Structuring Cash Balance Pension Plans and Conversions: Tax Benefits for Principals and Employees
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide ERISA counsel and advisers with a thorough and practical guide to structuring cash balance pension plans and converting current defined benefit plans to cash balance plans. The panel will detail optimal scenarios for establishing a cash balance plan, identify risks in structuring a plan, and discuss critical features to include in any cash balance plan document in light of IRS guidance.
Outline
- Advantages of cash balance plans
- Structure of cash balance plans
- Setting principal credits
- Setting interest credits
- Ideas on plan asset investments
- Timing of distributions
- Special considerations on cash balance conversions
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Funding requirements for cash balance plans
- Ideal profiles for firms contemplating a cash balance plan
- Structuring plan investments to avoid a mismatch between the plan's interest credits and actual trust returns
- IRS audit targets and areas of concern
Faculty
Phillip Loftus, EA, FCA, FSA
Senior Consulting Actuary
Milliman
Mr. Loftus has 26 years of experience providing retirement consulting services to plan sponsors that include... | Read More
Mr. Loftus has 26 years of experience providing retirement consulting services to plan sponsors that include publicly traded companies, privately held corporations, large and small public sector employers, and notforprofit corporations. His experience includes all aspects of pension and retiree healthcare projects, including actuarial valuations under ERISA, defined benefit plan administration, benefit calculations, plan design studies, experience studies, funding and accounting projection studies, nondiscrimination testing, and accounting disclosure statements under U.S. accounting standards. Mr. Loftus has also completed valuations of Other PostEmployment Benefits (OPEB) under Governmental Accounting Standards (GASB) Statements 74 and 75, including transition from GASB Statements 43 and 45. Prior to joining Milliman, he led the consulting line of business while simultaneously serving as subject matter expert to the company’s pension risk transfer line of business with over $3B of transactions.
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Amy Thompson Sunderland
Senior Counsel
McGrath North Mullin & Kratz
Ms. Sunderland provides specialized legal counsel to businesses, tax-exempt and government entities, third-party... | Read More
Ms. Sunderland provides specialized legal counsel to businesses, tax-exempt and government entities, third-party administrators, and multiemployer plans on employee benefits, executive compensation, and tax-related matters, ensuring compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, COBRA, the Affordable Care Act, Mental Health Parity Act, and other benefit and tax related laws. She also provides legal solutions for HR executives, in-house counsel, and benefits administrators who manage and sponsor 401(k) plans, pension programs, group health plans, and executive compensation structures. Ms. Sunderland represents employers and plan sponsors in state and federal agency enforcement actions as well as conducts voluntary employee benefit plan and fiduciary corrections. She serves corporate leadership, HR executives, and in-house counsel to mitigate legal exposure, implement fiduciary best practices, and comply with evolving employee benefits laws and regulations. Ms. Sunderland also provides proactive guidance on corporate transactions and M&A due diligence, ensuring seamless transitions for employee benefit plans and risk assessments for acquiring entities.
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