Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research:
Recommended Links
Please submit corrections or suggestions to dbaker@benefitslink.com.
I. Source Documents on the Web
- Office of Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives:
http://uscode.house.gov/
- Government Printing Office:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/
- Cornell Legal Information Institute:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
- House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Council:
http://uscode.house.gov/usc.htm
Searchable by keywords.
Site includes "Classification Tables" showing which U.S. Code sections have been affected by recent legislation:
http://uscode.house.gov/uscct.htm
- Article about Using These Code Sources:
http://www.llrx.com/columns/usc.htm
(Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC)
- Retirement Plans IRS Web Page:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/
- IRS Temporary and Final Regulations
Government Printing Office.
GPO has a page for making searches using keywords (search terms); specify
Title 26 and then click "continue":
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
GPO has a page allowing the retrieval of a particular regulation by section
number:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/retrieve.html but it is cumbersome because
one must know not only the title (the Internal Revenue Code is Title 26) but
also the "Part" of the title in which the regulation appears. Most of the
regulations of interest to employee benefit practitioners are in Part 1 of
Title 26.
GPO has a page to use to browse through the final and temporary income tax
regulations:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html#page1 but it
is difficult to use. Click on the most recent version of Title 26 (e.g.,
2010) and then browse to see if your reg appears there. If not, try again using the next most recent
version (e.g., 2009).
-
IRS Proposed Regulations
The Federal Register is where proposed regulations are published. (See "Federal Register," later in this outline.)
-
Revenue Rulings and Revenue Procedures
- Official IRS sources
- www.UncleFed.com has revenue rulings and revenue procedures in PDF format also, but on a per-item basis. Not necessary to know the issue of the IRB in which the ruling appeared. Not updated since 2007.
http://www.unclefed.com/Tax-Bulls/
- Forms and Publications
The Internal Revenue Service has almost all forms and IRS publications online:
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/
Almost all forms and publications are available as PDF files, but many of the publications are coming online in HTML format:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/
- Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memoranda, Chief Counsel Advice
These documents generally are not available online except from commercial services, but in January 1999 the IRS began to publish certain of these documents:
http://www.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/writtenDeterminations.html
These can be sorted by "Uniform Issue List number" (e.g., UIL 423.00-00 is "Employee Stock Purchase Plans").
- Federal Interest Rates
- Examination (Audit) Guidelines from the IRS Manual: http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96954,00.html
- Employee Plans News. Begun in the spring of 2001, the Employee Plans News is issued periodically during the year with retirement plan information from the offices of Employee Plans (an operating unit of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division).
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96731,00.htmlArchived issues:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96719,00.html
Subscribe for free email delivery:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/content/0,,id=154834,00.html
- Listing of Required Modifications (LRM) Language. Used by the National Office in processing requests for opinion letters on master and prototype plans; recently updated to link to GUST versions.
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=97182,00.html
- Alert Guidelines, Explanations & Plan Deficiency Paragraphs. These forms and documents are tools used by Employee Plans specialists during their review of retirement plans. These forms and documents are available to plan sponsors to use before submitting a determination letter application to the IRS.
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=97188,00.html
- Employee Plans CPE Texts. A series of articles of interest published by the IRS as the Employee Plans Continuing Professional Education Technical Instruction Program for fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. (2000 is not online.) The IRS points out on its site that "Under no circumstances should the contents of these articles be used or cited as authority for setting or sustaining a technical position."
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96948,00.html
2004 topics:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=133213,00.html
2003 topics:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=114739,00.html
2002 topics:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=102249,00.html
- CPE Determinations Processing (An in-depth look at the processing of Employee Plans (EP) Determination Letter Applications.)
- Overview of Selected Determination Worksheets (An overview of selected determination worksheets (1, 3, 11, 12) used by EP Specialists during their review of retirement plans.)
- Recurring Issues Report (Insights into frequently recurring defects in plan language that require corrective amendments and delay case closure.)
- Summary of Plan Requirements under Notice 98-52 (ADP/ACP Safe Harbors), as modified by Notice 2000-3 (A summary of alternative nondiscrimination testing methods or safe harbor 401(k) and (m) provisions and operations.)
- Required Minimum Distributions - Explanation of Old and New Regulations (A review of the basic rules regarding minimum distributions and highlights of the changes to section 401(a)(9) effective January 1, 2002.)
- Coverage and Nondiscrimination with Emphasis on Determination Processing
- Selected Topics Under IRC 415, Section 415(b), and Section 415(e), as Amended by GATT, SBJPA, and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (A general discussion of the limitations of IRC 415; a review of the changes to IRC 415 under these laws; and examples demonstrating how IRC 415 calculations are affected.)
- Issues Related to the Repeal of IRC section 415(e)
- The Remedial Amendment Period (An overview of the requirements under section 401(b) for GUST amendments; effective dates for retroactive plan amendments for changes made by GUST; and the requirements for plans terminating before the end of their remedial amendment period.)
- Basic Examination Techniques
- Statute of Limitations (A review of the statute of limitations for EP returns and the procedures for securing the extension of the statute of limitations.)
- Summary of Declaratory Judgment, Administrative Record, and Building a Case for Litigation
- Statute of Limitations
- Cash or Deferred Arrangements - Selected Examination Issues
- SCP and Audit CAP Procedures (A guide to assist EP Specialists with identifying which correction program would be appropriate to apply in a certain situation and to set forth uniform procedures that can be used to ensure consistent treatment by each Area Office when applying the criteria and requirements of Audit CAP and SCP.)
- Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs) (A technical reference for simplified employee pensions (SEPs).)
- EGTRRA Changes to Qualified Plans (Highlights of the major EGTRRA changes affecting IRC 401(a) plans and their effective dates.)
- Defined Benefit Accruals (A review of the benefit accrual rules for defined benefit plans.)
2001 topics:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96946,00.html
- The Remedial Amendment Period (overview of the requirements under Code section 401(b) as they apply to plan amendments for GUST, effective dates for retroactive plan amendments for changes made by GUST, and the requirements for plans terminating before the end of their remedial amendment period)
- Summary of Plan Requirements under Notice 98-52 (ADP/ACP Safe Harbors), as modified by Notice 2000-3 (guidance on the "safe harbor" methods under sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11) for satisfying the actual deferral percentage and the actual contribution percentage tests under sections 401(k) and 401(m))
- Cash or Deferred Arrangements after 1997 and Selected Examination Issues (summary of the changes made by SBJPA, TRA and RRA with regards to testing and correcting for discrimination)
- Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (discussion of Revenue Procedure 2000-16, 2000-6 I.R.B. 518)
- Issues Related to the Repeal of IRC Section 415(e)
- Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans of State and Local Government and Tax-Exempt Employers after the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (overview of section 457)
- Current Developments in IRS Benefits Litigation (summary of key court cases)
- IRC Section 401(h) Retiree Medical Benefits (overview of section 401(h), including issues to be considered when reviewing a determination letter application and issues to be considered when examining a pension or annuity plan involving section 401(h))
1999 topics:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96941,00.html
- Summary of Plan Requirements - Notice 98-52, ADP/ACP Safe Harbors (summary of the plan provision requirements under Notice 98-52, specifically, the design-based alternative or "safe harbor" methods under sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code for satisfying the actual deferral percentage and the actual contribution percentage tests under sections 401(k) and 401(m))
- Summary of Plan Requirements - Notices 97-2 and 98-1, Distribution of Excess Contributions and ADP/ACP using Prior Year Method (overview on the determination letter requirements of Notices 97-2 and 98-1 which provide guidance on amendments made by the Small Business Job Protection Act (SBJPA), including changes to the nondiscrimination rules under sections 401(k) and 401(m) of the Code)
- Changes to the Definition of Highly Compensated Employee and Family Aggregation Under SBJPA (details on the changes made by SBJPA with regards to the definition of Highly Compensated Employee and Family Aggregation, including the impact these changes make on plan language)
- Involuntary Distributions, $5000 Cash Out Regulations (discussion of the temporary and final regulations dealing with the increase in the cashout limit to $5,000)
- Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (overview)
- Summary of Plan Requirements, Section 401(a)(9) (details on guidance relating to the required beginning date as changed by SBJPA)
- Other Published Actuarial Guidance Copies of:
- a field directive which addresses the plan amendments for defined benefit plans (required by GATT and SBJPA)
- Rev. Rul. 98-1 (addresses the changes in the IRC 415 limitations)
- Rev. Rul. 95-6 (addresses the applicable mortality table under GATT)
- Other Published Guidance. Copies of:
- Treasury Decision 8806 (re § 411(d)(6))
- Rev. Proc. 99-13 (re the establishment of the Tax Sheltered Annuity Voluntary Correction program)
1998 topics:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96933,00.html
- Changes to CODAs Under the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and Selected Examination Issues
- Selected Topics Under IRC Section 414(c), Section 415(b) and Section 415(e), as amended by GATT, SBJPA and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
- The Remedial Amendment Period
- Introduction to Cafeteria Plans
- VEBA Awareness
- The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System
- DOL Final and Temporary Regulations
- Government Printing Office
GPO has a page for making searches using keywords (search terms); specify Title 29 and then click "continue":
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
GPO has a page allowing the retrieval of a particular regulation by section number:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/retrieve.html
- DOL Web Site
Final and temporary DOL ERISA regulations:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Chapter_XXV.htm The DOL page includes this disclaimer, however: "The user should be aware that, while we try to keep the information timely and accurate, there will often be a delay between official publication of the materials and their appearance or modification of these pages. Therefore, we make no express or implied guarantees. The Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Department."
Recent final and temporary DOL ERISA regs might appear here:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/fedreg/final/main.htm
- DOL Proposed Regulations
- The Federal Register is where proposed regulations are published. (See "Federal Register," later in this outline.)
- Proposed DOL ERISA regulations are on the DOL website:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/fedreg/proposed/main.htm
- Advisory Opinions and Information Letters:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/Regs/AOs/main.htmlPublished in full text (HTML format) back to 1992, listed by number.
- Field Assistance Bulletins:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/Regs/fabmain.htmlPublished in full text, listed by number.
- Class Prohibited Transaction Exemptions:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/Regs/ClassExemptions/main.html (some are not yet online, though)
- Individual Prohibited Transaction Exemptions:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/masterindex.html (some are not yet online, though)
- Publications:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/main.html
- ERISA Advisory Council:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/aboutebsa/erisa_advisory_council.htmlThe reports are valuable sources of information about benefits design trends. Often the reports cover areas the DOL sees as "trouble spots," which might get legislative or regulatory attention.
- PBGC Regulations
- Final and Temporary PBGC/ERISA Regs (as recently renumbered; HTML format):
http://www.pbgc.gov/practitioners/law-regulations-informal-guidance/content/page13188.html
- Chronological Listing Since 1996 of final and temporary regs, and their associated proposed versions:
http://www.pbgc.gov/practitioners/law-regulations-informal-guidance/content/page14449.html
- Currently Proposed Regs:
http://www.pbgc.gov/practitioners/law-regulations-informal-guidance/content/page13748.html
- Regulations are published also in the Federal Register (see "Federal Register," later in this outline).
- Technical Updates:
http://www.pbgc.gov/practitioners/law-regulations-informal-guidance/content/index.html
- Current interest rates for use in termination of single-employer defined benefit plans:
http://www.pbgc.gov/practitioners/index.html
- Forms for plan administrators:
http://www.pbgc.gov/practitioners/index.html
- Publications for plan administrators:
http://www.pbgc.gov/media/key-resources-for-the-press/content/page14802.html
Including:
- Pension Search Directory:
http://search.pbgc.gov/mp/This online database enables individuals to determine whether PBGC holds benefits for them, under defined benefit plans taken over by PBGC.
- Today's Federal Register
- Earlier Issues, Including Previous Years
- Search the Federal Register
- U.S. Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourt.gov
- Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute provides links to Courts of Appeals and Supreme Court cases:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/federal/opinions.html
- Supreme Court Center provides links to recent opinions as well as briefs; published by the New York Times and powered by FindLaw:
http://supreme.nytimes.findlaw.com/supreme_court/resources.html
- Law Library of Congress provides alternate links to Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court:
http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/usjudic.html
- District Court Opinions from many of the U.S. district courts:
http://www.uscourts.gov/allinks.html
- State Court Web Sites:
http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/info_court_web_sites.html#state
- U.S. Tax Court Opinions:
http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/
- Leagle.com seems to have a great deal of cases, but I am not certain as to its coverage.
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/search.do
Government Printing Office
- Searchable database (1995-present):
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/index.html
- Also possible to view a particular page (1995-present) as a PDF file:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/retrieve.html
- GAO searchable database (1975-present); see
http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/topic.php
Specify "Income Security" as the "topic," to retrieve retirement income-related articles. Another useful topic is "Health."
- Thomas Web server provides full text of bills, committee reports and some committee hearings transcripts, at
http://thomas.loc.gov/
- House Ways and Means Committee:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov
- House Committee on Education and Labor:
http://edlabor.house.gov/
- Senate Finance Committee:
http://finance.senate.gov/
- Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee:
http://help.senate.gov/
- Senate Special Committee on Aging:
http://aging.senate.gov/
- Joint Committee on Taxation "Blue Books" (excellent descriptions of recently enacted legislation):
http://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=select&id=9
- Retirement Plans IRS Web Page:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/
See especially the current edition of the new IRS newsletter, Employee Plans News:
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96731,00.html
- Employee Benefits Security Administration (Department of Labor) home page:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation home page:
http://www.pbgc.gov/
- Joint Committee on Taxation:
http://www.jct.gov
(In alphabetic order.)
- ASPPA Governmental Affairs committee (frequent):
http://www.asppa.org/government/gov_comment.htm
- American Benefits Council (frequent):
press releases page:
http://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/newsroom/news.cfm
- BenefitsLink Newsletter (weekdays): free email newsletter containing links to benefits-related news articles and links to new benefits-related articles and documents on the Web. Two editions available: Retirement Plans, Health & Welfare Plans. To subscribe:
http://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
- Benefits in the News page on BenefitsLink; a web version of the BenefitsLink Newsletter (see above):
http://benefitslink.com/news
- Carol V. Calhoun's Employee Benefits Legal Resource Site
http://benefitsattorney.com/Attorney Carol V. Calhoun's practice emphasizes tax-exempt and governmental benefits matters. See especially the Speeches and Publications section of her web site. Examples: DROP/Phased Retirement Arrangements, 457 Matches, and Other Current Trends in Governmental Plans; The Issues Institutional Investors Face in Doing Social Investing.
- Compendium of Current Inflation-Adjusted Limits (Carol V. Calhoun's Employee Benefits Legal Resource Site):
http://www.benefitsattorney.com/links/Inflation-Adjusted_Limits/
- EBIA Weekly (weekly via email; Employee Benefits Institute of America; concise, useful analysis of legal developments in a variety of areas):
http://www.ebia.com/Weekly
- EBRI Online (Employee Benefits Research Institute; links to new employee benefits content on the Web, especially strong on policy issues; news about new EBRI Reports and Issue Briefs):
http://www.ebri.org/whatsnew/
- Foundation for Enterprise Development (ESOP information, stock options, other equity ownership issues):
http://www.fed.org/
- FreeERISA.com
http://www.freeerisa.com/Lets you "locate, view and download facsimiles of employers' most recent Form 5500, as filed with the United States Department of Labor." Attachments are provided for a fee, e.g. the auditor's report or Schedule B.
- Groom Law Group (see especially Articles & Briefs: Pension & Tax Issues):
http://www.groom.com/
- Hewitt Associates Washington Report (weekly):
http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReport.aspx
- Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide (frequently; status reports on bills):
http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/LegislativeUpdates.aspx
- Hodgson Russ LLP:
http://www.hodgsonruss.com/Home/Practice_Areas/Alphabetical_Listing/Employee_Benefits/Employee_Benefits_Developments
- International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans:
http://www.ifebp.org/
- Kilpatrick Stockton LLP employee benefits articles:
http://www.kilpatrickstockton.com/Knowledge%20Center/Search.aspx?kservice={C6ADF7BD-A584-498A-9A67-7AA915859E23}
- Milliman:
http://www.milliman.com/expertise/employee-benefits/publications/
- National Center for Employee Ownership (ESOP information):
http://www.nceo.org/
- Nixon Peabody LLP:
http://nixonpeabody.com/publications_list2.asp?type=NL2&NLID=30
- PLANSPONSOR (monthly online version of the magazine; daily news articles available on home page):
http://www.plansponsor.com/Daily free email available (NewsDash)
- Q&A columns (BenefitsLink):
http://benefitslink.com/columns.html
- Reish & Reicher. This Los Angeles law firm publishes a considerable amount of material on the Web, including:
- Roth IRA Web Site (Brentmark Software, Inc.):
http://www.rothira.com
- Segal:
http://www.segalco.com/publications-and-resources/
- SunGard Relius Pension Technical Updates (once or twice a month):
http://www.relius.net/news/technicalupdates.aspx?T=P
- SunGard Relius Self-Funded Technical Updates (once or twice a month):
http://www.relius.net/news/technicalupdates.aspx?T=S
- TRI Pension Services (updates to What's New page once or twice a month; Sal Tripodi's terrific nutshell summaries of principal benefits regs and rulings):
http://www.cyberisa.com/erisa_new_current.htm
- Towers Watson Insider (monthly):
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/us/pubs/insider/
- Trucker Huss Benefits Reports (occasional):
http://www.truckerhuss.com/articles/index.cgi?class=articles
(In alphabetic order.)
- CCH Internet Research Network:
http://hr.cch.com
- Pension & Benefits Daily (Bureau of National Affairs; web page with email notifications):
http://www.bna.com/products/eb/pend.htm
- TAGData:
http://www.tagdata.comMonthly subscription provides access to TAGData experts, who answer technical questions via email. Includes an email newsletter called "Industry Update Service" that provides text of important industry press releases and attachments such as PDF versions of surveys produced by consulting firms.
- Tax Notes Today (Tax Analysts; web page with email notifications)
http://www.tax.orgDaily TaxBase service and web site lists recently introduced tax-related legislation, including most benefits bills.
- Links Sorted by Subject, on BenefitsLink.com
Gathered in one place are links to free information sources all over the Internet, arranged by subject. The list of subjects is:
http://benefitslink.com/subjects.html
- Carol Calhoun's Employee Benefits Legal Resources site:
http://benefitsattorney.com/
- BenefitsLink Message Boards:
http://benefitslink.com/boards
- Workforce Management Community Center Forums:
http://www.workforce.com/phpBB/
(In alphabetic order.)
- Center for Retirement Research at Boston College: http://crr.bc.edu
- Employee Benefit Research Institute:
http://www.ebri.org
- International Society of Employee Benefit Specialists - Survey Results page:
http://www.iscebs.org/Resources/Surveys/Pages/Surveys.aspx
- National Bureau of Economic Research (working papers, generally available as PDF files for a $5 charge):
http://www.nber.org/
- Pension Research Council at the University of Pennsylvania:
http://www.pensionresearchcouncil.org/
- Society of Actuaries: http://www.soa.org
- U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO):
http://www.gao.gov
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