[Guidance Overview]
Service Provider Fee Disclosure Regulations: Initial Disclosures
Excerpt: "This is the seventh in a series of Technical Updates relating to the DOL's July 2010 service provider fee disclosure regulations. . . . This Technical Update [addresses] certain additional investment disclosures."
(SunGard Relius)

Laid-off California State Retirees Double Dip
Excerpt: "Across California, retired state and local government workers are drawing taxpayer-funded unemployment benefits on top of their pensions."
(Sacramento Bee)

Borrowing from Yourself: The Determinants of 401(k) Loan Patterns
Excerpt: "We model factors that rationally would induce people to borrow from their pension plans, and we explain why people do not often use 401(k) loans to replace their more expensive credit card debt."
(University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)

ASPPA: Don't Make 5500 Clerks Register
Excerpt: "The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) is asking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to think about the red tape it is about to wrap around the support staffers who help prepare Form 5500 data."
(Life and Health Insurance News)

The Crisis in Public Sector Pension Plans
Excerpt: "The ability of governments to pay for the retirement benefits promised to public sector workers runs up against the reality of limited resources. In this study, we consider the case of New Jersey, which operates five defined benefit pension plans for state employees."
(Eileen Norcross via Mercatus Center, George Mason University)

Annuities as 401(k) Investments: Is There Duplicity at DOL?
Excerpt: "While the Obama administration with one hand is pushing employers to include annuities as options in 401(k) plans, with the other hand it wants to allow investment advisers to ignore those same annuities when offering individual advice to 401(k) plan participants. That at least is the view of the insurance industry . . . ."
(Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

The Economics of Providing 401(k) Plans: Services, Fees, and Expenses, 2009 (PDF)
29 pages. Excerpt: "Expense ratios of stock funds and bond funds averaged slightly higher in 2009, compared with 2008. The asset-weighted average expense ratio paid by 401(k) investors on their stock funds rose 3 basis points to 0.74 percent after having declined in the previous five years."
(Investment Company Institute)

[Opinion]
Roth In-Plan Conversion Provisions of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 Come Up Short (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The primary shortcoming is that only amounts eligible for distribution can be converted or rolled over to a Roth account, and elective deferral accounts are not distributable while a participant is working, unless the participant has attained age 59 and the plan allows unlimited distribution of elective deferral accounts upon and after attainment of age 59-1/2. . . . People who believe the current draft of the bill is deficient should contact their House of Representative member as soon as possible . . . ."
(Allen Buckley, Esq. of The Saylor Law Firm)

[Opinion]
Why Replacing a Defined Benefit Pension Plan with a 401(k)-Style Retirement Plan Won't Save San Diego Money
Excerpt: "One solution, championed by leading conservative critics, is to eliminate the city's defined-benefit pension system and replace it with a 401(k)-style retirement plan commonly found in the private sector."
(Vlad Kogan via VoiceOfSanDiego.org)

[Opinion]
Return Assumptions for Public Pension Plans: It's All Just Borrowing in Disguise
Excerpt: "While lower return assumptions would be a step in the right direction, it is important to keep the big picture in mind. This entire system effectively treats the expected return on the pension fund assets as achievable without any risk."
(Kellogg School of Management)

[Opinion]
Comments by American Benefits Council and CIEBA to SEC, CFTC on Definition of 'Major Swap Participant' (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "Swaps and security-based swaps play a critical role for our members' [pension] plans. If plans were considered to be major swap participants or major security-based swap participants ('major participants'), plans would have to set aside capital that could otherwise be paid out to retirees and beneficiaries or that could be invested in higher expected return assets such as stocks or bonds. Plan fiduciaries might then opt to avoid using otherwise prudent swaps."
(American Benefits Council)

Federal Pay Called Into Question -- Again
Excerpt: "A panel of policy analysts on Tuesday delved into the pay debate, arguing that federal employees earn more than private sector workers, which could have a negative effect on the economic recovery and public perception of government."
(GovernmentExecutive.com)

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Minnesota on September 29, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Wisconsin on September 30, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Louisiana on October 8, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Georgia on October 8, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in California on October 13, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Maryland on October 13, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Arizona on October 15, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Massachusetts on October 15, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Kansas on October 20, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Pennsylvania on October 20, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in District of Columbia on October 22, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Wisconsin on October 27, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: Advanced IRAs – Operational Issues
in Wisconsin on October 29, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Minnesota on September 28, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Wisconsin on September 29, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Louisiana on October 7, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Georgia on October 7, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in California on October 12, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Maryland on October 12, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Massachusetts on October 14, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Arizona on October 14, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Kansas on October 19, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Pennsylvania on October 19, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in District of Columbia on October 21, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Wisconsin on October 26, 2010
presented by Ascensus

2010 Fall Tour: IRA Fundamentals
in Wisconsin on October 28, 2010
presented by Ascensus

Managing the Crisis in Public Pensions
in Virginia on September 24, 2010
presented by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

New Reporting Rules and Employee Disclosures: Health Reform Checklist for 2011
Nationwide on October 14, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters

Click to post your webcast or conference

Employment-based Health Coverage Still Dominates, But Slow Decline Continues
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

New Claims and Appeals Regulations Would Increase Costs and Complexity, But Minimal Improvement for Employees
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)

CPI Introduces Investment Fiduciary Protection Program
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.

Purdue University Chooses Fidelity for 403(b) Plan
Fidelity Investments

Mercer Examines Retirement Spend-down Strategies Around the World
Mercer

Chartis Introduces Fiduciary Liability Insurance Edge for Plan Fiduciaries
Chartis

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in MA

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