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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter

May 2, 2013          Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Senior Actuarial Analyst
for Transamerica Retirement Solutions in MA

Consultant, Retirement Plans
for Cammack LaRhette Consulting in NY

Retirement Services Client Relationship Consultant
for Gallagher Retirement Services in TX

Retirement Plan Services Manager
for se2 in KS

Sales Support Specialist
for Intac Actuarial Services in NJ

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Webcasts and Conferences

26th Annual Administrators' Symposium: The Gateway to Opportunity
July 31, 2013
(Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)) in MO

Overview of Types of Plans
May 13, 2013
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.) WEBCAST

Ethics Case Studies One
May 14, 2013
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.) WEBCAST

Qualified Plan Essentials Plus Series
May 13, 2013
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.) WEBCAST

Dr. Dee Edington - Creating a Sustainable Wellness Culture . . . In Light of Health Care Reform
May 16, 2013
(No. Calif. Chapter of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS)) in CA

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program And Abandoned Plan Workshop
June 24, 2013
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)) in KY

Legal Series: Say on Pay and Executive Compensation Litigation Webcast
May 9, 2013
(Knowledge Group) WEBCAST

Hungry, Hungry HIPAA! Webcast
May 3, 2013
(Littler Mendelson) WEBCAST

View All Webcasts and Conferences


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[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Data to Study Multiemployer Plan Guaranty Program
"PBGC is researching the effects of potential changes to its multiemployer program. PBGC's objective is to quantify the effect of potential policy proposals on multiemployer plans that are or could enter critical status with respect to projected dates of insolvency, amount of financial assistance that PBGC would be required to provide, and the benefit changes plan participants would experience. To assist in this research PBGC intends to request that OMB approve a survey of multiemployer pension plans, their actuarial service providers, and their stakeholders, including unions and relevant professional and trade organizations.... This information collection would be voluntary on the part of respondents and any information provided in response to this request would not be used for any PBGC enforcement activities." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)


[Advert.]

Attend the Women Business Leaders Forum in Austin, June 10-13!

Sponsored by ASPPA

The Women Business Leaders Forum will focus on HR hot topics, business growth for succession or sales, social media, technology and TPA trends. It will be a mix of general sessions and roundtables with plenty of time to network with your peers.


[Guidance Overview]

Delinquent Filers VCP Update
"[Earlier this year, the DOL] published an updated version of its Delinquent Filers Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP). This is the first comprehensive update made to the program since 2002. The majority of the changes are a result of the DOL's migration to a fully electronic filing system for Form 5500. Paper filings will no longer be accepted for late filers under DFVCP. This article [highlights] the various technical updates made to the program." (McKay Hochman)

Frontline Producer Explains Controversial 401(k) Documentary (Part 3 of 4)
"[Producer Martin Smith] spent a lot of air time promoting index funds, even claiming there were no studies to refute his point that index funds provide consistently superior returns.... Worse, the producers were not aware that their premise for owning index funds -- very low expense ratios -- was also flawed.... Smith's choice to feature highly controversial figures diluted his effort.... By relying on Bogle and Hiltonsmith, Smith inadvertently moved the debate from the high fee/fiduciary standard core into an unnecessary diversion of the merits of index funds ... and the DEMOS report[.]" (Fiduciary News)

Controlling the Urges: How Biases Influence Our Investment Decisions
"Biases have been shown to influence people regardless of their investment experience, net worth, education, age, employment, or economic incentives. Biases can explain why investors sometimes say one thing and do another, or why investors abandon a long-term investment plan to appease their short-term desires. The good news is, we can identify cognitive errors and set a defense against them. And by doing so, financial advisers can increase the value they provide to clients." (Journal of Financial Planning)

The Fiduciary's Existential Role (PDF)
"The fiduciary role is a fragile one and should be altered with great caution. Arbitrary and myopic changes that add large numbers to the ranks of fiduciaries or policies that end the fiduciary lifespan will produce the unintended consequence of lowering quality standards and replacing the most competent fiduciaries with those ill-equipped to assume such a responsibility." (Fiduciary Standards Board)


[Advert.]

ACI's 2nd National Employee Benefit Plans Forum - May 30-31 - New York, NY

Sponsored by ACI (American Conference Institute)

ACI is pleased to present its 2nd National Advanced Compliance and Benchmarking Forum on Minimizing Legal Risks in the Design, Implementation & Administration of EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS. Discount code BEN200 for BenefitsLink readers.


Seven of the Most Common Mistakes When Setting Up a Retirement Plan
"1. Being price-focused versus fee conscious ... 2. Going it alone ... 3. Selecting a service provider simply because they provide support in other areas of your business ... 4. Not timing it right ... 5. Delaying the decision to establish a retirement plan because there are so many plan design choices ... 6. Going with a TPA that asks YOU the questions they should already know! ... 7. Forgetting that time is money[.]" (Benefit Resources, Inc.)

Employee Ownership Update, May 1, 2013
NCEO Executive Director Loren Rodgers discusses a new study on the impact of S Corporation ESOPs, S Corporation ESOP legislation in the Senate, The Plan Sponsor Council of America Survey on DC Plans, and the recent NCEO/Beyster Institute Conference. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Providing Individual Advice to Plan Participants: That Old Fiduciary Feeling
"Although plan participants may not always understand the concept of diversification much beyond the 'don't put your eggs in one basket' warning, they do seem to readily grasp implicitly that risk and return go hand-in-hand: You cannot expect to have a shot at earning higher returns by holding low-risk investments. In short, they freely agree that there's just no 'free lunch' in investing." (Morningstar Advisor)

Improving Your Odds in the 'Retirement Gamble'
"Regardless of your take on the [recent PBS Frontline] show, here are some tips to 'improve your odds' of a successful retirement. Get a financial plan in place.... Take advantage of your workplace retirement plan.... Make sure that you allocate your 401(k) as part of an overall portfolio.... Make affirmative decisions about your retirement plan when leaving a job.... If you are self-employed make sure you save for retirement.... Become knowledgeable." (U.S.News and World Report)

Financial Professionals: What is Considered 'Reasonable' Compensation?
"In general, what is deemed 'reasonable' is based upon what you charge in comparison to what others would charge for the provision of similar services under comparable circumstances. In this way, your fees should be judged as to reasonableness in relation to what your competitors would charge for accomplishing the same level of work." (The Principal Blog)

Profits Take the Day As Fewer Employers Match Kick-Ins to 401(k)s
"The number of firms offering workers a matching contribution in their corporate 401(k) retirement plans fell by about 5% in 2010 and another 2% in 2011, according to a [recent] survey ... About 42% of the nation's companies that offer a 401(k) plan also matched a portion of their employees' contributions in 2011 ... About 6% of the corporate retirement savings plans that existed in 2009 were terminated in 2010 or 2011 ... About 472,625 401(k) savings active plans existed through 2011[.]" (Investment News; free registration required)

Conducting a Successful RFP Process
"[A] thorough RFP process will assist in ensuring plan participants are offered the best plan possible and will decrease headaches caused by choosing a vendor that just doesn't quite fit the plan's unique needs. The first step in the RFP process is to determine the plan's priorities and reasons for seeking new vendors; and then create a questionnaire based upon these priorities and reasons." (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators)

Will Indexing Kill the Stock Market?
"There are few if any observers today who don't hold that indexing is as perfect an investment strategy as has ever existed: simple, cheap, effective, and with little to no downside (other than the market itself).... There is a robust intellectual, experiential and statistical foundation for this belief. Indexing just might be the most brilliant investment insight of the last 50 years. Yet hidden in the shadows of indexing's monumental success is a growing body of evidence that this truly elegant idea not only has the potential to threaten the stability of the market, but has already changed market behavior in ways few if any investors understand." (Advisor One)

Kodak Pension Chief Says 'Jobs Are Safe'
"Along with Kodak's [document imaging] business -- primarily document scanners -- and its [personalized imaging] business of photographic films and papers, the [United Kingdom Kodak Pension Plan] also is picking up roughly 3,200 Kodakers worldwide and numerous Rochester-area physical assets, such as the million-square-foot Building 205. The goal ... is to make those businesses into cash-generating, value-adding success stories that years from now can then serve as income streams for the pension fund." (Democrat and Chronicle)

One in Three European Pension Funds Highlight Difficulties in Keeping Pace with Regulatory Developments
"[S]ince the financial crisis, one in three European pension [plans] claims it is either 'extremely difficult' or 'difficult' to keep up with new regulatory developments in the pensions industry.... [O]nly one in five (21 percent) [say] it is not difficult at all.... [O]nly 21 percent of those interviewed said that demands from regulators and ratings agencies were not a challenge. Some 31 percent said they were a 'significant challenge.'" (State Street Corporation)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Official Guidance]

Information for IRS Approved Continuing Education Providers (PDF)
Talking points for conference call on April 23 and 24, 2013; topics include: [1] Advertising Voluntary CE; What programs qualify for ERPAs vs. EAs; [2] Program content reviews to be conducted on a random selection of the approved provider population; [3] Record Retention Requirements; [4] Collecting and Reporting CE to IRS; [5] Hot Topics, including ACA programs. (Internal Revenue Service)

Franczek Radelet Monthly Benefits Update, April 2013
Articles include: [1] Health Care Reform Guidance on Required Future Modifications to SBC, for Employers Contributing to Multiemployer Welfare Plans and for Individuals Seeking Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit; [2] United States Supreme Court Decision: US Airways Inc. v. McCutchen; [3] Obama Administration Revenue Proposals Affecting Retirement Savings; [4] PBGC Proposed Rule on Reportable Events. (Franczek Radelet P.C.)

Shareholders Ratify Executive Compensation at 91% Clip
"Shareholders have voted on average 91% to ratify executive compensation in non-binding say-pay-pay voting at U.S. companies so far this proxy season, up from 89% in all of 2012 ... Six companies had a majority of shareholder votes rejecting their executive compensation program[.]" (Pensions & Investments)

Press Releases

Cedar Brook Financial Partners Welcomes Jo Ross
Cedar Brook Financial Partners

Happy Older Americans Month!
Pension Rights Center

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