[Guidance Overview]
Participant Fee Disclosure Regulations: Proposed Target Date Fund Disclosures
"[T]he proposed regulations result in 404(a) disclosures regarding TDFs that are essentially the same as the disclosures required for a QDIA that is a TDF." (SunGard Relius)

ftwilliam.com launches their DB(k) plan document. (advert.)

The DB(k) document is available under any volume submitter 401(k) plan (prototype or IDP format) included in the retirement document package. See how to create a DB(k) and learn about issues raised by these new document types in our technical update.

[Guidance Overview]
New Disclosure Regulations Under ERISA sections 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(1)
"If you currently provide your customers with a fee schedule that details expenses for your services paid by the plan, you may already meet most of the requirements under the new rule." (CCH INCORPORATED)

[Guidance Overview]
Election to Receive Guaranteed Benefits Under 401(k) Annuity Option Triggers QJSA Requirements
"According to the IRS, the election to receive the guaranteed benefits, but not the election to participate in the investment option, will require the benefit to be paid as a qualified joint and survivor annuity." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview]
Roth 401(k)s: Should You Amend Your U.S. 401(k) Plan?
"Plan sponsors [who amend their plans] will have new obligations to explain the differences between the available contributions to employees, the pros and cons of conversions (if they are permitted) and to keep separate records of ROTH accounts while applying specific ordering rules." (Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Seventh Circuit Endorses Employer Stock Fiduciary Discretion, But Muddies the Water on ERISA Section 404(c) Safe Harbor
"[T]he Seventh Circuit indicated in its opinion that it agreed with [DOL's] position-which is devoid of support in the statutory text-that the selection of plan investment options and the decision to continue offering a particular investment vehicle are acts to which fiduciary duties attach, and that the safe harbor is not available for such acts." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)

Mandatory Disclosure of 401(k) Annuity Values Among Proposals Aired at Senate Retirement Hearing
"Under the bill, employers converting accounts to annuity equivalents could rely on Labor Department assumptions." (Mercer LLC)

New Jersey Rating Cut Shows Pension Gaps May Boost State Risks
"Municipal-debt issuers from New Jersey to California are grappling with possible rating reductions because of pensions, which would devalue their bonds and raise borrowing costs." (Bloomberg L.P.)

The States and Public Unions Wrestle Over Pensions
"The economic difficulty of finding solutions to balance the ledger is matched by the hard political effort that will be needed to take away or curtail benefits for state union employees." (FOX News Network, LLC)

Employers Focused on Supporting Employee Accountability and Actions in Retirement Savings Plans for 2011
"According to a report released by Aon Hewitt, companies have little confidence that workers are taking the actions necessary to meet their retirement savings needs." (Wolters Kluwer)

Do Retirees Need to Cut Withdrawals?
"In a new study, T. Rowe Price draws this lesson from the last dismal decade: retirees need to cut spending for about three years after bear markets." (Employee Benefit News; one-time free registration required)

Best Practices for Public Pension Transparency
"There are several steps, over and above what the Government Accounting Standards Board already requires, that [state and local] funds could take that would disclose their finances more fully. The recommendations lie in five areas . . . ." (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research)

San Diego County, California, Moves to Save on Pensions
"[Under approved agreements, certain employees will pay larger share of their retirement contributions. In return, they] will receive a one-time payment worth 2 percent of their salary." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Republican Lawmakers Say No Bailout of State/City Governments and Float Bankrup.tcy As Fix for Underfunded Pensions
"Legislation that would allow U.S. states to file for bankrup.tcy could be introduced within the next month. The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday on public pensions, state insolvency and 'the possibility' of allowing states to file for bankrup.tcy." (Reuters via The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Are Lawmakers Serious About Further Reforming Illinois' Pension System?
"Proposed legislation would build on reforms approved last year creating a two-tiered pension system for new hires." (Northwest Herald)

City of Chicago Pension Funds Shortchanged More Than $24 Mil.lion Over Three-Year Period, According to Report
"A Chicago Tribune news story said the shortfall came because workers taking unpaid furlough days were not required to make more than $11 mil.lion in pension contributions for that time off while the city did not make another $13.5 mil.lion in pension contributions for that same period." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Does the Illinois Constitution Guarantee Pensions for Public Servants?
"'Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.'" (Chicago Sun-Times)

Origins of the Financial Markets Meltdown, the Need for Financial Reform, and the Dodd-Frank Bill Response (PDF)
"[P]ension funds have an important stake in what steps have been taken so far to avert a future financial crisis and in assessing whether more needs to be done. Toward that end, this document focuses on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . . . ." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)

The Top 10 Advantages of Maintaining Defined Benefit Pension Plans (PDF)
"At issue is not whether state and local employees should have access to DC plans - many already do in conjunction with their DB plans or through supplemental DC-type plans . . . . Rather, the issue is whether DB plans should be eliminated and replaced with DC plans." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)

Costs of Public Pensions Targeted in Three Western States
"At the same [time], a bipartisan group of Washington state officials presented a plan on funding state pension systems and a California activist said a statewide pension reform initiative would be in print in April or May, the first step to putting it to voters in June 2012." (Reuters)

[Opinion]
Letter from Legislators to EBSA Re: Proposed Regulation on Definition of a Fiduciary (PDF)
One comment on the proposed rule is that, 'fiduciary status for advisers should not be conditioned on the advice (i) being provided on a 'regular basis' or (ii) serving as the 'primary basis' for investment decisions." (The SPARK Institute)

[Opinion]
The Underlying Problem of 401(k) Re-Enrollment
"While most plan participants may opt to keep their current investment election, the thought of re-enrollment is to help plan participants who never change their investment allocation or don't have the time, background, or knowledge to make changes." (The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.)

[Opinion]
An Engaging Talk About Social Security
"Times columnists David Brooks and Gail Collins discuss the pressing, and not-so-pressing, issues of the week every Wednesday." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

[Opinion]
Basic Article for Participants on 'The Investment Advice You're Not Getting'
"Reduce costs and improve returns by investing in index funds versus managed funds." (CNBC, Inc.)

Pensions & Investments East Coast Defined Contribution Conference (advert.)

March 13-15, 2011, The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort, Miami. Join 350 of your peers to discuss the changes in the industry and discover time-tested strategies that will help you make informed decisions for your plan. Plan sponsors attend FREE.

[Guidance Overview]
U.S. Agencies Propose Joint Rulemaking on Incentive-Based Compensation for Financial Institutions
"A particularly significant provision of the proposed rules is a requirement to defer at least 50 percent of incentive compensation for executive officers of certain larger financial institutions for at least three years." (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Final Say-on-Pay Rules Delay Requirements for Smaller Reporting Companies and TARP Participants (PDF)
"[T]he SEC adopted a temporary two-year phase-in for companies meeting the definition of a smaller reporting company." (Vedder Price P.C.)

Federal Employees: Pension COLAs and Pay Adjustments Since 1969 (PDF)
"Federal retirement and disability benefits are indexed to price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers . . ., whereas pay adjustments for civilian federal workers are indexed to wage and salary increases in the private sector, as measured by the Employment Cost Index . . . ." (U.S. Congressional Research Service)

Florida Cities Face Underfunded Retirement Benefits
"The worst offenders -- Bradenton, Hollywood, Hialeah, Miami, Cape Coral and Titusville -- owe retirees between one and four times in health care benefits than the money they now spend on their total budgets." (St. Petersburg Times)

Work Flexibility vs. Stimulating Work
"How important is having job flexibility for family needs vs. having challenging, stimulating work? It is a kind of trade-off faced by countless jugglers . . . ." (The Wall Street Journal)

401khelpcenter.com User Survey
(401khelpcenter.com, LLC)

Organizations Moving Ahead to Implement Health-Care Reform
(Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM))

BPAS Announces Partnership With Fiduciary Benchmarks FBi to Provide Benchmarking and 408(b)(2) Summary Disclosures to BPAS Clients
(BPAS)

AlwaysCare Benefits Crosses Half Million Threshold
(AlwaysCare Benefits, Inc.)

Payden/Kravitz Announces the First Annual Cash Balance Summit in Las Vegas
(Payden/Kravitz)

ASPPA

Retirement Plan Coordinator in PA for Hefren-Tillotson

Retirement Plan Administrator in UT for HCS Retirement Services LLC

Daily Valuation Plan Administrator in ANY STATE, FL, GA, NC, SC for Ingham Retirement Group

Client Relationship Manager in OH for Transamerica Retirement Services Corporation

Internal Sales Consultant in CA for Dedicated Defined Benefit Services LLC

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2011 NIPA Annual Forum & Expo
in Nevada on May 1, 2011 presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators

Cash Balance Summit 2011
in Nevada on March 5, 2011 presented by Payden/Kravitz

COBRA and Affordable Care Act Compliance Workshop
in California on February 24, 2011 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

COBRA and Affordable Care Act Workshop
in California on March 2, 2011 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

HIPAA and Affordable Care Act Workshop
in California on March 3, 2011 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Secretary of Labor to Host Live Web Chat on Department’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request
Nationwide on February 14, 2011 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)