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October 7, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Institutional Sales Advisor - Financial Advisor
for Mercer Advisors in PA

Health Plan Analyst
for UNITE HERE HEALTH in IL

Defined Benefit Plan Administrator
for Consulting Actuaries Incorporated in NJ

Retirement Services Manager
for CUNA Mutual Group in

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Webcasts and Conferences

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium- Atlanta
in Georgia on November 3, 2011 presented by 401(k) Rekon

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium- Austin
in Texas on November 1, 2011 presented by 401(k) Rekon

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium- Oak Brook
in Illinois on November 3, 2011 presented by 401k Rekon

Building the Exchanges: Seeking the Right Roadmap
Nationwide on October 27, 2011 presented by MCOL

Four-Page Summary Guidance: Getting Ready for 2012 Implementation
Nationwide on October 5, 2011 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Medical Home Summit Web Summit
Nationwide on November 3, 2011 presented by MCOL

Rekon Road Show- Houston
in Texas on November 2, 2011 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Using Member Evaluations to Stay Compliant
Nationwide on November 8, 2011 presented by MCOL


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[Official Guidance]
New Listings of Required Modifications
"A collection of information packages designed to assist sponsors who are drafting or re-drafting plans to conform with applicable law and regulations." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)


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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Issues Guidance on Second Restatement Cycle for Pre-Approved Plan Documents (PDF)
"[Rev. Proc. 2011-49 provides that employers] that wish to establish a multiple employer plan using an EGTRRA pre-approved plan document are required to use a volume submitter plan. The prohibition against using a prototype plan document has been removed, allowing multiple employer plans to be established using PPA prototype plan documents upon IRS approval . . . In addition, the list of features or plan types that may not be included in pre-approved plans has been expanded to generally include combined defined benefit and 401(k) plans, commonly referred to as 'DB/k' plans . . . ." (Ascensus)

[Guidance Overview]
Can 'Open Multiple Employer Plans' Be Treated As Multiple Plans Under ERISA?
Derrin's back! In Q&A 300, attorney S. Derrin Watson posts and answers a new question in his popular column, Who's the Employer? Excerpt: &#quot;Open MEPs have a real problem. There is no relationship between the employers other than their participation in the plan, and the cosponsors have little or no control over plan operations, selection of fiduciaries, or other matters. Frankly, that's part of the appeal of open MEPs: leave the tough decisions to the experts and cast your fiduciary responsibilities aside. And the DOL is not above looking at the way a MEP is marketed to determine that it is not sponsored by a bona fide employer association." (S. Derrin Watson, Esq. on BenefitsLink.com)

Issues Concerning Multiple Employer Plans
"In my August 2009 column, I described MEPs as the 'platinum standard' of qualified retirement plans. In retrospect, I should have been more exact in my phrasing: MEPs, when run by experienced independent fiduciaries and featuring transparent, low-cost, and broadly and deeply diversified investment options, are the platinum standard of qualified retirement plans." (W. Scott Simon in Morningstar Advisor)

Report Finds Private Pension System Stable
"According to a new report by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), as a group, sponsors of private, single-employer defined benefit pension plans will face a rising tide of minimum required contributions over the next five years." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)


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National 'Save for Retirement' Week Starts October 16
"Public employers nationwide are reaching out to their employees with information on workplace saving." (Governing)

National Save for Retirement Week, October 16-22, 2011
"A Resolution has been passed by the Senate (S. Res. 266) calling on the week of October 16, 2011 as National Save for Retirement Week." (NAGDCA)

Latest 401(k) Lawsuit Highlights Ongoing Fee Concerns
"The most recent 401(k) fee lawsuit was filed last week against Ameriprise Financial Inc, which bills itself as 'America's leader in financial planning.' The suit, which was brought on behalf of several employees and is seeking class action status, alleges the financial firm pushed workers into expensive and untested proprietary funds at a cost the lawyers for the employees say is more than $20 mil.lion." (Thomson Reuters via Employee Benefit News)

Despite Obstacles, 401(k) Excessive Fee Lawsuits Proliferate
"One of the most recent is being pursued by the same St. Louis-based law firm that started the frenzy of fee challenges in 2006. On September 28 plan participants represented by lawyers at Schlicter, Bogard, and Denton filed an eight-count complaint against Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and alleged fiduciaries of the Ameriprise 401(k) plan, claiming that the investment funds offered under that plan were imprudently selected and charged excessive fees . . . ." (Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP)

Retirement Planning that Weathers Economic Storms
"U.S. News recently interviewed several financial planners and advisers throughout the country. There were nearly as many different investment strategies for today's market conditions as there were advisers." (U.S.News & World Report LP)

Monitoring Retirement Readiness: The Need, Who Should Do It, and How To Avoid Pitfalls (PDF)
"The United States is in the midst of an economic crisis that greatly increases the likelihood that all large 401(k) plan sponsors will find themselves in messy 401(k) litigation. After all, when dreams are dashed—through unemployment, inability to retire, or the inability to maintain one's current standard of living—humans have a tendency to blame others—such as their employer—for causing their problems." (Investment Horizons, Inc.)

401k Plan Goals: How Do You Measure Success?
"Three Essentials to Establishing 401k Plan Goals[:] Let's start with the three cornerstones of a successful 401k plan: Participation Levels. . . Average Deferral Rates. . . Asset Allocation. What [are] participants invested in?" (Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.)

The Impact of Reduced Choice on Participation by School District Employees in 403(b) Plans
"[This paper] examines the extent to which workers prefer choice in their 403(b) plans and the impact of having choices. The paper finds that school district employees benefit from the option to receive advice, both in terms of their preparation for retirement and participation levels." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

Measuring Brand Loyalty in the Retirement Plan Sponsor Marketplace (PDF)
"Representing more than 1,500 plan sponsors, the study includes a comprehensive assessment of the plan selection process (including benefit priorities and decision drivers); attitudes and loyalty toward providers, advisors, consultants, and TPAs; and current unmet needs." (Cogent Research)

California Teachers Pension Fund To Seek Increase from Taxpayers
"Contribution rates for teachers and school districts haven't changed since 1990. Teachers pay 8 percent of their income toward retirement. Districts add 8.25 percent; the state's share is 2.017 percent. Without additional state funding, the pension plan may run out of money in the early 2040s, Calstrs said in April." (Bloomberg L.P.)

Top Montclair, California, Officials Agree to Pension Contributions
"Executive and department managers have agreed to permanently contribute to their pension benefits to help the city deal with a long-term shortfall in its bond payments." (Los Angeles Newspaper Group)

Riverside County, California, Stands to Save $208 Mil.lion from Pension Reform
"Changes to the pension plans for new Riverside County employees will result in sizable savings once they're fully implemented, which is proving to be a challenge because of union resistance . . . ." (Patch)

One Savings Goal Better Than Many
"A different solution to the savings conundrum comes from two marketing professors at the University of Toronto. Experimenting on subjects around the world . . . they found that individuals are more successful savers if they identify and work toward a single goal. Setting multiple, competing goals—college, retirement, summer vacation, a new kitchen, and the Christmas fund—was less effective and even counterproductive." (Trustees of Boston College, Center for Retirement Research)

Women Lag in Retirement Readiness, According to Studies
"[According to reports] by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) in Washington: 58 percent of women interviewed by IWPR were concerned they would not have enough to live on in retirement, compared with 43 percent of men . . . ." (Trustees of Boston College, Center for Retirement Research)

Court Denies Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Core Claims in Madoff Investments Case
"In this case, Lewis Feinberg and co-counsel represent the trustees of seventeen union-affiliated pension and welfare plans in a breach of fiduciary duty action against investment managers and investment advisors who steered the plans into—and failed to steer them out of—investments with Bernard Madoff's multi-bil.lion-dollar Ponzi scheme that collapsed in December 2008." (Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C.)

[Opinion]
American Enterprise Institute Authors Say Social Security and Pensions Are Bargains
"In a report for the Ohio Business Roundtable, AEI's Andrew Biggs and Jason Richwine estimate the cost to private-sector employers of Social Security and traditional pensions at just 2 percent of wages. This will come as a surprise to employers used to paying roughly three times as much for this coverage . . . ." (Economic Policy Institute)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
New FASB Disclosure Rules for Employers Participating in Multiemployer Plans (PDF)
"On September 21, 2011, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2011–09 applicable to nongovernmental employers that participate in multiemployer pension and other postretirement benefit plans. The revised accounting rules will require enhanced disclosures relating to an employer's participation in a multiemployer pension plan, but more limited disclosures for multiemployer plans that provide postretirement benefits other than pensions." (Buck Consultants, LLC)

[Opinion]
More Shareholders Planning To Vote No on Executive Pay in 2012
"Shareholders will be more willing to vote down executive compensation plans during say-on-pay votes next year, says Robin Ferracone, chairman of executive compensation consulting firm Farient Advisors." (Haymarket Media Inc.)

Press Releases



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