"Illinois debt is rallying the most since 2011 as investors bet lawmakers will end two decades of inaction and pass a measure to fix the worst-funded U.S. state pension system.... Taxable Illinois pension-obligation bonds maturing in June 2033 yielded 2.29 percentage points more than benchmark Treasuries May 13, four days after the Senate bill was approved ... That's the smallest penalty since August 2011, when Standard & Poor's rated the state two steps higher than its current A- grade."

5/21/2013: Text of Comments by Brokers to SEC on Proposed Fiduciary Standard (PDF) [Opinion] (National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies )

"We do not agree -- nor have we seen evidence -- that extending [the fiduciary] standard to brokers will reduce fraudulent activity, that not being a fiduciary implies not putting our customers' interests first, or that it will increase consumer understanding of the differences between brokers and advisors. Brokers and advisors perform inherently different functions, and we are certain that any attempt by the SEC to impose a uniform fiduciary standard or harmonize the rules by which financial professionals such as brokers and advisors are governed will create more confusion in the marketplace instead of alleviating it."

5/21/2013: Is a Private Exchange Right for Your Organization? (Mercer )

[T]the number of employers considering offering a private exchange for active and/or retired employees has tripled in the past year to 56%." [An infographic provides three considerations for employers in making this decision.]

5/21/2013: Out-of-Pocket But Not Out-of-Mind [Guidance Overview] (Miller Johnson )

"[F]or the 2014 plan year only, if a non-grandfathered health plan uses different service providers to administer different health benefits, the Departments will consider the limitation on out-of-pocket maximums satisfied, if the out-of-pocket maximum of each health benefit that is separately administered individually complies with the limitation on out-of-pocket maximums."

5/21/2013: High Net Worth Investors Refocus on Growth but Overlook Family, Health and Retirement Risks (Merrill Lynch )

"[F]amily health has emerged as the new risk to family wealth. Long-term care and out-of-pocket healthcare costs, combined with financial support for extended family, are weighing heavily on families, particularly women and younger generations, yet are risks to wealth that are not well reflected in financial planning."

5/21/2013: Pension Plan Suing Merrill Lynch Lacks Standing, Seventh Circuit Affirms (Bloomberg BNA )

"Judge John D. Tinder ... found that the account freeze imposed by Merrill Lynch was done in compliance with a state court order [stemming from a lawsuit against a plan participant by an alleged creditor]. Because Merrill Lynch was obligated to comply with the order, it could not be held responsible for any injury suffered by the plan administrator."

5/21/2013: Role of Health Reform 'Navigators' Under Fire (The Wall Street Journal )

"Critics see the navigators as potential competitors to insurance brokers, and say that they are effectively federal government employees who should be subject to rigorous screening."

5/21/2013: Phyllis Borzi: Clarity of ACA Guidance Limited by the Statute Itself (Employee Benefit News )

"Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary for employee benefits security, acknowledged that those in the audience -- mostly multi-plan trustees -- are struggling with how to implement the ACA and although the DOL is working with them 'these are very, very difficult issues because the statute is so unforgiving in a number of areas.' Borzi ... said that many times people come into the department's offices to talk about the law and want to put aside the statute during the conversation. 'We can't do that,' Borzi said. 'It's only when the statute gives us some wiggle room and often it does not.'"

5/21/2013: SEC Staff Updates Interpretive Guidance On Executive and Director Compensation Disclosure Rules (PDF) [Guidance Overview] (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. )

"The staff of the [SEC] periodically updates its interpretive guidance on executive and director compensation proxy disclosure rules through the release of Compliance & Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs). The CDIs are drafted in question and answer format for issues of general applicability, and also in the form of interpretive responses regarding particular situations. The most recent guidance was released on May 17, 2013. The interpretative guidance is briefly summarized [in the linked article]."

5/21/2013: What's New with the Affordable Care Act? [Guidance Overview] (Nixon Peabody LLP )

Compact but useful descriptions of recent regulatory developments. Article titles: [1] Recap of the play-or-pay rules, [2] Minimum Value standards, [3] Impact of Account-Based Plans on Minimum Value and Affordability, and [4] Limitations on mandatory coverage.

5/21/2013: ML Strategies Health Care Reform Update, May 20, 2013 (PDF) (ML Strategies, LLC )

Update on developments in federal and state health care reform legislation and regulations, including summaries of recent announcements and regulatory activity by HHS, CCIIO, IRS and CMS.

5/21/2013: Plan Ruled 'Governmental' Despite Establishment by Private Entity (Calhoun Law Group )

"So what happens if a plan is established by a private entity, but later maintained by a government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities? ... It is clear that if the plan had continued to be operated by [the private entity] the retirees could have sued in federal court under ERISA. However, notwithstanding the fact that [two governmental entities] agreed to take over the obligations of the private employer, the court held that ERISA would not apply to a lawsuit filed after the takeover." [Smith v. Regional Transit Authority (E.D. La. May 10, 2013]

5/21/2013: Employers are Required to Notify Employees of Private Healthcare Exchanges [Guidance Overview] (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC )

"With some very limited exceptions, all employers (including those who have less than 50 full-time/full-time equivalent employees) are required to provide this Notice, meaning that many employers that are not subject to the 'pay-to play' provisions of Healthcare Reform are required to provide this Notice."

5/21/2013: Overruns Forcing Lower Payments to Some Providers Under Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (The New York Times; subscription may be required )

"In most cases, payments to health care providers will be capped at Medicare rates, which are substantially less than the commercial insurance rates they have been receiving. The new policy generally prohibits doctors and hospitals from increasing charges to consumers to make up the difference."

5/21/2013: CalPERS Seeks to Bar Law Firm in San Bernardino's Bankruptcy (Pensions & Investments )

"The $265.5 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System ... accused the law firm of Winston & Strawn of being 'deceptive' by hiring several key lawyers who had been working for the pension fund in the bankruptcies of the California cities of San Bernardino and Stockton. Winston & Strawn represents creditor National Public Finance Guarantee Corp., which opposes CalPERS in the two bankruptcies[.]"

5/21/2013: A Checkup for Your EAP and Health and Wellness Programs (Healthcare Reform Magazine )

"Absent an industry standard for measuring and reporting utilization, employers are left to question what these rates mean, as well as how effective the program and services truly are. The simple use of a program does not equate to achieving outcomes that are relevant to your workplace."

5/21/2013: Lew Taps Government Retiree Pension Fund (Miami Herald )

"[Treasury Secretary Jacob] Lew said that he would tap the civil service retirement and disability fund and a similar fund that covers retired postal workers. The law allows him to remove investments from these funds to clear room for more borrowing until Congress votes to raise the debt limit. Under the law, any investments diverted from the pension funds must be replaced with interest once Congress approves raising the debt limit."

5/21/2013: Avoiding Form 5500 Audit Traps (Multnomah Group )

"One of the most immediately recognizable benefits of EFAST2 is the increase in the efficiency with which the Form 5500, related schedules and independent qualified plan auditor's report may now be reviewed.... It comes as no surprise then that regulatory correspondence and examination activity is on the rise during the EFAST2 era. The DOL reportedly corresponded with thousands of employers last year requesting further explanation of or amendments to previously reported information. The IRS and DOL are likely to audit more retirement plans this year than any year before, and EFAST2 is undoubtedly a highly contributing factor."

5/21/2013: Some Individual Policies Offer Way to Shrink Deductibles, But Is It Legal? (Kaiser Health News )

"Supporters say these programs reward good health by helping customers reduce their costs. But consumer advocates say the programs may discriminate against sick people and run afoul of the Affordable Care Act."

5/21/2013: The Market for Medical Care Should Work Like Cosmetic Surgery [Opinion] (National Center for Policy Analysis )

"When patients pay their own medical bills, they become prudent consumers. Thus, the real (inflation-adjusted) price of cosmetic surgery fell over the past two decades -- despite a huge increase in demand and considerable innovation. Since 1992: The price of medical care has increased an average of 118 percent. The price of physician services rose by 92 percent. All goods, as measured by the inflation rate, increased by 64 percent. Cosmetic surgery prices only rose only about 30 percent."

5/21/2013: Why a Fiduciary Standard Helps All Investors and 401(k) Plan Sponsors [Opinion] (Fiduciary News )

"We all know that investors can't distinguish between brokers and investment advisers, particularly since brokers have been allowed to re-brand themselves as financial advisers.... Beyond that, we know that the typical investor is also ill-equipped to evaluate investments, does very little independent research of the investments recommended to them, and relies heavily, if not exclusively, on the recommendations they receive. That makes investors extraordinarily vulnerable and is precisely the sort of relationship of trust that demands fiduciary protection."

5/21/2013: A Failure to Communicate: How Cultural Incompetence Leaves Many Wellness Programs Incomplete (Healthcare Reform Magazine )

"Without improving cultural competency, the inability of minority wellness program participants to effectively communicate with healthcare providers and vendors is likely to worsen.... Poorer health outcomes may result when sociocultural differences between employees and providers, like language are not reconciled in the clinical encounter. This can lead to: [1] Increased likelihood of mistakes in collecting medical histories, [2] Decreased use of preventative services, [3] Increased use of diagnostic testing, and [4] Increased risk of drug complications affecting work or home life."

5/21/2013: Surviving a 'Reformed' Open Enrollment (Human Resource Executive Online )

"Open-enrollment season may still be months away for many organizations, but experts are urging employers to prepare now to successfully guide employees into a new era of healthcare-reform-mandated options -- and with it, potentially overwhelming amounts of information and misinformation -- to begin Jan. 1."

5/21/2013: Financial Services Industry Continues Its Anti-Investor Campaigns [Opinion] (MutualFundReform.com )

"[K]ey elements of the financial industry are actively promoting legislative, regulatory and legal campaigns designed to denigrate any benefits to customer-investors, including a powerful campaign underway by a financial trade group to derail any pro-fiduciary actions from the [DOL]. What's more, these recent actions are not isolated. They are part of the ongoing campaign to ignore any admission that the financial services industry is broken and that it has an institutionalized disdain for its own customers."

5/21/2013: SEC Commissioner Calls for Uniform Fiduciary Standard for Investment Industry (On Wall Street )

"Having a uniform standard for both investment advisors and broker-dealers would create a more level playing field for investors, who often aren't aware of the different responsibilities each has to clients, [SEC Commissioner Elisse] Walter said. 'The more important point is [that] depending on who I hire, I get different levels of care and different rules applicable and that, to me, has never made any sense,' said Walter."

5/21/2013: Is the Future of American Health Care in Oregon? (The Washington Post )

"[Oregon Gov. John] Kitzhaber said. 'What we're doing is instead of putting our budget into the ER and paying for congestive heart failure after congestive heart failure, we're putting it into care coordination and community health workers. We're investing in health. It's just a paradigm shift.' ... This is a potentially transformational notion, based on a belief that the health-care system doesn't decide or drive health, even that individuals don't particularly drive their own health."

5/21/2013: New Survey and Research Show the Persistence and Importance of Employee Stock Purchase Plans (myStockOptions.com )

"[O]ver half of the surveyed companies (51%) plan to modify their ESPPs in the next few years, and that 31% will make their plans more attractive for participants by, for example, increasing the purchase-price discount or adding a lookback provision.... [A]mong the surveyed ESPP companies, the percentage with a 15% discount on the purchase price fell from 87% in 2004 to 71% in 2011, while the percentage with lookbacks dropped from 82% in 2004 to 62% in 2011."

5/21/2013: The Perfect Fit for One-Size-Fits-All Target Date Funds (PDF) (Target Date Solutions )

"There are two indisputable truths in defined contribution retirement savings: [1] Saving enough is critical to retiring with dignity. [2] There is a risk zone spanning the 5 years before and after retirement during which losses can materially disrupt retirement lifestyles, even if savings are sufficient.... These facts are largely ignored when it comes to target date funds."

5/21/2013: Now is the Time to Prepare for Health Plan Pay-or-Play Rules in 2014 [Guidance Overview] (Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP )

"Determining whether your [company] is subject to penalties, when your [company] has incurred a penalty, and the amount of the penalty is a multi-step process.... Although some changes to the rules can be expected, the time is now to work out a strategy for avoiding or minimizing the penalties." [Article includes a flow chart outlining the process.]

5/21/2013: Wagner Law Group Legal Updates in ERISA, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, May 2013 (The Wagner Law Group )

Articles include: Tax Reform Proposals Regarding the Retirement System; DOL Offers Tips on TDFs; Definition of Fiduciary; Re-Enrollment Default Investments: Bidwell v. University Medical Center; 408b-2 and 404a-5 Disclosure Aftermath; Brokerage Accounts; New Areas of Potential Litigation.

5/21/2013: PCAOB Re-Proposes New Auditing Standard Affecting Executive Compensation and Risk Assessments (Winston & Strawn LLP )

"[The] re-proposed amendments [by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board], like the proposed amendments, would require the auditor to perform procedures that include, but are not limited to: [1] Reading the employment and compensation contracts between the company and its executive officers; [2] Reading proxy statements and other relevant company filings with the SEC and other regulatory agencies that relate to the company's financial relationships and transactions with its executive officers, and [3] Consider inquiring of the chair of the compensation committee, or the compensation committee's equivalent, and any compensation consultants engaged by either the compensation committee or the company regarding the structuring of the company's compensation for executive officers."

5/21/2013: Deloitte Health Care Reform Memo, May 20, 2013 (Deloitte )

"According to the National Conference of State Legislators, in the average state, health care is 28-35 percent of the budget.... Governors across the country are asking good questions. They ask about the ACA ... They ask about Medicaid: ... They ask about state employee health plans ... They ask about the private sector ... They wonder about the health care workforce and jobs in their state ... And they ask about public awareness."

5/21/2013: New York City Council Passes Paid Sick Leave Bill (PDF) [Guidance Overview] (Buck Consultants )

"An employer will not have to provide additional [paid time off (PTO)] if it already provides an amount of paid vacation, paid personal days, paid days of rest, or PTO sufficient to satisfy the new mandate and allows the leave to be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as required by the Act. Similarly, an employer required to provide unpaid sick time will not have to provide additional unpaid sick time if it already provides a sufficient number of unpaid or paid PTO, vacation, or personal days to satisfy the Act's requirements, regardless of whether the employee chooses to use the days as sick time."

5/21/2013: Text of Revised SEC Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations: Regulation S-K [Official Guidance] (Securities and Exchange Commission )

Q&As include: "Is restricted stock that has been granted subject to forfeiture pursuant to an equity compensation plan reportable in the Item 201(d) Equity Compensation Plan Information table? ... Should shares that may be issued under performance share awards if specified targets are met and shares that are credited as phantom shares under a deferred compensation plan be reported in column (a) of the Equity Compensation Plan Information table as securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights?"

5/21/2013: Fifth Circuit Holds that Health Plan Can Obtain Reimbursement from Special Needs Trust (Haynes and Boone, LLP )

"[U]nder the terms of the settlement agreement, which Mr. Griffin signed, some of the settlement proceeds were segregated for attorneys' fees and other expenses, and the remaining sum was used by the Third Party's insurance company to purchase an annuity contract, pursuant to which monthly payments would be paid into a statutory special needs trust for Mr. Griffin's benefit over a 20-year period ... The [Fifth Circuit] pointed out that in order to assent to the disposition of the funds as outlined in the settlement agreement, Mr. Griffin must have had at least constructive possession and control of the funds."

5/21/2013: Comp Time Bill Passes U.S. House, Heads for Senate (Jackson Lewis LLP )

"Under the proposed legislation, employers must give employees 30 days' notice before ending a compensatory time program, and employees, at any time, may request in writing to be paid for any accrued, but unused, compensatory time. Such payments must be made within 30 days of receiving a request."

5/21/2013: Florida Medical Record Disclosure Law Preempted by HIPAA (McDermott Will & Emery )

"This case ... suggests that the question of whether HIPAA or state law is stricter may not always be binary or straightforward, and that in some cases state law will be seen as framing or contextualizing HIPAA and in other cases will be seen as less protective. Thus, while the HIPAA preemption principle is well-settled, the application of that principle still presents some uncertainty, especially given the varied nature of state law." [Opis Management Resources LLC et al. v. Secretary, Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, Case No. 12-12593 (11th Cir. 2013)]

5/21/2013: Fears of Widespread 'Rate Shock' Unfounded (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities )

"Yes, a relatively small number of people with coverage in the existing individual insurance market can expect premium increases in 2014, particularly if they are young and healthy, are not eligible for new federal subsidies or expanded Medicaid coverage, and have a relatively skimpy plan today. But others will pay less, and still others will be able to get better benefits for about the same premiums."

5/21/2013: Living in America Takes Toll on Immigrants' Health (The New York Times; subscription may be required )

"A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in this country, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.... Why does life in the United States -- despite its sophisticated health care system and high per capita wages -- lead to worse health? New research is showing that the immigrant advantage wears off with the adoption of American behaviors -- smoking, drinking, high-calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles."

5/21/2013: Majority of Employers Plan to Offer Healthcare Coverage After 2014 (HealthLeaders Media )

"More than two-thirds of employers (69%) say they will continue to provide healthcare coverage when health insurance exchanges begin operation in 2014. That's up from 46% in 2012 ... Meanwhile, only 2% of employers are considering terminating their healthcare coverage as a result of the healthcare reform law[.]"

5/21/2013: Beware of Prohibited Transactions in Self-Directed IRA Investment Opportunities (Bloomberg BNA )

"A taxpayer who has a self-directed IRA and who guarantees a loan entered into by a company the shares of which are owned by the IRA runs afoul of the tax Code's prohibited transaction rules, causing the account to fail to qualify as an IRA, according to the Tax Court[.]" [Peek v. Comr., 140 T.C. No. 12 (2013)]

5/21/2013: SEC Chairman Mary Jo White's Honeymoon Short-lived? (fi360 )

"Part of White's plea for more examiners has to do with the sudden influx of 1,500 new hedge and private fund advisors since the Dodd-Frank reform act added the new registration requirement, and the fact that only one in 10 advisors registered with the Commission are inspected each year. Dodd-Frank was supposed to alleviate some of the strain on SEC resources by de-registering some 4,000 smaller investment advisers, and relegating them state oversight. However, only about 2,000 actually de-registered from the SEC."

5/21/2013: Younger Prospects Getting Cold Shoulder from Advisers (Investment News; free registration required )

"[T]wo-thirds of executives at broker-dealer and registered investment adviser firms ... said they are still focused on serving and attracting baby boomer clients, while just 23% said they're targeting Gen X (ages 34-48) and Gen Y (18-33)."

5/21/2013: How Will The 'Unbanked' Buy Insurance On The Exchanges? (Kaiser Health News )

"One in five households in the United States, or about 51 million adults, [has] only a tenuous relationship with a traditional bank ... The new federal health law which requires most Americans to carry health insurance starting in January presents a particular problem for those households, since most health plans accept a credit card for the first month's premium payment and then require customers to pay monthly with a check or an electronic funds transfer from a checking account."

5/21/2013: LIMRA Benchmarks In-Plan Guarantee Market for 2012 (LIMRA )

"As of December 2012, defined contribution (DC) in-plan guarantee assets totaled $2.2 billion ... 1.8 million participants currently have access to in-plan guarantees in their DC plans.... [M]ore than a third of Americans with DC plans would be interested in purchasing an in-plan guarantee product."

5/21/2013: Obamacare Could Result in Reduced Employee Health Benefits [Opinion] (Cato Institute )

"[E]mployers and employee-benefits consultants have found, and federal regulators now confirm, that the law actually requires most employers to offer no more than very flimsy coverage. Many employers are now exploring the option of offering limited-benefit health plans that cover preventive services and maybe '$100 a day for a hospital visit' but 'wouldn't cover surgery, X-rays or prenatal care.' Indeed, the law could push many employers to reduce the amount of coverage workers receive on the job.... The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again."

5/21/2013: NY and NJ Pensions Recover from Crisis? [Opinion] (Pension Pulse )

"The lesson of 2008 for these pensions was to keep their long-term view in equities but also start diversifying away from public equities into alternative investments. Will this strategy work? If they can internalize the due diligence and negotiate hard on terms, cutting costs and minimizing fees in private equity and hedge funds, the added diversification should increase returns and lower the volatility of their funds over the long-run."

5/21/2013: Health Insurance Exchanges -- The Top Ten Terribles (PDF) [Opinion] (Citizens' Council for Health Freedom )

"Higher Premiums ... Limited Choice of Providers ... Privacy Intrusions ... No private insurance ... IRS Enforcement ... Conscientious Objections Dismissed ... Federal Application ... Limited Choice of Coverage ... State Control Board ... Employer Penalties [and] Medicaid for Employees."

5/20/2013: Before It's Too Late: A Retirement Security Newsletter from Phyllis Borzi, May 20, 2013 (Employee Benefits Security Administration )

"How do I make sure I don't run out of money in retirement? It is one of the most common questions -- and fears -- that arise.... A retirement account balance may seem like a very large amount of money, but seeing that broken down to an estimated lifetime stream of payments can be sobering."

5/20/2013: Sens. Harkin, Alexander Initiate HELP Committee Investigation into Pension Lenders (Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, U.S. Senate )

"As an initial matter [the Committee is] seeking [National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)]'s assistance in identifying the number of victims of improper and/or deceptive pension purchasing schemes and information about any enforcement actions taken. We also seek NAAG's assistance identifying which companies are offering these products and where they are incorporated as well as how these arrangements are structured."

5/20/2013: Considering the Spousal Surcharge (Human Resource Executive Online )

"One of the ways employers are looking to contain healthcare costs is by levying surcharges on spouses who opt for coverage through their partners' insurance policies. This strategy may be effective, but HR must carefully communicate the reasons for these changes and prepare for employee pushback."

5/20/2013: Health Spending Slowdown Shows Signs It Will Stick (American Medical News )

"Insurance benefit design changes, slower introduction of new drugs and technology, and improved physician efficiency are among the factors that researchers cited to explain the recent slowdown in the growth of health spending in the United States. Although spending rates historically have shot back up after such slow periods, some studies suggested that flatline growth might continue even as the nation's economy keeps recovering."

5/20/2013: European Pension Plans Remain Focused in Managing Volatility (Mercer )

"[P]lans in the UK had made a meaningful shift out of equities over the last 12 months, with the average equity allocation falling from 43% to 39% (the comparable figure was 68% in 2003). UK schemes have traditionally been among the most equity-heavy in Europe, but now sit behind Ireland, Belgium and Sweden in terms of equity exposure."

5/20/2013: California Pension Ballot Measure Wave Crests, Court Slog Remains (CalPensions )

"One of the first local ballot measures aimed at cutting public pension costs, a cap on Pacific Grove payments to CalPERS approved by voters three years ago, was ruled unconstitutional by a Monterey County superior court judge ... [who found] that Measure R violated the contract clause of the state constitution, reaffirming the view that pensions promised on the date of hire are a 'vested right' that can't be cut without providing a new benefit of equal value."

5/20/2013: With High Deductible Health Plans, It Pays To Shop Around For Care (Kaiser Health News )

"Proponents of high-deductible plans say consumers will make more cost-conscious health care choices if they have to spend more of their own money. According to [one] analysis ... consumers in such plans cut their medical spending by between 5 and 14 percent. But results were mixed on whether they cut back only on unnecessary care or on treatment that was needed."

5/20/2013: The Evolving Roles of Emergency Departments (RAND Corporation )

"Rising use of [emergency departments (EDs)], particularly by patients who do not have reliable access to primary care, has led insurers and policymakers to focus on the high cost of 'nonurgent' ED visits. This has distracted attention from more important and consequential trends, including the growing use of EDs as diagnostic centers, the increasingly prominent role EDs play as the major entry point for unscheduled hospital admissions, and the potential role EDs may be playing in limiting growth of preventable hospital admissions."

5/20/2013: Michigan Employers Report Cost of Providing Health Care Growing at 4%, Lowest Rate in Ten Years (PDF) (McGraw Wentworth )

"For the second consecutive year, 25% of participants report no cost increase at all.... Compared to 12% of employers nationally, 30% of Michigan employers require a surcharge or exclude spouses who are eligible for coverage from other sources. Wellness plans continue to evolve with 36% of employers tying incentives to achievement of a health goal[.]"

5/20/2013: Improving Retirement Savings Options for Employees (PDF) (U. of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law Review )

"The core principles of trust investment law ... establish a presumption in favor of passive (index) investing and against active investing ... The key question is what this presumption implies for a situation where plan participants are allowed to exercise control over their accounts -- control explicitly endorsed by ERISA.... [P]lan fiduciaries' duty to protect participants from poor investment choices does not simply evaporate in this context."

5/20/2013: Common Sense Redux: The Legal and Economic Imperative Behind the DOL/EBSA's 'Definition of Fiduciary' Re-Proposed Rule [Opinion] (Ron Rhoades, via Scholarly Financial Planner )

"[1] Absent Preemption under ERISA, Fiduciary Duties would already be applied to Retirement Advisors under State Common Law. [2] Thoughts on the Present State of Affairs for American Consumers. [3] The Application of Fiduciary Standards is Consistent with Capitalism. [4] Examining Several Arguments."

5/20/2013: Tri-Agency FAQs Address Annual Limit Waivers, Provider Selection, Clinical Trials and Transparency Notices (PDF) [Guidance Overview] (Seyfarth Shaw LLP )

"Nongrandfathered plans must disclose to HHS and make available to the public certain information including (but not limited to): Claims payments practices; Data on enrollment/disenrollment; Data on the number of claims denied; and Information on cost-sharing and out-of-network coverage.... The guidance clarified that this requirement (originally effective in 2014) will be delayed at least one year, until 2015. The requirement will only become effective after the agencies issue further guidance."

5/20/2013: Schwab Eliminates Class Action Waivers (Schwab )

"Effective immediately, Schwab is modifying its account agreements to eliminate the existing class action lawsuit waiver for disputes related to events occurring on or after May 15, 2013 and for the foreseeable future. While the company believes that dispute resolution is best handled via FINRA arbitration, we have chosen to voluntarily remove the waiver going forward until the issue is resolved by the appropriate regulatory and/or court decisions."

5/20/2013: It's a Matter of When, Not If: Validity of Class Action Waivers in ERISA Plans To Be Tested (PlanTools, LLC )

"[Why does Schwab's decision to withdraw the class action waiver clause from their brokerage account agreements] matter for ERISA plans? The opportunity to test on a nationwide preclusive fashion whether class action waivers are valid will be too tempting for those that have a vested interested in seeing it happen."

5/20/2013: Trends in Medigap Coverage and Enrollment, 2012 (America's Health Insurance Plans )

"In 2012, most Medicare beneficiaries with a standardized Medigap policy had Plan F (53 percent). Plan C, the second most popular plan, had 13 percent of the Medigap standardized plan market. Plans F and C cover 100 percent of the deductibles and coinsurance not covered by Medicare.... Enrollment in Plan N, which includes cost-sharing of up to $20 for physician office visits and up to $50 for certain emergency room visits (waived in certain circumstances), grew by 35 percent between December 2011 and December 2012, and was the most popular of the newer standardized plans."

5/20/2013: How the Selection of a Financial Adviser Can Go Wrong (The Wall Street Journal )

"[L]et's say you take a financial problem, or your retirement goals, to two or three financial advisers. New studies show that you're unlikely to get the same, or even similar, recommendations about what investment products to buy or what strategy to pursue. And that could make a big difference in your financial future... [R]etirement-savings recommendations vary greatly based on the type of firm for which a financial adviser works."

5/20/2013: Employer Assessment and Premium Charges Set to Finance Vermont Health Insurance Exchange (VTdigger.org )

"The [Vermont] state Senate [has voted] to place a charge on health insurance premiums and extend an employer assessment to pay for the operation of the state's new health insurance marketplace, called Vermont Health Connect. Senate bill 152, which began this legislative session as a streamlining of the state's health insurance rate review process, has become the vehicle for financing the operation of the insurance exchange."

5/20/2013: Stock Market Surge Buoys Michigan Public Employee Pension Plan Funding (Detroit Free Press )

"Public pension plans in Michigan -- hammered by stock market declines in the poor economy and mismanagement in some cases -- are now seeing their investment portfolios growing at the best rate in years.... Many public pension plans around the state ... have been severely underfunded in recent years. For instance, Wayne County's pension plan dipped below 50% funded, while the Michigan State Employee Retirement System hovered at 65.5% funded."

5/20/2013: Financial Planning Coalition Urges Improvement to Investment Adviser Oversight [Opinion] (Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors )

"There is widespread agreement on the need to provide greater protection to American investors from financial fraud. The adoption of a fiduciary standard that includes broker-dealers when providing personalized investment advice would help restore and strengthen public trust in financial advisers -- both investment advisers and broker-dealers. Any legislation that creates additional obstacles to SEC rulemaking could needlessly delay or weaken critical investor protection measures such as the fiduciary standard, however unintentionally."

5/20/2013: Massachusetts Eyes Lump-Sum Pension Swaps (Investment News; free registration required )

"State investigators have contacted the firms seeking information on whether the companies do business in Massachusetts and how the lump-sum offers are marketed. Massachusetts is concerned that the amounts offered are significantly less than the value of the future income.... The state also wants to know if the deals are structured as securities."

5/20/2013: For Most Retirement Plans, the Great Recession Rate Has Not Resulted in Lower Matching Contributions (PLANADVISER.com )

"An analysis of more than 9,000 retirement plans ... found about three-quarters of companies (72%) maintained or added employer contributions over the past five years. Only 12% terminated and did not reinstate their matching contributions, and 5% suspended their match, but have reinstated it."

5/20/2013: Why Moody's Changed Its Pension Analysis (Video) (Bond Buyer Online )

"Tim Blake of Moody's Investors Service discusses why the firm changed the way it determines pension liabilities and how cities and states are handling pension issues."

5/20/2013: Key Issues in the IRS Audit Report on Tax-Exempts and Reasonable Compensation (PDF) (Towers Watson )

"Key areas of IRS interest include: The role of the board or compensation committee in determining the peer group and selecting survey sources; Whether the organization has a compensation policy; Whether all items of compensation (such as country clubs and personal auto use) are appropriately included in income."

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