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Brian Thompson's Shooting Fuels Rage About Health Care on Social Media

"The shocking, targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Wednesday struck a nerve on social media, triggering an outpouring of negative experiences with the tangled health care system in the U.S. Many people shared searing stories of health care denials from health insurers."  MORE >>

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Fatally Shot in Manhattan

"Brian Thompson, a longtime UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive, was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan early Wednesday morning ... A 20-year veteran of UnitedHealth, Thompson was one of the company's most senior executives.... The insurance unit he oversaw is expected to bring in $280 billion in revenue this year, and is the country's largest health insurer."  MORE >>

GAO Report Shines Spotlight on Key Issues for Managed Accounts in 401(k) Plans

"The GAO reviewed the offerings of eight providers of these types of investment management services and estimated that those providers represent over 95% of the managed account industry in defined contribution plan ... They identified these broad areas of concern ... [1] Providers structure managed accounts differently, which can harm participants.... [2] Managed accounts offer advantages for some participants but fees and lack of standardized reporting requirements from DOL can offset these advantages.... [3] Absent guidance, sponsors face challenges in selecting and overseeing managed account providers."

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DOL Greenlights Citibank's Diverse Asset Manager Program

"[DOL Advisory Opinion 2023-01A approves] Citibank's Diverse Asset Manager Program as it relates to plans subject to [ERISA]. The Opinion provides a road map primarily for pension and 401(k) plan sponsors who wish to increase the portion of plan assets that are invested with diverse investment managers without running afoul of ERISA's rules."

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Managers of Defined Contribution Benefits Regain Steam in 2016

"Defined contribution money managers posted record assets under management last year of $5.95 trillion, up 8.6% from 2015 ... DC plan assets managed internally by the managers rose to $5.25 trillion, an increase of 9.5%.... [M]oney managers that gained the most did so thanks to their arsenals of passively managed funds, which have become attractive to sponsors in search of lower-cost alternatives to actively managed investments. Target-date funds also boosted AUM among money managers."  MORE >>

Managed Care

"The term managed care encompasses a diverse array of institutional arrangements, which combine various sets of mechanisms, that, in turn, have changed over time. The chapter reviews these mechanisms, which, in addition to the methods employed by traditional insurance plans, include the selection and organization of providers, the choice of payment methods (including capitation and salary payment), and the monitoring of service utilization."  MORE >>

How Plan Design Shapes the Value of Managed Accounts (PDF)

16 pages. "[M]anaged accounts can improve retirement outcomes across a wide range of plan environments. Their impact is largest when participant behavior is less influenced by plan design, such as in plans with lower default contribution rates, no auto-escalation, and greater reliance on individual decision-making. In more structured plans, managed accounts still provide value, but the incremental opportunity is generally smaller because automatic features already place many participants on stronger savings trajectories. Rather than asking only whether managed accounts add value, plan sponsors may want to ask where they add the most value and how they should be deployed. This analysis provides a practical framework for answering that question."  MORE >>

The New Reality of Managing Health Benefits

"EPIC is projecting health plan trend to be between 7.5% [and] 9.5% again this year.... Employers are digging into where dollars are being spent without delivering real value which may be overlapping condition management solutions, misaligned incentives, unmanaged site‑of‑care utilization, or programs that sound promising but fail to reduce risk or trend. Instead of adding more solutions, the focus is shifting to making sure the right ones are in place and that every dollar spent has a purpose."  MORE >>

Fee Fears Push DC Plans to Drop Managed Accounts

"Some 14% of defined contribution plans surveyed in December ... reported that they had eliminated their managed account programs since late 2023.... Nearly 20% of the 165 lawsuits filed between 2019 and late 2022 alleging [ERISA] violations included a claim over managed account programs ... Of the suits including such claims, 42% alleged that the managed account service fees were excessive, while 31% claimed the managed accounts underperformed compared to other plan options."  MORE >>

A Closer Look at Retirement Plan Managed Accounts

"Managed accounts offer personalization and improved outcomes but raise cost-effectiveness concerns for sponsors. ROI comparison between managed accounts and education programs is needed for better decision-making. More due diligence is recommended before implementing managed account solutions in retirement plans."  MORE >>

DC Plan Fiduciary Guide: Managing Plan Investments

"This summary focuses on the responsibilities and role of ERISA fiduciaries in managing plan investments.... [1] Evaluate and update the investment structure ... [2] Draft and periodically review the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) ... [3] 404(c) and QDIA oversight ... [4] Review and monitor investment manager performance ... [5] Monitor and benchmark plan fees ... [6] Managed accounts evaluation and monitoring ... [7] Oversee required employee communications ... [8] Review overall plan utilization ... [9] Review defined contribution trends and overall plan effectiveness."  MORE >>

Managing Retirement Decisions

"Drawing upon the expertise of prominent retirement professionals, [this study provide] series of issue briefs written in everyday language. The briefs tackle a variety of retirement decisions with practical considerations and advice.'

• Lump Sum or Monthly Pension: Which to Take?
• Big Question: When Should I Retire?
• When Retirement Comes Too Soon
• Women Take the Wheel: Destination Retirement
• Deciding When to Claim Social Security
• Designing a Monthly Paycheck for Retirement
• Asset Allocation: A Roadmap to Investing
• Securing Medicare and Other Health Insurance for the Retirement Journey
• Financing Long-Term Care Needs
• Finding Trustworthy Financial Advice for Retirement and Avoiding Pitfalls

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Text of DOL Advisory Opinion 2023-01A: Application of Certain Fiduciary Responsibility Provisions of Title I of ERISA to Citi's Action for Racial Equity Asset Manager Program

"[The Program] involves a commitment by Citi to pay all or some portion of the investment management fees for 'Diverse Managers' retained by Citi-sponsored employee benefit plans.... [T]he Department would not view Citi as a fiduciary with respect to the selection of investment managers under the Plans solely by reason of establishing the program or by paying or reimbursing the Plans for Diverse Managers' fees pursuant to its program commitments and in accordance with plan documents.... [T]he Investment Committees' members will not violate their fiduciary duties under ERISA section 403(c)(1) or 404 solely by virtue of considering as one factor in the selection process that an investment manager's fees otherwise payable by the Plan will be reduced or paid in full by Citi under the program.... [T]he treatment of the investment manager's fee in the calculation and disclosure of the fund's total annual operating expenses ... would not fail to meet 29 CFR 2550.404c-1(b)(2)(B)(2)."  MORE >>

Investment Advisor vs. Investment Manager

"One important distinction between the two types of fiduciaries is that they do different things -- one advises a plan decisionmaker, and the other is the plan decisionmaker.... [A]ppointing a 3(38) investment manager won’t be effective to relieve the appointing fiduciary of liability, unless the manager is actually given the power to manage the plan’s assets. "  MORE >>

Leave Management 101

"Offering leave management isn't optional for most companies with 50 or more employees. It is no longer as simple as understanding and administering the federal [FMLA] ... Multiple jurisdictions may require leave programs ... Leave requests are infrequent ... Laws change frequently ... Virtual workforces create new challenges ... Most employers lack medical expertise ... Leave programs and employees with disabilities."  MORE >>

Managing Compensation Complexity

"The confluence of enhanced market uncertainty in an election year with the global economic chaos wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing corporate boards to confront challenging questions about the treatment of outstanding incentive compensation arrangements. Perhaps more importantly, it might also encourage boards to rethink the structure of their long-term incentive programs going forward."  MORE >>

2020 Litigation: Managed Accounts

"A review of 29 complaints filed in the first half of 2020 shows that the litigation spans industries, plan sizes, plaintiff counsel, and allegations.... Managed account providers benefit from the dearth of available options and limited competition that can hinder more reasonable fee structures as the plan size and participation grow. Plan sponsors should consider the inclusion of managed account services carefully and document the process and rationale, if those services are added."  MORE >>

CalSTRS's Plan to Reduce Investment Management Fees

"[CalSTRS] is initiating a long-range plan to increase internal management of assets to reduce the $1.8 billion it currently pays out in external management fees ... CalSTRS has made the largest progress in internal management in its $28.3 billion fixed income portfolio where 85% of the assets class is internally managed ... The largest group of fees paid to external managers in 2017 was in private equity where $521 million was paid in management fees and carry (profit sharing) to external managers."

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Text of PTEs for Asset Managers Affiliated with Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays or UBS

702 pages. "This document contains exemptions issued by the [DOL] from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of [ERISA] and/or the Internal Revenue Code ... This notice includes ... 2017-03, JPMorgan Chase & Co., D-11906; 2017-04, Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. (DIMA) and Certain Current and Future Asset Management Affiliates of Deutsche Bank AG, D-11908; 2017-05, Citigroup Inc., D-11909; 2017-06, Barclays Capital Inc., D-11910; 2017-07, UBS Assets Management (Americas) Inc.; UBS Realty Investors LLC; UBS Hedge Fund Solutions LLC; UBS O'Connor LLC; and Certain Future Affiliates in UBS's Asset Management and Wealth Management Americas Divisions, D-11907."  MORE >>

Do 401(k) Managed Accounts Live Up to All the Hype?

"Plan sponsors should assess the value of a vendor's managed account services against the fees paid out of participants' accounts.... Target-date funds (TDFs), like managed accounts, were created to tailor account investments to a participant's needs ... Managed accounts, in contrast, take into consideration a wider range of factors, such as contribution rates, personal risk tolerance, current savings in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or taxable accounts, and anticipated spending needs in retirement.... The problem is getting participants to interface with the data and provide all necessary information to the account manager[.]"  MORE >>