Compliance February 27, 2015

Reminder of 457(b) Plan Voluntary Correction Issues

The IRS has updated its website about 457(b) plan submissions to its voluntary compliance program.
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Some plan sponsors, under limited circumstances, may submit requests for voluntary correction to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for their 457(b) retirement plans.

In an update on its website the IRS reminds plan sponsors that its Employee Plans Voluntary Compliance (VC) team will not consider any issue relating to the form of a written 457(b) plan document. Also, governmental plan sponsors do not have to make a submission to VC to voluntarily fix problems with their 457(b) plans.

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The agency says it has received several submissions alleging that a written 457(b) plan was not timely adopted or amended for some tax law or income tax regulation. VC will not issue closing agreements for these matters and will decline to process these requests and refund any payments. The IRS notes that the remedial amendment concepts and definitions in Revenue Procedure 2007-44 do not apply to 457(b) retirement plans.

Plan sponsors who want the IRS to review their 457(b) plan document or consider any other document form issue may request a private letter ruling.

Governmental plan sponsors may self-correct their 457(b) plans if they did not comply with the Internal Revenue Code or regulations. They have until the first day of the plan year that begins more than 180 days after the IRS notifies them of the failure to correct their plan failures. The agency says that, considering the time governmental entities have to self-correct plan errors, they may not need to make voluntary submissions to the IRS in most cases. However, if a governmental plan sponsor needs to request additional relief or simply wants IRS approval for a correction method for a non-plan document failure, they may make a submission to VC.

More information is here.

Deals & People February 27, 2015

Lincoln Financial Launches Adviser Support Initiative for Women

Nicole Spinelli has been appointed to lead the newly created WISE organization—dedicated to supporting “the unique needs of female advisers and clients” across Lincoln Financial Network’s businesses.
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Lincoln Financial Network (LFN) is the retail wealth management affiliate of Lincoln Financial Group. The firm appointed Spinelli as director of The WISE Group, an acronym for “Women Inspiring, Supporting, and Educating.”

WISE will be a cross-channel initiative designed to better support women advisers and their clients. In her role, Spinelli will provide overall strategic leadership for initiatives to drive the group’s core objectives, which center on inspiring women to pursue opportunities in financial services in order to increase the overall number of female advisers.

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Lincoln will use a variety of approaches to support women in advisory roles, such as fostering the creation of strategic partnerships, and providing mentoring and training opportunities. The WISE Group also will help educate advisers’ female clients on the importance of comprehensive financial planning, so they are better prepared to take charge of their financial lives.

Spinelli will report to John DiMonda, senior vice president and head of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation, and will work in close partnership with Chris Flint, senior vice president and head of Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation. The appointment of Spinelli comes a few weeks after the WISE Group held its inaugural annual meeting, joined by nearly 100 female advisers from across LFN.

During the event, which covered practice management strategies and industry trends, WISE announced the appointment of its 2015 board members: Carrie Chelko, vice president and chief counsel of Lincoln Financial Group Distribution; Celeste Gurulé, managing director of Lincoln Financial Advisors; and a list of LFN-affiliated advisers. These are Linda Corujo Ramsey, Cindy Deavel, Karen DeRose, S. Diane Davis, Dawn Gordon, Kelly Kennedy, Elizabeth Liechty, Dianna Parker, Lucila Williams, and Bridget Yeung.

Spinelli joined Lincoln from Raymond James Financial, in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she had several roles with the Network for Women Advisors. From 2010 to 2015 she served as the vice president and director for the Network of Women Advisors.

More information is available at www.LincolnFinancial.com. 

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