Headlines about "Actuarial - misc"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
[Official Guidance] Text of Final PBGC Regs on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Paying Benefits (PDF)
"The interest assumptions are intended to reflect current conditions in the financial and annuity markets. Assumptions under the benefit payments regulation are updated monthly. This final rule updates the benefit payments interest assumptions for June 2012." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Actuarial Techniques to Manage Pension Risk (PDF)
Slides used in a presentation by a prominent actuarial firm with a large public plan practice, from the 2010 National Conference on Public Employees Retirement Systems. (Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company)
[Official Guidance] Text of Official Notice to Pension Plan Participants; PBGC Takes Over Responsibility for Payments at Large Law Firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf (PDF)
"PBGC is taking this action because your plan meets the criteria for termination under federal pension law. In general, this means that your employer is unable to keep up the plan and the plan may not have enough money to pay all the promised benefits. PBGC has determined that the plan should terminate as of May 11, 2012. As of that date, you will not earn any further benefits from the plan." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Opinion] Ford's Retiree Cashout: A Trap for the Unwary
"If enough retirees accept the cashout offer, Ford will reap significant financial benefits. First, it would reduce the volatility on the company's financial statements that results from its pension obligations. Second, Ford wouldn't need to pay premiums to [PBGC], ... on behalf of any retirees who accepted the lump-sum deal. Ford also would likely be able to extinguish its pension liability at below-market rates for retirees who accept the offer." (CBS money watch)
Retirement Plan Sponsor, Union and Plan Administrator Sued by Hundreds of Former Employees; Fraud is Alleged
"Alleged violations of [ERISA] provisions involved a lawsuit with 225 plaintiffs, all current or former workers at an Ohio steel mill and members of the United Steelworkers of America ... They sued the union, their employer and the plan administrator.... The current and former employees filed suit in 2009, alleging eight counts: breach of ERISA fiduciary duty, equitable relief, equitable estoppel, failure to furnish requested plan documents, and four state-law charges asserting similar claims." (Human Resources Journal)
[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Notice 2012-31: Minimum Value of an Employer-Sponsored Health Plan (PDF)
"This notice describes and requests comments on several possible approaches to determining whether health coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan ... provides minimum value within the meaning of Section 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii). Beginning in 2014, eligible individuals who purchase coverage under a qualified health plan through an Affordable Insurance Exchange may receive a premium tax credit under Section 36B unless they are eligible for other minimum essential coverage, including coverage under an employer-sponsored plan that is affordable to the employee and provides minimum value. Under Section 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii), a plan fails to provide minimum value if 'the plan's share of the total allowed costs of benefits provided under the plan is less than 60 percent of such costs.' If the coverage offered by the employer fails to provide minimum value, an employee may be eligible to receive a premium tax credit. An applicable large employer (as defined in Section 4980H(c)(2)) may be liable for an assessable payment under Section 4980H if any full-time employee receives a premium tax credit." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview] HHS Releases Approach to Be Taken in Determining Actuarial Value
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act) requires the Department of Health and Human Services to determine how the actuarial value of qualified health plans (QHPs) and other nongrandfathered coverage in the individual and small group markets will be calculated.... The Bulletin emphasizes that the calculation is based on the provision of [essential health benefits] to a standard population, not the population covered by the plan, since the [actuarial value] is expected to be used by consumers in comparing the relative value of plans with different cost sharing designs." (Deloitte)
[Guidance Overview] HHS Releases Approach to Be Taken in Determining Actuarial Value
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act) requires the Department of Health and Human Services to determine how the actuarial value of qualified health plans (QHPs) and other nongrandfathered coverage in the individual and small group markets will be calculated.... The Bulletin emphasizes that the calculation is based on the provision of [essential health benefits] to a standard population, not the population covered by the plan, since the [actuarial value] is expected to be used by consumers in comparing the relative value of plans with different cost sharing designs." (BenefitsLink.com)
Operational Changes in Defined Benefit Plans for Plan Sponsors to Consider in 2012: Making Lump Sum Payments
"This year, 2012, marks the first year that the 417(e) interest rate required to calculate the minimum present value of a DB pension is equal to the interest rate used to calculate its liability for [PPA] minimum funding purposes (ignoring the 24-month averaging). In the past, the lump sum was based in part on 30-year Treasury rates, which often resulted in the payout of lump-sum amounts greater than the corresponding liability funded for in the plan's funding target. With this no longer the case, the settlement of lump sums might be an attractive way to eliminate longevity risk from DB plans." (Milliman)
[Guidance Overview] Fiduciaries Can Consider Impact on Whole Plan When Responding to One Participant's Demand for Benefits
"In Wakamatsu v. Oliver [in the federal Northern District of California], ... a former employee of a dental practice sued the plan administrator of the practice's profit sharing plan ... asserting that her benefit should have been determined based upon a December 31, 2007 valuation ... rather than upon a later valuation that reflected the impact of the economic downturn on overall plan assets (resulting in approximately $60,000 less)." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
[Guidance Overview] Early Retirement Supplement Found to Be a 'Protected Benefit' Due to Plan Drafting
"An employer's defined benefit pension plan defined 'accrued benefit' to include early retirement supplemental benefits. However, the plan was amended to eliminate the early retirement supplemental benefit. A participant erroneously received payment of the early retirement supplemental benefit after the amendment and was asked by the employer to repay it to the plan. The employee claimed that elimination of the supplement violated ERISA's 'anti-cutback' rule." (Haynes and Boone)
[Official Guidance] Text of PBGC Final Regs: Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans: Interest Assumptions for Paying Benefits (PDF)
"This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in May 2012. The interest assumptions are used for paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Guidance Overview] PBGC Corrects Third and Fourth Quarter 2011 Interest Rate Assumptions for Valuing Benefits
"The PBGC has issued corrections to its regulations (Appendix B to part 4044) that slightly revise its interest assumptions under ERISA section 4044, applicable to valuation dates during the second half of 2011." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
[Opinion] Greed Is Good: Pension PlanFunding vs. Corporate Profits
"Many corporations have taken considerable heat in recent years for freezing [or terminating] their pension plans ... They pad their bottom lines while employees don't save enough money to retire well; what could be greedier than that? But [helping people to retire] is just an ancillary effect of the primary purpose, which is to attract and retain employees. And when plan liabilities get too high -- which most are these days because of low interest rates -- that purpose may not seem as important as it used to." (CFO)
[Opinion] Pension Rights Center Testinibt in Support of Connecticut Bill about Public Retirement Plans
"The state retirement system can play an important role in helping facilitate that American dream, by providing a vehicle for retirement savings for all workers.... Thirty years ago, one out of two private-sector workers participated in defined benefit plans. Now that figure is closer to one in five. And 401(k) plans have left most workers with insufficient assets for retirement." (Pension Rights Center)
How We Sell - and Fail to Sell - Annuities (PDF)
"Why don't more people use annuities to guarantee their retirement income, and what can we do about it? This paper looks at the facts, the theories, and the proposed solutions, to bring more order to the discussion, and to update you on the latest ideas." (Still River Retirement Planning Software, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview] Pension Plan's Choice of Interest Rate to Calculate Withdrawal Liability Not an Abuse of Discretion
"A multiple-employer pension plan's board did not abuse its discretion when it used what an employer described as an 'unreasonably low' interest rate to calculate the amount of the employer's withdrawal liability, the [court] has ruled." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
PBGC in CBO's March 2012 Baseline and the President's FY 2013 Budget: March 2012 Baseline
The target page takes you to a chart showing PBGC revenue and outlays. (Congressional Budget Office)
Enrolled Actuaries Report, Winter 2011 (PDF)
This edition includes the following: GASB Unveils Preliminary Viewson Financial Projections; Research Projects Private Pension Funding Costs; Updated Social Security and IRS Amounts for 2012; Is 411(d)(6) Dead? Recent Developments for Hybrid Plans; and, PBGC Clarifies Instructions for Form 5500 on the reporting of premium payments. (Enrolled Actuaries Report)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Final Rule: Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans: Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Valuing and Paying Benefits
"PBGC's regulations on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans ... and Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans ... prescribe actuarial assumptions -- including interest assumptions -- for valuing and paying plan benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by title IV of [ERISA]. The interest assumptions in the regulations are also published on PBGC's Web site (http://www.pbgc.gov)." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Guidance Overview] HHS Actuarial Value Bulletin Addresses Treatment of High-Deductible Health Plans Linked to HSAs and HRAs (PDF)
"Although this Bulletin only addresses how actuarial value may be determined for the individual and small group markets, it may have important implications for plan sponsors that offer health savingsaccounts (HSAs) or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) linked to high-deductible health plans." (Buck Consultants)
CalPERS Considers Moves that Would Boost Pension Costs for Governments
"In a memo to the CalPERS board, [the actuary] suggested lowering the assumed annual rate of return to 7.25% from 7.75%, a decade-old benchmark, as the state continues to grapple with the slow recovery from the Great Recession. [He also is recommending that CalPERS] lower its ongoing inflation assumption to 2.75% from 3%. The effect of the two changes would raise the state government's employee pension costs as much as 4.5% in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Some pension costs for public safety agencies could jump as much as 6.6%[.]" (Los Angeles Times)
Update on the Group Long-Term Disability Table to the NAIC Health Actuarial Task Force (PDF)
"The Academy's Group Long-Term Disability Work Group provided an update to the NAIC's Health Actuarial Task Force on the progress of the valuation table as well as seeking the task force's input on how to move forward to finish the table." (American Academy of Actuaries)
[Official Guidance] Actuarial Value and Cost-Sharing Reductions Bulletin (PDF)
"The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information and solicit comments on the regulatory approach that [HHS] plans to propose to define actuarial value ... for qualified health plans ... and other non-grandfathered coverage in the individual and small group markets under section 1302(d)(2) of the Affordable Care Act as well as to implement cost-sharing reductions under section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act." (Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight)
[Opinion] Public Pensions, Private Equity, and the Mythical 8% Return
"Public pension plans should not invest in private equity deals. These deals lack both transparency and the discipline of market forces. Private equity investments allow elected officials to assume unrealistically high rates of return for public pension plans and to make correspondingly low contributions to such plans. This is a recipe for inadequately funded pensions, an outcome good for neither public employees nor taxpayers." (Oxford University Press)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Practitioners' Page: Mortality, Retirement and PV Max Guarantee
The page includes the ERISA Section 4044/4050 Mortality Tables, the ERISA Section 4044 Retirement Assumptions, and the Present Value of PBGC Maximum Guarantee for purposes of complying with IRC ?436 benefit restrictions. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Practitioners' Page: Interest Rates & Factors
The page includes the Monthly Interest Rate Statement with access to a chronological summary of the various interest rates, and, the Variable-Rate Premiums with access to current and historical interest rates used to value vested benefits for variable-rate premiums. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Practitioners' Page: ERISA Section 4044 Retirement Assumptions
"For ERISA section 4044 calculations, the age at which benefits are assumed to commence depends on two factors: (1) whether the benefit amount is considered low, medium or high (the Retirement Rate Category), and (2) when participants, under the provisions of their plan, can begin receiving reduced and unreduced benefits[.]" (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Health Saving Account Contribution Guidance Raises Concerns for Employers
"Employers who contribute to employees' health savings accounts or health reimbursement arrangements may not get full credit for that amount when running a key 'actuarial value' test that is part of the health care reform law, federal regulators said in a bulletin." (Business Insurance; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] HHS's Intended Approach for Determining Actuarial Value for Individual and Small Group Coverage
"We suspect the devil will be in the details as HHS's methodology is translated into proposed (and then final) regulations. For example, when the calculator tool is used by an insurer to determine the AV of an HDHP offering, how will the insurer know what HSA contributions an employer will make? Presumably, some coordination or minimum contribution levels will need to be established to ensure the combined offering satisfies the applicable metal level." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
This Is Not Your Parents' Retirement: Comparing Retirement Income Across Generations
[R]etirement incomes will increase over time, and poverty rates will fall. Projected income gains are larger for higher than for lower socioeconomic groups, leading to increased income inequality among future retirees. Boomers and GenXers are less likely to have enough postretirement income to maintain their preretirement standard of living compared with current retirees." (The Urban Institute)
President's FY 2013 Budget Request Renews Proposal to Allow PBGC to Set Risk-Adjusted Premiums
"The proposal, similar to the proposal contained in the FY 2012 budget request, is estimated to save the government $16 billion over the next decade." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
Administration Moves to Advance Benefits for Same-Sex Partners of Federal Workers
"t[T]e Obama administration is preparing to finalize regulations that would advance benefits for the same-sex partners of federal employees.... [T]he administration believes it must do what it can through regulation while still advocating related legislation, even when prospects for it are dim in this Congress." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Updated PBGC 2010 Pension Insurance Data Tables Online (PDF)
"These frequently used tables offer information on statistical trends related to defined benefit retirement plans in the private sector. PBGC is issuing these tables electronically to provide updated information familiar to users of the Corporation's Pension Insurance Data Book and will make them available both as a PDF and in an Excel format that allows users to examine and sort the data to suit their needs." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Ensure your Plan Participants are Prepared for a Secure Retirement
Defined Contribution Conference, March 11-13, in Miami. Learn from your peers through presentations and discussions on plan design, communications, investment options and more. FREE registration for qualified plan sponsors. (Pensions & Investments)
Avoid the Common Mistakes Affecting Plan Loans Webcast
Earn CE credit while ERISA expert, Charles Lockwood, JD, LLM, explains the administrative issues that affect plan loans. Have questions? Charles will address them either during or after the webcast. March 22nd at 2pm EST. (ASC)
[Guidance Overview] PBGC Offers Temporary Relief for Premium Nonpayment
"If required PBGC premiums were never paid for a plan, it is also possible that annual Form 5500s were not filed for that plan. If so, the administrator should take advantage of the Department of Labor's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program to file all required past-year Form 5500s." (McQuireWoods)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Proposed Regs on Minimum Present Value Requirements Under Defined Benefit Plans
"The changes under the proposed regulations are proposed to apply to distributions with annuity starting dates in plan years beginning after the regulations are finalized. If the regulations are finalized as proposed and a plan that previously provided for a partial single-sum distribution together with a specified annuity distribution is amended to treat that distribution form as a bifurcated accrued benefit (and applies less favorable actuarial factors to the portion of the benefit that is not subject to Code Sec. 417(e)(3)), then the plan must comply with the anti-cutback requirements of Code Sec. 411(d)(6)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
Dol's Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request Grants Premium Authority to PBGC
"A key item in the DOL's budget request is the indication that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) should have the authority to adjust its own premiums. This authority currently rests with Congress, but the DOL said the switch 'will encourage companies to fully fund their pension benefits and ensure the continued financial soundness of the PBGC. It is estimated that this proposal will save $16 billion over the next decade.'" (Thompson)
PBGC Launches Temporary Waiver of Unpaid Premium Penalties
"Under a new temporary voluntary compliance program, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will waive penalties on employers who have never paid federally required pension insurance premiums. To qualify for the relief, employers will have to contact the PBGC by July 31 to discuss how they can comply and then pay the required amount by Aug. 31." (Business Insurance)
CalPERS' Actuarial Cost Analysis of Proposal for the Creation of a Hybrid Plan for New Hires (PDF)
The analysis outlines costs for creating a hybrid plan consistent with Gov. Brown's pension reforms. (CalPERS)
[Official Guidance] Final Rule On Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Paying Benefits (PDF)
"The interest assumptions are intended to reflect current conditions in the financial and annuity markets. Assumptions under the benefit payments regulation are updated monthly. This final rule updates the benefit payments interest assumptions for March 2012." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Policy Statement on Premium Penalty Relief for Certain Delinquent Plans (PDF)
"As a result of [a recent] regulatory review, among other initiatives, PBGC is announcing a limited window for covered plans that have never paid required premiums to pay past-due premiums without penalty." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Opinion] Comments of American Academy of Actuaries on HHS' Research Brief Entitled 'Actuarial Value and Employer-Sponsored Insurance' (PDF)
"The American Academy of Actuaries' Health Practice Council appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the recently released [HHS] research brief, 'Actuarial Value and Employer-Sponsored Insurance.' . . . There are additional factors that should be considered when interpreting the results and formulating policies to regulate [actuarial value] calculations for [employer-sponsored insurance]: . . ." (American Academy of Actuaries)
[Opinion] Comments of American Academy of Actuaries on HHS' Essential Health Benefits Bulletin (PDF)
"[T]here are a few implications of allowing the flexibility to create multiple benefit sets that should be considered. Such flexibility in benefit design could create confusion for consumers; result in situations in which insurers design benefit packages to minimize certain risks; and have a material effect on premium rates, particularly in the individual market. . . . Clarification of the use of the terms 'actuarial equivalence' and 'substantially equal' as used in the context of essential health benefits is needed as well." (American Academy of Actuaries)
PBGC Director Explains Retirement Security Challenges, Pension Agency Finances Before House Panel
"Josh Gotbaum, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), told a House subcommittee today that the combination of living longer, the economy, and changes in pension plans was threatening many people's retirement security. He also detailed the agency's financial challenges, and outlined an administration proposal to redress them by reforming how PBGC sets premiums." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Is My American Airlines Pension Guaranteed? Yes, But...
"Who gets the haircut? The PBGC has a sliding scale of maximum benefits, depending on age. The most it will pay people who retire at age 65 is $55,841. If your benefit is less than that you have only the long-term health of the PBGC to worry about." (TIME.com)
California Teachers' Pension Trims Investment Forecast to 7.5%
"The change means the plan will need larger contributions from taxpayers, teachers, school districts, or a combination of all three, to cover pension costs." (Businessweek)
[Opinion] Are Company Pension Fund Return Forecasts Way Too Sunny?
"Judging by many companies' recent financial statements, they must believe their pension plans are run by . . . unheralded baby Buffetts." (The Wall Street Journal)
Bill Would Allow Alaska Public Employees to Switch to DB Pension Plan
"A bill that will allow Alaska public employees to choose between a 401(k)-like retirement account or a traditional pension is being considered in the state legislature." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
Pension Accounting Changes Negatively Affecting Earnings Statements
"The Boeing Company, AT&T, UPS, Windstream Corp. and FirstEnergy Corp. all announced that lower discount rates and a change to recognizing pension gains and losses in the year in which they occur, rather than amortizing them over time, has resulted in a charge for pensions." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
PBGC Updates Financial Summary for Multiemployer Plans
PBGC's financial summary offers data for the2004-2011 fiscal years for multiemployer plans. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
PBGC Financial Assistance Payments to Multiemployer Plans, 2005-2012
PBGC updated the data set containing information on multiemployer plan financial assistance payments from 20005 through the first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Guidance Overview] PBGC's Policy Statement on Recharacterizing Premium Contributions
"A recharacterization of a premium contribution from the current plan year to a prior year is not an appropriate basis for amending a filing and claiming a refund of the premium, according to a Policy Statement released by the PBGC." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
Philadelphia Orchestra Association Negotiating Split with National Musicians' Pension Fund
"Under discussion are the amounts the association would pay, and over what period of time, to the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund (AFM-EPF), said the orchestra association's lawyer, Lawrence G. McMichael. Although the association won't contribute to it anymore, the fund will still be responsible for providing some benefits players earn." (Philadelphia Media Network Inc.)
[Official Guidance] PBGC Final Rule: Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Paying Benefits (PDF)
"This final rule amends [PBGC's] regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in February 2012." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
IRS Updates Covered Compensation for Retirement Plan Contributions
"The revenue ruling provides tables of covered compensation under ? 401(l)(5)(E) to be used for determining contributions to defined benefit plans and permitted disparity in defined contribution plan contributions." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
[Opinion] ASPPA/ACOPA Comments on Proposed Rule Relating to Benefit Determinations and Plan Valuations for Statutory Hybrid Plans
"ASPPA and ACOPA recommend that proposed regulations regarding ?4022 be temporary, effective only for plan terminations occurring before the effective date of final Treasury regulations regarding market rate of return. PBGC should re-propose these rules in a manner that is consistent with the final Treasury regulations after the final market rate of return regulations are issued." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries/ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries)
Bipartisan House Bill Seeks to Ease Compliance Burdens for Retirement Plan Sponsors and Participants
"Among the pension reforms: plan assets would not be reduced by credit balance when determining funded status for benefit restrictions, IRS would have to make interim amendment rules more workable, and certain plans with service-based normal retirement ages would be deemed lawful (minimum 30 years of service or plan is governmental)." (Mercer LLC)
Obese Adults Pay 23 Percent Higher Premiums
"[P]olicyholders in the obese BMI category pay an average monthly premium 22.6 percent higher than those in the normal BMI category ($164 compared to $201). For men, it's an even heftier toll: The average monthly premium paid by men in the obese category ($187) is 30.8 percent higher than the average premium paid by men in the normal category ($143)." (BenefitsPro)
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