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March 1, 2012 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension Administrator
for The Benefits Consulting Group, Inc. in IL

Benefits Administrator
for Central Ohio Transit Authority in OH

Consultant (Administration & Technology)
for The Segal Company in IL

Associate Actuary - Annuity Pricing
for Prudential in CT

Institutional Investment Group Account Manager I
for PNC Bank in PA

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Webcasts and Conferences

EBIA's 14th Annual Advanced Cafeteria Plans and Benefits Conference 2012
in Washington on July 18, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Plan Changes and Error Correction Basics Webcast
Nationwide on March 12, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

The Zen of Controlled Groups Webcast
Nationwide on March 20, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Advanced Workshop
in Illinois on March 23, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)


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[Guidance Overview]
U.S. Taxpayers Participating in Non-U.S. Retirement Plans: When is There an FBAR or FATCA Reporting Obligation? (PDF)
"Although some guidance has been issued on retirement plans under [the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts ('FBAR') and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ('FATCA')], the application to retirement plans is still somewhat vague, and there remain a number of important issues for US taxpayers who work in the US or abroad and participate in non-US retirement plan(s)." (Groom Law Group)


401(k) Investment Lineup Summit   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Pensions & Investments

Ensure your 401(k) plan can adapt to changing economic & financial currents and participants can reach their goals. Practical 1 day seminars - SF 4/17, Dallas 4/19, Chicago 4/24, NY 4/26. FREE registration for qualified plan sponsors. More info.


[Guidance Overview]
3rd Circuit Rejects ERISA Benefits for Siemens Plaintiffs
"The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a class action brought against electronics giant Siemens by 277 plaintiffs who said they were entitled to pension benefits if their employment ended.... All of the plaintiffs worked for Westinghouse before Siemens acquired a unit of the plaintiffs' old company, according to the opinion, and the benefits under the Westinghouse plan would not accrue if the employees got employment with Westinghouse's successor or if their employment ended after 1998[.]" (The Legal Intelligencer)

[Guidance Overview]
Video Regulatory Update: DOL's Final Fee Disclosure Rules
"ASPPA's General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs, Craig Hoffman, discusses the new extended effective date and how it impacts transitional relief for participant disclosures[.]" (ASPPA)

Plan Sponsors Take Charge of Target-Date Funds
"Custom target-date funds are proliferating at the expense of their off-the-shelf counterparts, in part because plan sponsors want to have greater control over what's in a fund and have access to a wider array of investments to put in them." (Employee Benefit News)

ERISA Lawyers: The Exceptionally Attorney-Client 'Privileged' Few
"The rationale of the Riggs decision has been held applicable in the ERISA litigation context. ... When an ERISA fiduciary seeks legal advice, she typically does so in carrying out her duties as a fiduciary, and thus is seeking legal advice on behalf of the plan participants and their beneficiaries. Thus, the fiduciary exception applies in such circumstances and allows a litigating participant to obtain the substance of such communications between a fiduciary and an attorney because the attorney-client and attorney work-product privileges are outweighed by the need of the plan participants and beneficiaries to have the otherwise protected information." (Fox Rothschild LLP)


Web Based Plan Design System. Simple and Affordable.   [Advert.]

Sponsored by PensionOnline.com

Use LIMITED CENSUS DATA and a FIVE MINUTE UPLOAD to create a side-by-side analysis of various retirement plans: Integrated, Age Weighted, New Comparability, Cash Balance, and 401k. At a glance, assess financial and tax advantages and identify an optimal solution. Learn more.


An Update and Comparison of the San Diego County Region's Upcoming Pension Costs (PDF)
"Ten of the 17 incorporated cities in San Diego County will see a reduction in pension payments in the upcoming fiscal year due in part to benefit reductions and other changes the cities made following a series of reports by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association[.]" (San Diego County Taxpayers Association)

American Airlines Pension Battle Might Spread
"[American Airlines'] story puts a spotlight on broader questions about the future of traditional pensions. These include whether corporations should be able to use bankrup.tcy court to shed pensions; how to balance the stresses businesses face in tough times against their retirement promises to workers; and the future health of the PBGC itself, which faces a record $26 bil.lion long-range deficit accrued from pension failures over the extended recession." (Reuters)

New 401(k) Disclosure Rules Help Financial Advisors
"Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently said, 'When businesses that sponsor retirement plans, and the workers who participate in those plans, get better information on associated fees and expenses, they'll be able to shop around and make informed decisions that will lead to cost savings and a larger nest egg at retirement.' You can help your clients by leading the effort to shop their plan for them." (Financial Advisor)

The Last 401(k) Generation?
"Last week many of the nation's biggest thinkers on retirement got together in a Senate hearing room to discuss the future of pensions and retirement. There were representatives of unions, employers, financial services providers, government agencies and consumer groups. And the only thing they all seemed to agree on was this: The 401(k) plan has been sort of a failure." (Reuters)

Coalition of Local Leaders Backs Cuomo Pension Plan
"[New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg and a coalition of two dozen local leaders, who collectively represent 15 mil.lion residents, are pushing legislators to support a plan proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The governor wants to raise the retirement age to 65 from 62 for most new workers and allow for a voluntary 401(k)-type retirement plan." (Bloomberg)

The Most Compelling Challenges in 401(k) Education
"Even if the plan sponsor finds the perfect teacher, a 401k education program can fall victim to common misconceptions employees have about their 401k plan ... Worse, [one expert] points out, these misconceptions can infect even the highest levels of the company [and most commonly] include 'their responsibilities as a sponsor, as fiduciaries, embedded costs, their potential liabilities, committee expectations, focus of DOL audits and how much more education participants need.'" (Fiduciary News)

The Impact of Claiming Age on Monthly Social Security Retirement Benefits: How Knowledgeable Are Future Beneficiaries?
"[T]he vast majority of future beneficiaries are aware that their monthly benefits would increase if they were to wait until their full retirement age to claim benefits rather than claim at age 62. Most are also aware that delaying claiming by one year beyond their full retirement age would cause their monthly benefits to increase." (AARP)

Recent DOL Initiatives: Questions Answered
"Questions from a webinar titled 'Managing and Protecting Your Employee Benefit Plans: New [DOL] Initiatives', answered by Sherwin Kaplan, former co-chair of the Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Publications Advisory Board." (Bloomberg BNA)

Trends in Employee Financial Issues: Year in Review 2011
"Employees continued to show improvements in their ability to manage cash flow, indicated they are paying bills on time in greater numbers, reported increased emergency savings, and are also displaying higher rates of paying off credit card balances in full. As a result of improvements in managing day-to-day finances, employees have been able to shift their focus to longer term financial planning issues such as retirement planning." (Financial Finesse)

2012 U.S. Pension Risk Behavior Index Survey (PDF)
"Over the past four years, ... plan sponsors [have shifted] away from an asset- and returns-centric approach to managing their plans toward a more balanced mindset ... [They] no longer believe they can rely on traditional portfolio diversification alone to meet their future obligations." (MetLife)

Pension Fund Executives Most Concerned about Liabilities
"Underfunded liabilities are again the most important risk factor facing U.S. corporate defined benefit plans, according to the 2012 MetLife U.S. Pension Risk Behavior Index survey. Underfunding of liabilities was selected as the most important of 18 different pension fund risk factors 66% of the time. That number remained unchanged from last year." (Pensions & Investments; free registration required)

Scandals Spur Action on Public Pension Forfeitures
"23 states have some kind of pension forfeiture provision related to committed crimes, while 27 states plus the District of Columbia do not.... Some require forfeiture for felonies; others open it to misdemeanors as well. In some ... specific crimes are listed for which a public employee can lose his or her pension. But in others, the state law stipulates more generally that pensions can be revoked for any crimes related to official duties." (Governing)

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 bil.lion over the next decade." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Press Releases



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