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July 22, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Customer Service Representative
for Mutual Of America in GA

Customer Service Representative
for Mutual Of America in KY

Account Mgr I - SRS
for The Standard in OR

Benefits Administration Representative
for 125MAX LLC in CA

Executive Director
for National Public Pension Coalition in DC

ESOP Administrator
for Employee Benefits Group, LLC. in MN

Benefit Calculation Specialist
for Prudential in CT

Sr Marketing Program Manager
for The Standard in OR

Analyst, Health & Productivity - Entry Level
for Cammack LaRhette Consulting in NY

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[Guidance Overview]
Effective Date Delayed for CFTC Swap Rules Affecting Retirement Plans
"The CFTC issued proposed regulations in December 2010 on both the regulation of MSPs and the business conduct standards, but have yet to finalize them. Until the rules are finalized, the CFTC has postponed the effective date of the swaps provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act, which were originally intended to take effect on July 16, 2011." (McguireWoods LLP)


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[Guidance Overview]
Compliance Dates Extension for Fee Disclosure Rules (PDF)
"In its latest guidance, the DOL stated that it intends to publish a final 408(b)(2) service provider fee disclosure regulation before the end of this year and 'does not expect that the changes to the interim final rule are likely to require more additional time for compliance.'" (Kelly, Hannaford & Battles P.A.)

[Guidance Overview]
The Roth 'In-Plan' Rollover: A New Plan Design Feature for Qualified Plans (PDF)
"A summary of the prior law is set forth below, along with a summary of the new provision and the IRS guidance issued in Notice 2010–84 to facilitate implementing this provision. Lastly, the article reviews the key implementation steps when adding the new Roth rollover feature." (CCH Incorporated via Groom Law Group)

[Guidance Overview]
Think Your Employee's Divorce is a Sham to Get at Retirement Benefits?
"[T]he Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Brown v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 2011 WL 2780505 (5th Cir.), a rather unusual case addressing what a plan administrator's obligations are with respect to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) when the plan administrator thinks the underlying divorce that produced the order was a sham." (Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP)

A New Study Challenges Common Beliefs About Public Pensions and Collective Bargaining
"Five variables were studied, and unionization was the one found to be least significant statistically. That's not what most observers and commentators in this community would have expected. Researchers found more correlation with salary levels." (Governing)

The State and Municipal Lobbying and Pay-to-Play Regulation of Pension Fund Management Participants (PDF)
"This bulletin focuses attention on the development of the state and local laws. These laws impact certain pension fund management business participants as lobbyists, who are subject to specific registration, reporting and other requirements, and/or prohibit or limit campaign contributions from these participants through pay-to-play laws." (Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP)

Retirement Calculators Threaten the Stability of Your Entire Plan
"Calculators are not designed to compute investment performance history, but rather, to use such information along with contribution rate to give the participant an idea of whether or not they're on track to reaching their savings goal." (Invest n Retire, LLC)

Beyond Age and Se.x: Enhancing Annuity Pricing
"Prices of standard annuity products in the United States do not currently reflect buyers' personal characteristics other than age and se.x. I show that several readily-measurable risk factors can significantly increase explained variability in mortality outcomes in a proportional hazards framework and use them to construct alternative pricing schemes." (Pension Research Council: free registration required to download fulltext of articles)

401(k) Plan Sponsors: Is It Time for a Fee Policy?
"A Fee Policy Supplement can provide a tool to facilitate decision-making in the context of ERISA's requirements. It can provide a framework and structure to help plan sponsors document and understand which decisions need to be made and how to make them." (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP)

Retirement Security Products and Investments
"More realistic pricing means that many products such as lifetime benefit annuities and LTC insurance are not as attractive as they once were. Products that are less complex and less expensive—such as SPIAs and longevity insurance—may be more attractive to today's consumers. . . ." (Milliman, Inc.)

[Opinion]
Are in-Kind Contributions for Public Pensions an Overlooked Opportunity?
"Industry observers say that among private pension funds, in-kind contributions have been a creative partial response for dealing with their severe funding pressures, and that their success with this approach may be an opportunity for public funds." (Asset International, Inc.)

[Opinion]
PSCA Testimony Before the ERISA Advisory Council Working Group on Privacy and Security Issues Affecting Employee Benefit Plans
"[The comments] address privacy and security in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans as affected by the move from paper-based plan access and decision execution to the Internet." (Profit Sharing / 401k Council of America)

[Opinion]
Gang of Six Plan Reference to Retirement Savings Based on Fuzzy Math
"[This] is a statement from Brian H. Graff, . . . of The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries . . . in response to the proposal by a bipartisan coalition of senators known as the 'Gang of Six.'" (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

[Opinion]
Idaho's Expensive Pension System
"The state and its school districts spend about $1 bil.lion on salaries. As a result, schools also spend about $100 mil.lion annually making payments to the state's pension system, about 10 percent of payroll." (IdahoReporter.com)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Official Guidance]
Text of EBSA Request for Nominations for Vacancies on Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (PDF)
"Nominations should: State the person's qualifications to serve on the Advisory Council. State that the candidate will accept appointment to the Council if offered. Include the position for which the nominee is nominated." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Guidance Overview]
SEC Update of Interpretive Guidance on Executive and Director Compensation Disclosure Rules (PDF)
"The most recent guidance has been released over the last several months in response to the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

Press Releases



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