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From the Executive Director

ACOPA GAC has been busy working on a comment letter on the proposed amendment to the 417(e) regulations that was published in November. It’s a relatively short proposal, but it has generated a lot of discussion and some serious concern. 

The key point that would be made by the amendment is that the minimum lump sum value can be determined using the pre-retirement mortality assumption even if the plan provides payment of the full present value of the accrued benefit upon death. Unfortunately, the proposal does not make it clear that a plan which determines the lump sum value without a pre-retirement mortality assumption still qualifies for the most valuable benefit exception. We will be raising this and other concerns in our comment letter, which is due Feb. 23. Visit ACOPA’s “Comment Letters” webpage after the 23rd to read our complete comments. 

The LA Advanced Pension Conference in January was excellent. Thank you to Kevin Donovan, who chaired the conference, and his committee, which included Angela Barclay, MSPA; and Holly Scott, CPC, QKA. This conference includes two actuarial topic tracks and one track on other relevant topics. All the sessions I attended were engaging, and I heard good things from other attendees. Next up: the ACOPA Actuarial Symposium in Chicago, Aug. 18-19. Mark your calendars. 

Speaking of conferences, if you are going to be at the Enrolled Actuaries meeting, please stop by the ACOPA booth in the exhibit hall and pick up a ribbon to identify you as an ACOPA member. We also expect to have “Ask me about ACOPA” buttons. Many of the actuaries attending the conference are not members of ACOPA, and may not realize why they should be. We need you to help spread the word about how useful you find the ACOPA Google Group and how well ACOPA represents your views to IRS, PBGC, DOL and the Hill, as well as the quality education available through our webcasts and conferences. 

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