Retirement Plans Newsletter
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[Official Guidance]
Text of EBSA Notice of Hearing and Extension of Comment Period on Definition of 'Fiduciary''
– "Since publication in the Federal Register, there has been considerable interest expressed in the proposed rule and its impact on various segments of the employee benefits and financial communities, as well as individuals and organizations involved with appraisals of employer stock and other assets. In order to ensure that all issues are fully considered and interested persons have sufficient time to share their views on this important regulation, EBSA has announced that it is extending the period for submitting comments on the proposal until February 3, 2011, two weeks after the close of the January 20, 2011 comment period provided in the proposed regulation, and it is holding a public hearing, the subject of this notice."
(U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
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Retirees Under Consume Their Assets, According to Study
– " In 'The Drawdown of Personal Retirement Assets' NBER Working Paper No. 16675, Professors James M. Poterba, Steven F. Venti, David A. Wise report their study which shows how current retired households are drawing down their retirement assets from personal retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs (PRAs)."
(Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)
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Research Memorandum: The Public Employee Pension Transparency Act (PDF)
– 5 pages. "If passed, it would require sponsors of State and local government employee pension plans to annually report specific financial information to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Governments failing to report this information would lose their ability to issue tax-exempt bonds until they comply with the reporting requirements. However, the legislation also states that it does not alter the existing funding standards for State and local governments or require Federal funding standards for such plans."
(Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company)
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Investor Comprehension and Usage of Target-Date Funds: 2010 Survey (PDF)
– 16 pages. "The survey finds that investors who are aware of target-date funds generally possess a solid understanding of the basic design of TDFs, as well as the investment risk involved. These investors also report sound reasoning in their decision-making as it pertains to TDFs and their overall retirement portfolio. We found that a significant number of TDF investors in employer-sponsored plans are 'unaware': they had never heard of such funds. Unaware investors are presumably uninformed about TDFs, but there is no basis for assuming they are misinformed."
(The Vanguard Group)
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[Opinion]
2011 Could Have Pension Contribution Surprises
– "This post highlights several items that plan sponsors should be aware of as they gear up for their 2011 pension funding valuations. These changes, which could increase minimum required contributions, include . . . ."
(Van Iwaarden Associates)
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[Opinion]
SPARK Institute Comment Letter to EBSA Re: Target Date Fund Disclosure Rule (PDF)
– 7 pages. "Although it appears that EBSA's goal is for participants to receive simple and understandable information, we are very concerned that the disclosure requirement includes the subjective qualitative standard that the chart, table or illustration does not obscure or impede a participant's understanding of the other disclosures. We believe that the standard is too subjective, is vague and is subject to very different interpretations."
(The SPARK Institute)
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[Opinion]
Rethinking the Public-Pension Punching Bag
– "Reforming won't be easy. The harsh fiscal reality is that in most cases, public pension obligations in states and cities can't be changed for existing workers. Those workers will continue to earn their promised pension benefits throughout their government career, although a number of state governments are trying to tinker at the margin, such as by changing cost-of-living payments. Municipalities in Chapter 9 bankrup.tcy can renegotiate pensions."
(Bloomberg L.P.)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Guidance Overview]
Seventh Circuit Rules That Buyer of an Employer's Assets Is Not Liable for Retirement Benefits Payable Under the Employer's Top Hat Plan
– "Generally, when a federal right is involved-here the plaintiff's right to retirement benefits under ERISA- the courts will impose liability on the buyer, even in a bonafide sale, so long as two conditions are met: (1) the buyer had notice of the liability before the purchase and (2) there is substantial continuity in the operation of the business before and after the sale. Prong (2) is normally met if no major changes are made in that operation. Here, the plaintiff failed to show that no major changes had occurred."
(Stanley D. Baum)
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Court's Ruling on WARN Act Could Benefit Employers
– "In a decision that could be beneficial to employers, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that DHL Express (USA) Inc. and its German parent company did not violate the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it reached severance agreements with hundreds of unionized drivers."
(Business Insurance)
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Press Releases
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Employee Benefits Jobs
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Webcasts and Conferences
Evaluating Your Third-Party Administrator: Are You Getting What You're Paying For?
Nationwide on February 3, 2011
Lorman Education Services
Interaction of Health Care Reform with Other Laws
Nationwide on February 7, 2011
Lorman Education Services
Roth Conversion and Portability
Nationwide on February 17, 2011
McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Terminating 401(k) Plans & Other Defined Contribution Plans
Nationwide on January 19, 2011
McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Understanding Roth Accounts in 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) Plans
Nationwide on February 18, 2011
Lorman Education Services
Understanding the Impact of Health Care Reform
Nationwide on February 10, 2011
Lorman Education Services
WEB Chicago Chapter Lunch Meeting
in Illinois on January 26, 2011
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)
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