[Guidance Overview]
Proposed Additional DOL Disclosure Rules for QDIAs and TDFs
"If adopted in their current form, the proposed regulations would amend two existing sets of final regulations: the final QDIA regulations issued on October 24, 2007, and the final enhanced participant disclosure regulations issued on October 14, 2010."
(McDermott Will & Emery)
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Western Benefits Conference 2011 [Advert.]

Featuring groundbreaking sessions for plan sponsors, attorneys, consultants, health & welfare professionals, actuaries, investment advisors and TPAs, the WP&BC and ASPPA present the Western Benefits Conference July 24-27 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
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[Guidance Overview]
Court Rejects 404(c) Defense in Certifying Stock Drop Suit Class
"In granting the motion to certify the class, [the judge] rejected the defendants' argument that the class did not satisfy the typicality requirement for certification because in the current case there was no claim of misleading statements or failure to disclose information, so prudence depends on the individual investment choices, strategies, and decisions of each participant in the plan."
(planadviser)
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San Francisco Rethinking Annuity for 5-Years of Service
"San Francisco's pension fund last year paid $3.3 mil.lion to former employees who worked as little as 5 years in city government but nonetheless qualified for a generous pay package upon their 50th birthday."
(San Francisco Chronicle)
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Groups Urge Lawmakers not to Disrupt Public Pension Oversight
"A statement for a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee's Oversight Subcommittee prepared on behalf of various organizations representing state and local government retirement systems said Federal proposals on transparency . . . would levy a whole new and conflicting Federal reporting regime on top of existing state and local structures and rules of the Government Accountability Standards Board."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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A Regulatory Disconnect Threatens the Future of DB Plans
"On their Pension and Benefits Blog, BNA blogger Scott Macey recently illuminated a contradiction between what Congress intended and the actions regulators have taken on hybrid DB plans that threatens to stop some of the best DB plans from ever seeing the light of day and to push sponsors to abandon their current DB offerings."
(Milliman, Inc.)
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5 Ways to Make 401(k) Plans More Like Pensions
"[A] group of industry professionals convened a working group, the Retirement 20/20 Initiative, to brainstorm ways to get defined contributions to look -- and behave -- a bit more like defined benefit plans by generating reliable income streams in retirement. The group includes actuaries, economists, employers, participant advocates, investment experts and academics researchers."
(Reuters)
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Wyoming Retirement System Reported 'Healthy'
"The Legislature in 2010 increased total retirement fund contributions to 14 percent of salaries, an increase of 2.7 percent. State government essentially split the increase, with 1.44 percent paid by the state, bringing its share to 12.69 percent. State employees now are paying 1.43 percent of their gross pay into the fund."
(The Billings Gazette)
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[Opinion]
Should Pension Trustees Engage in Blackball Tactics?
"[A CalPERS trustee] suggested that Wall Street firms seeking to invest for CaLPERS disclose if they've supported groups critical of government pensions. The statement may have been a well-intended defense of the value of public pension plans, but it was a wrong-headed violation of fiduciary principles."
(Governing)
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[Opinion]
401(k) Fee Disclosures: What They Mean and What's at Stake
"We've heard a lot of talk from politicians and lawyers about how great the new regulations will be to investors and how it'll help fix the American retirement system. And while the disclosure of 401(k) fees will provide consumers with honest options and the push toward transparency is a wonderful concept, consumers will ultimately pay since unfortunately, they always do."
(BenefitsPro)
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[Opinion]
The 'Responsible' Pension Bill for New Hampshire
"Both the House and Senate agree that police and firefighters will need to work more years and retire at a later age than they do now. Both agree contributions of all public workers need to rise. But the House has also included 'poison pill' language that would punish workers if they sue over pension reform. In other words, the House is actually trying to constrain the rights of pensioners to seek redress in court of injustice."
(Seacoast Media Group)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Equity Compensation Update Course Now Available
The NCEO's latest Equity Compensation Update course is now available. It provides articles and quizzes on recent developments in the field (from January 2010 through March 2011) in corporate and securities law; taxation; accounting; and equity plan design, administration, and analysis. The course provides 15 hours of continuing education credit for Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designees. (National Center for Employee Ownership
(NCEO))
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Press Releases
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