Dana Consulting Group, Ltd.

President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 into law on August 17, 2006.

The breadth of the changes encompassed by this new law challenges even us to try and cover all of it adequately.

Therefore, we decided to set up this new section on our website devoted to this law and post articles of interest to our readers. For articles and features prepared by others, we wish to give adequate recognition to the authors.

There is something in this new law for everybody: plan sponsors, financial advisors, and plan participants.

Good reading!

Automatic Enrollment in 401(k) Plans

Comment: New rules governing automatic enrollment were a major part of PPA.

There are options, however, and new rules to qualify. This article summarizes the new rules and helps you decide whether to add this exciting feature to your company’s 401(k) plan or your client’s plan.

The cash balance approach is an interesting way to design these plans since it overcomes many of the complexities that exist with “traditional” DB plans. These plans may also provide substantially greater deductions than cross-testing profit sharing (401(k)) plans.

Cash Balance Plans [Source: DCG - Education Center]

Comment: Defined benefit plans are coming back in a big way (we think so at least).

PPA 2006 now permits non-spouse beneficiaries to roll over to their IRA distributions they receive from a qualified retirement plan on the death of the plan’s participant. We described these new rules in our March 2007 Dana Report.

We are enclosing some helpful articles we found on the following points:

General overview of the rules [Source: Research Institute of America]
How to Set Up Split, Inherited IRAs for Children [Source: Wall Street Journal]
How to Re-Title Your Inherited IRA Account [Source: Wall Street Journal]

If you have any articles on this subject that would be helpful to other readers, please feel free to submit them to us. We will give appropriate recognition to the source.

Fiduciary Duty Provisions [Source: Morgan Lewis (law firm)]

Comment: Every investment professional working with qualified retirement plans should read this article.

Summary of Effective Dates [Source: Bureau of National Affairs]
Pension Protection Act Guide [Source: Principal Financial Group booklet]
The Pension Protection Act of 2006: An ING Summary [Source: ING booklet]

Comment: These booklets provide a good overview of the provisions of the new law.

Message and Suggestions

If you have any articles that you would like posted to this section of our website, please feel free to contact Lee T. Jennings. We will give appropriate recognition to the author.

Ask how we can assist you.