HANYS Benefit Services wants to help you stay compliant with our  2017 Retirement and Employee Benefits Compliance Calendar . Compliance is just one of many services HBS provides, including Plan Design,Plan Provider Management, and Co-Fiduciary Services. If you have any questions regarding compliance requirements or their application to your plan, contact us at (800) 388-1963 or at  hbs@ hanys.org .

PLANADVISER Magazine has named HANYS Benefit Services (d/b/a Strategic Benefit Services) as one of its 2017 Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers . HANYS Benefit Services has been awarded in the categories for large teams with $4 billion or more in retirement plan assets under advisement, and large teams with 180 retirement plans or more under advisement. The PLANADVISER Top 100 Advisers is an annual list of the retirement plan advisers and adviser teams that stand out in terms of a series of increasingly stringent quantitative measures. In addition to being honored by the recognition, being named as a Top 100 Retirement Plan Adviser for the second year validates our commitment to our clients. We strive to build real relationships with our clients, creating a shared fiduciary responsibility with the companies we advise. HANYS Benefit Services has been providing retirement services to organizations for more than four decades. We provide trusted advisory and consulting services including pla...

Sponsors of 403(b) plans, both those subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and non-ERISA plans, were required (with few exceptions) to have in place a written plan document by December 31, 2009. Sponsors who did so will be able to restate their plans to adopt one of the prototype plans or volume submitter plans when they become available. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2013-22 in March 2013, which provided guidelines for issuing opinion and advisory letters for §403(b) prototype plans and volume submitter plans. The Revenue Procedure stated that a remedial amendment period would be available whereby eligible employers could retroactively correct defects in the form of written 403(b) plans. The Revenue Procedure defined a defect as a provision (or the absence of a required provision) that causes the plan to fail to satisfy the operational requirements of Section 403(b). Revenue Procedure 2013-22 stated that any such defect must be c...

Due February 28th Paper filing of Form 1099-R to IRS for distributions made in 2016. Section 6055 Reporting - Forms 1094-B and 1095-B. IRS information returns filed no later than February 28, 2017, or March 31, 2017 if filed electronically. Section 6056 Reporting - Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. IRS information returns filed no later than February 28, 2017, or March 31, 2017 if filed electronically. If you have any questions, or would like to begin talking to an advisor, please get in touch by calling (800) 388-1963 or email us at hbs@hanys.org.

The 2016 U.S. general election was an unusually dramatic event for investors, most of whom were expecting the Democrats to hold the White House. Investors reacted favorably to the election results, with the S&P 500 closing at a new record high on November 22, and continuing to advance through the end of the quarter. Read the Q4 Retirement Market Recap to learn more about the impact of the 2016 election. Also included is an update on litigation targeting non-profit retirement plans. If you have any questions, or would like to begin talking to a retirement plan advisor, please get in touch by calling (800) 388-1963 or email us at hbs@hanys.org.

Understanding your retirement plan’s fees is not only a good practice; it’s a fiduciary requirement as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The traditional enforcement mechanism has been DOL plan audits. More recently, high-profile litigation has driven plan sponsors to evaluate their plan fees. These fees can be grouped into several categories: record keeping, administrative, legal, plan advisory, investment, and education and communication. The principal reason fees have been thrust into the limelight is that plan participants often bear most, if not all of the cost of running the plan. This article does not discuss how to determine if fees are reasonable, but instead explores a relatively new debate over which fee assessment methodology is fairer. Since DOL has been silent on this issue, it affords the plan sponsor the opportunity to determine the most appropriate structure for their plan based on their demo...

The 2016 Employee Benefits survey helped call to attention the increasingly complex circumstances under which employee benefit plans are constructed. The popularity of wellness programs certainly shows a direct correlation between the health and welfare of employees and cost of their care. Most respondents said their organization offers a wellness program (74%), with the most popular methods including: flu shots; smoking cessation; and a health risk assessment. If wellness helps reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and other serious conditions, then the hope is that it will result in fewer medical claims. Download our  2016 Employee Benefits Survey Report  and the  Employee Benefit Survey Webinar Presentation Recording  to understand what these results mean to you as an employer, and what challenges and risks you may face when attempting to offer a competitive benefits package under the Affordable Care Act. If you have any questions, or wo...