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[Guidance Overview]
Fiduciaries Were Required to Document Their Prudence in Retaining Unitized Stock Fund
"Plan fiduciaries may have breached their fiduciary duties by failing to deliberate and make a documented reasonable decision regarding means of reducing investment and transactional costs associated with a unitized company stock fund, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago (CA-7) in George v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc.."
(Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
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[Guidance Overview]
Court Dismisses Suit Alleging Excessive Fees Charged by John Hancock
"[The judge] agreed with John Hancock's argument that plaintiffs' [ERISA] claims are derivative, meaning they belong to the plans, so the plaintiffs must first make demand upon the trustees of the plan to file suit. The court found no such demand was made, nor are the trustees listed as defendants in the action."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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[Guidance Overview]
Supreme Court's Decision in CIGNA v. Amara Helps Employers (PDF)
"This article will address the Supreme Court's ruling in CIGNA and discuss its significance for employers sponsoring ERISA plans. As set forth below, CIGNA is largely, although by no means entirely, favorable to employers."
(The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. via McDermott Will & Emery)
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Does Market Valuation of Pension Liabilities Fit the Public Sector? (PDF)
"This . . . Public Sector Letter discusses the fundamental differences between two methods for measuring pension liabilities: actuarial accrued liability (AAL), the current practice, and the market value of liabilities (MVL) approach, which continues to be the focus of considerable media attention. In particular, the usefulness of both measures for public sector decision makers is addressed."
(The Segal Group, Inc.)
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Retirement Plan Sponsors Struggle with Annuity Issue
"One solution involves having the retiree buy some kind of annuity, but some plan sponsors fear that could create a legal liability for them. While they have held off, other sponsors have moved ahead, offering annuities that employees can invest in gradually as they build their 401(k) nest eggs."
(MarketWatch, Inc.)
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Workers Would Face Tough Pension Choices Under Illinois Plan
"The plan . . . would require many state employees to pay nearly 17 percent of their salaries into the pension system to keep their current benefits. Or they could keep more of their money but receive lower benefits at retirement. A third option would be a new 401(k)-style investment plan."
(Chicago Tribune)
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San Francisco Mayor Touts Pension Plan Savings
"Over the next decade, [the mayor's] proposal would save $800 mil.lion–$1 bil.lion, but the city's pension costs could total as much as $7.6 bil.lion during that span . . . ."
(San Francisco Chronicle)
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[Opinion]
San Diego's Pension Gap: Some Common Misunderstandings
"Yes, funding the existing pension deficit will be challenging. But it's important to understand that traditional pensions now are no more costly than the proposed Social Security/401(k) program being proposed."
(The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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More Employers Embrace Voluntary Benefits
"A LIMRA study found that overall voluntary benefits penetration improved across the board during the recession, but growth was brighter with mid-size employers (firms with 100–999 employees)."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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[Opinion]
America Can Learn from Europe on Work-Life Balance
"[A]lthough many European countries have seen increases in their working hours . . . employees are typically given between four and six weeks' paid vacation time by their employer. So what drives Americans to work such long hours and take few, if any, vacations?"
(Cable News Network)
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Press Releases
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