to comply with these controversial regulations starting January 1st. Many industry organizations provided comments to the IRS on the difficulties plan sponsors and practitioners are having with the significant administrative and compliance issues created by the proposed regulations. In addition, 403(b) plan sponsors need to gear up for compliance with the LTPT employee rules starting in 2025.

Join John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. in this 2-hour CE webcast for a discussion on where we stand with the LTPT employee requirements.

The following topics will be covered during the webcast:

• Overview of the LTPT employee proposed regulations applicable to 401(k) plans
• Controversial and unclear aspects of the proposed regulations
• Suggested revisions to the proposed regulations
• How should practitioners and plan sponsors currently deal with LTPT employee administrative and compliance issues?
• Applying the LTPT employee rules to 403(b) plans in 2025

Join us for our annual Ethics for Employee Benefit Practitioners webcast, presented by John Griffin, J.D., LL.M.

During this 2-hour, Ethics Credits webcast, John will provide you with information so you can identify and deal with the ethical dilemmas that come your way. 

The following topics will be discussed during the webcast:

• An overview of ethical responsibilities
• An explanation of IRS Circular 230 from an employee benefits perspective
• Ethical concerns of the IRS' Office of Professional Responsibility
• Best ethical practices for your firm
• Practical case studies on ethical situations faced by practitioners

Don't let your professional knowledge of this ever-changing retirement plan industry become outdated!

Join John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. for his annual discussion of the most significant developments in the retirement plan industry over the past year.

• Recent retirement plan legislation
• Internal Revenue Service regulatory developments
• Department of Labor regulatory developments
• ERISA litigation trends
• Pending retirement plan legislation
• Plus other important retirement plan industry developments

Never rehire anyone!!! Following this piece of advice may help alleviate some plan administration headaches, but certainly is not practical. Plan sponsors do rehire previously terminated employees. Rehired employees often cause significant difficulties in administering qualified plans. 

In this 2-hour, CE credit webcast John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will discuss many of the unique issues facing plan sponsors and recordkeepers in applying the eligibility, distribution and other rules applicable to rehired employees.

Topics covered during this webcast will include: 

• Applying eligibility rules to determine when employees must be allowed to participate upon rehire 
• Timing of cash-out distributions and the procedures for dealing with repayments/restorations
• Correctly calculating vesting for rehired employees
• Dealing with rehired employees under automatic deferral arrangements
• Applying the break-in-service rules and the difficulties of dealing with rehired employees under 401(k) plans
• And much more!

When a qualified plan participant dies, plan administrators are often faced with a wide range of issues. Understanding how a plan's provisions apply usually will answer most of these issues. Still, complications often arise.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will discuss many of the important issues plan administrators must confront when a plan participant dies. 

The following topics will be covered:

• Important plan provisions dealing with a participant's death
• Beneficiary designation issues
• Satisfaction of the required minimum distribution rules
• Spousal rights
• Missing participants
• QDRO issues
• And much more!

• Creating Cycle 3 restatements, either individually or in batch
• Generating a complete Cycle 3 restatement package
• Delivering the restatement package
  • E-Signing documents
  • Emailing directly to plan sponsor
  • Posting directly to Gemini
• Using CATTS to keep track of your restatement progress

• General requirements under the IRS pre-approved defined benefit plan program
• Plan restatement timing requirements
• Scope of reliance provided by an IRS Opinion Letter
• Responsibilities of a pre-approved defined benefit plan provider
• Overview of the ASC pre-approved defined benefit plan documents
• Important changes from the Cycle 2 (PPA) pre-approved defined benefit plan documents
• New trust agreement options

Retirement plan terminations can be tricky and confusing. Knowing how to handle these situations requires skill and a breadth of knowledge that not everyone has.

In this 2-hour CE credit webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will guide you through the different IRS regulations surrounding qualified plan terminations and partial plan terminations.

Topics that will be covered: 

• Making the decision to terminate a retirement plan
• Consequences of plan termination
• Participant rights upon plan termination
• The process of terminating a defined contribution plan
• "Partial" plan termination determination and consequences
• How to handle lost or non-responsive participants
• And much more

Who would ever use that plan provision? Pre-approved qualified plan documents include hundreds of possible design provisions and elections. Most of these provisions are common and do not raise issues for document providers and plan sponsors. However, there are a number of somewhat obscure or seldom used provisions that may be overlooked when designing a plan.

In this 2-hour CE credit webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will discuss many of these obscure provisions, some of which may be appropriate for certain plan sponsors.

Topics will include:

• Eligibility and vesting break-in-service rules
• Waiver of participation
• Unique employer contribution formulas
• Contributions of property
• After-tax employee contributions
• Consequences of amending a vesting schedule
• True-up contributions
• Different safe harbor plan eligibility criteria
• Cash-out and forfeiture provisions
• "ERISA" elections by entities exempt from Title I
• And much more!

Churches and church-related organizations may adopt 401(a) qualified retirement plans and/or 403(b) plans. However, because these plans generally are exempt from Title I of ERISA and certain tax qualification rules, the plan documentation and administration for such plans can be significantly different from a plan of a for-profit employer.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. discusses the many special exemptions and requirements applicable to church plans. Topics will include:

• Exemption from Title I coverage
• Special application of the Code's tax qualification rules to church plans
• Issues relating to the definition of a church plan
• Other unique issues for church plans
  • Plan document issues
  • Nondiscrimination testing
  • Related employer determination
  • Advantages and disadvantages of different plan types
  • And more!

While a safe harbor 401(k) plan has become a very popular plan design for many plan sponsors, the rules are not always straight-forward. A number of "gotchas" can trip up plan sponsors and practitioners. In addition, SECURE 2.0 raises new issues and concerns.

In this two-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, JD, LLM will discuss the rules applicable to safe harbor 401(k) plans and the many compliance "gotchas" that plan sponsors and practitioners should know. Topics will include:

• What is (and what is not) a safe harbor 401(k) plan?
• Why an employer may (or may not) want to have a safe harbor 401(k) plan
• Rules for "traditional" safe harbor 401(k) plans
• Rules for qualified automatic contribution arrangements (QACAs)
• Special issues for safe harbor 401(k) plans
• Other things to keep in mind regarding safe harbor 401(k) plans
• Miscellaneous safe harbor plan questions and answers

Pre-approved 403(b) plans have become an important line of business for many practitioners and financial institutions. With Cycle 2 just around the corner, staying up to date on changes to the 403(b) pre-approved plan program and the options available to 403(b) plan sponsors is essential.

In this two-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, JD, LLM will discuss rules and procedures every practitioner who works with, or is thinking of working with, 403(b) plans should know. 

Topics will include:

• 403(b) pre-approved program under Revenue Procedure 2021-37
• Important Cycle 2 deadlines and decisions for 403(b) pre-approved plan Providers
• Impact of SECURE 2.0 on 403(b) plans
• 403(b) pre-approved plan options for 501(c)(3) organizations, public schools and churches 
• How 403(b) plans differ from 401(k) and 457(b) plans
• Common compliance issues

As the IRS proclaims, "mistakes happen!" The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) allows retirement plan sponsors to correct plan mistakes and continue to provide retirement benefits on a tax-favored basis. EPCRS includes self-correction without IRS involvement (SCP), voluntary correction with IRS approval (VCP), and correction during audit under a closing agreement (Audit CAP).

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. explains what every retirement plan practitioner needs to know about the EPCRS plan correction procedures, including the impact of SECURE 2.0. After a brief summary of EPCRS, case studies will be used to illustrate common errors and suggested solutions, including:

• Failure to timely amend or restate a plan
• Failure to correct ADP/ACP testing violations
• Improper use of the definition of compensation
• Failure to properly provide matching contributions
• Improper coverage of employees (e.g., early or late entrance)
• Exceeding the §402(g) elective limit
• Improper hardship distributions
• And more!

With testing season just around the corner, we will take a deeper dive into the compliance testing requirements and common issues recordkeepers and TPAs face when testing 401(k) plans.

In this 2-hour CE credit webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will discuss:

• Annual compliance testing requirements
• Issues in determining highly compensated employees
• Minimum coverage and nondiscrimination testing issues
• ADP/ACP testing issues
• Annual compliance testing for 403(b) plans
• Code §402(g) and 415 limitation issues
• Top-heavy testing
• Benefits, rights and features testing

Ultimately, plan participants will receive distributions of their defined contribution plan accounts. As a plan qualification concern, plans must satisfy certain distribution and forfeiture rules specific to their plan designs.

In this webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. will discuss the following topics:

• Distribution restrictions for different defined contribution plan designs
• Available forms of distribution, including QJSAs
• Distributions upon termination of employment
  • Consent and notice requirements
  • Involuntary cash-out distributions
  • Automatic and direct rollover rules
  • Required minimum distributions (just the basics)
• In-service distributions
• Distributions for active military employees
• Death distributions
• Plan termination distributions
• Penalty for receiving distributions "too soon"
• Permissible forfeiture events and timing
• Plan document requirements
• Correcting plan distribution failures

While basic to plan qualification, the eligibility rules play an important role in plan design. Knowing and applying the basic and advanced eligibility rules help practitioners properly design and administer qualified plans. 

In this webcast, John P. Griffin, J.D., LL.M. will discuss the following topics:

• Basic and advanced eligibility rules
• Using actual hours of service, equivalencies, and elapsed time
• The eligibility break-in-service rules
• The impact of different eligibility conditions for different contribution sources
• Considerations for related employers
• Mergers and acquisition concerns
• Correcting eligibility failure

Forgetting to account for protected benefits, including "optional forms of benefit," when amending a qualified plan can cause a violation of the so-called "anti-cutback" rules. This is a common mistake made by employers and plan drafters.

In this 2-hour webcast, John P. Griffin, J.D., LL.M. discusses the following topics:

• Protecting benefits - the basic anti-cutback rule
• Accruals under defined contribution and defined benefit plans
• Optional forms of benefit and early retirement subsidies
• Regulatory exceptions to protected benefit rules
• Mergers, transfers, rollovers and terminations
• Impact of the vesting rules
• Correcting protected benefits violations

The IRS has increased compliance enforcement on sponsors of 457(b) plans. 457(b) plans are special types of deferred compensation retirement plans available only to governmental and tax-exempt entities. While similar to 401(k) plans, 457(b) plans have their own set of rules and requirements, with significant differences applicable to governmental entities and tax-exempt organizations.

In this 2-hour CE credit webcast, John Griffin, J.D., LL.M. will discuss:

• The basic rules applicable under Code §457(b)
• The distinction between 457(b) plans for governmental and tax-exempt entities
• The differences between 457(b), 401(k) and 403(b) plans
• Recent IRS enforcement initiatives
• Plan document requirements, including amendments for CARES and SECURE Act

John P. Griffin, J.D., LL.M. discusses off-calendar and short plan years, which can create numerous compliance issues in administering plans.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John P. Griffin J.D., LL.M. will discuss the following topics:

• Role of a plan's "plan year"
• Off-calendar plan year issues
  • Plan eligibility and participation
  • Plan limits and contributions
  • Nondiscrimination testing
  • Data issues
  • Form 5500 filings
  • Annual notices
• Short plan year issues
  • Identifying highly compensated employees
  • Compensation, 415, elective deferral and deduction limits
  • Coverage and nondiscrimination testing
  • Safe harbor 401(k) plans
  • Form 5500 filings
  • Plan termination

John P. Griffin, J.D., LL.M. provides an update on recent developments relating to ERISA fiduciary responsibilities and liability.

The Department of Labor (DOL) and courts have been active in the fiduciary area over the past year. Third party administrators and other qualified retirement plan service providers, even if not fiduciaries, need to understand the current fiduciary issues.

In this 2-hour CE webcast, John P. Griffin J.D., LL.M. will discuss the following topics:

• Who are fiduciaries and what are their general responsibilities and liabilities
• Taking on fiduciary duties as an ERISA §3(16) plan administrator or pooled plan provider
• "Hot" fiduciary topics
  • Missing participants
  • Cybersecurity
  • ESG and cryptocurrency investments
  • Investment advice prohibited transaction exemption
  • Plan document provisions to limit exposure
• DOL fiduciary correction program

Participants in qualified retirement plans must receive certain required minimum distributions (RMDs) during their lifetimes. Employers that fail to timely provide these RMDs jeopardize the qualified status of their plans. Participants who fail to receive the RMDs are subject to significant excise taxes. In this two-hour webcast, John Griffin, JD, LLM discusses the applicable RMD rules, including the important changes made by recent legislations, including the SECURE Act.

Topics include:

• General rules for required minimum distributions
• Using the account balance method
• Using the annuity distribution method 
• Minimum distributions when a participant dies before, on or after the required beginning date
• Special minimum distribution rules
• Potential penalties, excise taxes and EPCRS corrections

Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) became available in 2021. To date, the IRS and the Department of Labor have issued little guidance. Still, many practitioners and Pooled Plan Providers are moving forward on helping clients establish PEPs. In this 2-hour webcast, John Griffin, JD, LLM will discuss the rules and latest developments applicable to PEPs and PPPs.

Topics include:

• Introduction and background on Pooled Employer Plans
• What is a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)?
• What is a Pooled Plan Provider (PPP)?
• PEP document requirements
• Registration requirements
• Advantages and disadvantages of PEPs
• Outstanding issues
• Administration of PEPs
• Considerations for potential PPPs

The SECURE and CARES Acts were enacted over a year ago. While the IRS has issued some guidance on these laws, practitioners continue to have questions on implementation of the new rules applicable to retirement plans. 

In this two-hour webcast, John Griffin, JD, LLM will discuss the latest guidance, issues and developments. 

Topics include:

• An analysis and status of SECURE Act provisions*, including:
  • Increased cap for QACA safe harbor plans
  • Rules relating to safe harbor 401(k) plans
  • Tax credits for start-up and automatic enrollment plans
  • Portability of lifetime income options
  • Participation of long-term, part-time employees
  • Qualified birth and adoption expenses
  • Required minimum distributions
  • In-service distributions for pension plans
• An update on the status of CARES Act provisions on distributions and loans
• Plan amendment requirements and deadlines
• Impact of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
• Legislative proposals to expand retirement plan coverage and savings

* ASC will offer a separate two-hour webcast on the SECURE Act rules for Pooled Employer Plans on May 27, 2021.