Compliance August 21, 2017

Non-Profit Plan Sponsor Clients Can Apply for IRS Committee

Members of the "ACT" committee are in a unique position to provide observations about current or proposed IRS policies, programs and procedures, and suggest improvements through a yearly final report.
Reported by

The Internal Revenue Service has commenced the application process for a limited number of open positions on the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities, which “provides a venue for public input on relevant areas of tax administration.” 

Of particular interest to 403(b) and 457 plan sponsors will be the two vacancies in the “Employee Plans” division of the committee. IRS says it is seeking candidates with “experience in federal, state and local governments” to help improve its understanding and management of the tax-exempt retirement plan marketplace, among other broader goals related to tax administration. 

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

Members are appointed by the Department of the Treasury and serve three-year terms, beginning in June 2018. Applications will be accepted through September 18, 2017.

The committee is further described as “an organized public forum for the IRS and representatives who deal with employee plans, exempt organizations, tax-exempt bonds, and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments.” The committee “allows the IRS to receive regular input on administrative policy and procedures of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE).”

Applications can be made by completing the ACT Application Form (Form 12399-C). Applications should reflect the proposed member’s qualifications, IRS explains. Members of the ACT may not be federally registered lobbyists. A notice published in the Federal Register, dated August 17, 2017, contains more details about the ACT and the application process. Incomplete applications will not be processed.

As the IRS explains, members of this committee are in a unique position to “provide observations about current or proposed IRS policies, programs and procedures, and suggest improvements through a yearly final report.”

Data & Research August 21, 2017

Women Spending Fewer Years Married, Shifting Retirement Outlook

This means their financial health should be studied separately from men.
Reported by

Due to women getting married later, fewer women getting married and, among those who do marry, an increase in divorce, women are spending fewer years married overall, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. 

“If women as a group now spend about half of their adult years unmarried, it probably makes sense to explore their savings and investment behavior separately from men,” the center says. “This change has significant implications for financial planning.”

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

For the oldest cohort, those born between 1931 and 1941, 72% of women’s years between the ages of 20 and the last interview were spent married. Looking at mid-Boomers, i.e. those born between 1954 and 1959, the years spent married in that same timeframe had dropped to 54%. There is strong evidence to show that an individual’s marital status—especially an unexpected change in marital status—has a big impact on financial security over time. 

The reason why the number of years women are married has declined is because, among the oldest cohort, the average age that women got married was 21.4. For mid-Boomers, this has crept up to 24.3. Among the oldest cohort, 3.9% never married, and for mid-Boomers, this has risen to 12.2%. Just over one-third, 33.9%, of the oldest cohort divorced, and today, 49.3% of mid-Boomer women are divorced.

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College’s report on this issue, “Do Women Still Spend Most of Their Lives Married?”, can be downloaded here.

«