ERISA Law Answer Book, Seventh Edition

ERISA Law Answer Book is the practical desk reference that provides clear, concise, authoritative answers to more than 1,300 key questions - covering everything from benefit plan design, administration, communication, amendment, coverage, funding, distribution, and defense to fiduciary liabilities and litigation issues. It helps you ensure compliance with ERISA law...limit exposure to liability...avoid litigation...prevent plan disqualification...and make plan administration more efficient and effective.Designed for fast, easy use, the ERISA Law Answer Book features: Answers to just about any ERISA question instantly at your fingertips Up-to-date coverage on ERISA-related developments Advice on the best course of action when dealing with ERISA issues Extensive coverage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) Scores of practice pointers and examples Citations to statutes, regulations, and case law Detailed analysis of ERISA provisions Internal Revenue Code sections and interpretations The Seventh Edition of ERISA Law Answer Book contains dozens of new cases and extensive discussion of legislative and regulatory developments in the past year that affect the interpretation of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. The new material discussed in this edition includes: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) [Pub. L. No. 111-148, (Mar. 20, 2010)], as modified by subsequent legislation, which contains extensive health care reform provisions Proposed regulations issued by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) that define more broadly the circumstances under which a person is considered a "fiduciary" under ERISA by reason of giving investment advice to an employee benefit plan or plan participants. [75 Fed. Reg. 65,263 (Oct. 22, 2010)] The decision by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Mack v. Kuckenmeister [619 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. 2010)], which examined the interplay of the state and federal courts' concurrent jurisdiction to decide whether a particular domestic relations order (DRO) meets the requirements for a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) under ERISA Sections 206(d)(3)(A) and (B) and 502(a)(1)(B) The Department of Labor (DOL) Advisory Opinion No. 2011-04A (Feb. 3, 2011), which concluded that it would be a prohibited transaction for an IRA to purchase a promissory note and deed of trust held by a bank when the IRA owner and his spouse were obligors on the note and title to the real property encumbered by the deed of trust was held by a family trust of which the IRA owner and his spouse were trustees The Supreme Court's decision in CIGNA Corp. v. Amara [131 S. Ct. 1866 (2011)], which clarified that ERISA Section 502(a)(1) allows a court to enforce the terms of a plan but not to change the terms The Supreme Court's decision in Jones v. Harris Associates LP [130 S. Ct. 1418 (2010)], involving an investment advisor's fiduciary duty under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act (ICA) of 1940 Final regulations issued by the IRS under Code Sections 430 and 436 regarding funding balances and benefit restrictions for underfunded plans An IRS ruling that allows 401(k) plans to be amended topermit or require certain contributions of the dollar equivalent of participants' unused paid time off (PTO) in accordance with governing nondiscrimination requirements and contribution limits