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October 27, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Part Time On Call Participant Counselor
for Diversified in CA, DC, FL, KY, MI, NC, OR, TX

HRIS Client Support Specialist II
for ADP in MD

Jr. Pension Plan Administrator
for ExpertPlan, Inc. in NJ

Pension Administrator
for ExpertPlan, Inc. in NJ

Compliance Testing and Reporting Specialist
for Prudential in IA

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Webcasts and Conferences

New Report: The Effect Of Pensions On Teacher Quality & Turnover Costs Webinar Briefing
Nationwide on October 31, 2011 presented by National Institute on Retirement Security


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[Official Guidance]
Text of DOL Final Regs Revising Labor Organization Officer and Employee Reports
"The rule revises the Form LM-30 and its instructions, based on an examination of the policy and legal justifications for, and utility of, changes enacted in the Form LM-30 Final Rule (2007 rule), published on July 2, 2007." (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards)


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[Official Guidance]
Text of EBSA Final Rule on Prohibited Transaction Exemption Procedures for Employee Benefit Plans (PDF)
"This final rule clarifies and consolidates the Department of Labor's exemption procedures and provides the public with a more comprehensive description of the prohibited transaction exemption process." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Final PPA Participant Advice Regulation (PDF)
"A detailed summary of the operation of the final regulation, with other clarifications and refinements noted, is [charted] at the end of this alert." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
How Do the ERISA Recapture Accounts Affect the Fee Disclosure Regulations?
"Payments from an ERISA recapture account affect reporting and disclosure under both the service provider fee disclosure and the participant fee disclosure regulations. [This tech update discusses] that impact." (SunGard Relius)

[Guidance Overview]
Analysis of DOL Final Investment Advice Regulations (PDF)
"The final regulations make moderate changes to the proposed regulations. Many of these changes involve details of the fee-leveling arrangements and computer models . . . as well as clarifying definitions for purposes of the regulation. The final regulations also add language stating that simplified employee pension . . . plans and simple retirement accounts . . . will be considered IRAs for purposes of the final regulations." (Ascensus, Inc.)


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[Guidance Overview]
Court Approves Settlement of Wachovia Stock Drop Suit
"The class action suit claims fiduciaries of the Wachovia Savings Plan and the A.G. Edwards, Inc. Retirement and Profit Sharing Plan breached their fiduciary duties to act solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plans, and to exercise the required skill, care, prudence, and diligence in administering the plans and the plans' assets by continuing to offer company stock as an investment option when it was no longer prudent." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Guidance Overview]
Second Circuit's Adoption of Moench Presumption of Prudence Provides 'Accommodation' for Employers Facing Stock Drop Suits
"In its decision, the Second Circuit adopted the Moench presumption with respect to both employee stock ownership plans . . . and eligible individual account plans . . . . The court also noted that the presumption would apply at the pleading stage: 'Where plaintiffs do not allege facts sufficient to establish that a plan fiduciary has abused his discretion, there is no reason not to grant a motion to dismiss.'" (Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP)

Los Angeles Reduces Pension Fund Investment Return Target
"Los Angeles's biggest public pension fund lowered its anticipated rate of return to 7.75 percent from 8 percent and said it would implement the change in phases to reduce its affect on the city deficit." (Bloomberg L.P.)

DOL Publishes Final Rule on Reports Filed by Union Officials
"The new rule becomes effective on November 25, 2011, and applies to reports required by union officials with fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2012." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

California Governor to Propose Higher Retirement Age, Lower Pension Benefits for New State Workers
"The increased retirement age proposal is more aggressive than expected, and labor interests, which poured millions of dollars into Brown's gubernatorial campaign, are likely to bristle at the prospect." (The Sacramento Bee)

Ten Arrested in $1 Bil.lion Long Island R.R. Disability Scheme
"Ten people, including a doctor and a former union president, were arrested early Thursday and charged in a major fraud scheme in which hundreds of Long Island Rail Road workers made false disability pension claims costing a federal agency an estimated $1 bil.lion . . . ." (The New York Times; free registration required)

12th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey: Full-Time and Part-Time Workers (PDF)
"In 2011, almost seven in ten American workers are offered employee-funded retirement plans. Similar to last year, the majority of workers are spending less money and saving habits have improved for almost a quarter of workers since the recession began." (Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)

Pension Reform: How Have Workers Fared?
"The American pension system has undergone radical changes over the last 30 years. In my forthcoming book, The Transformation of the American Pension System: Was It Beneficial for Workers? I examine some of the consequences." (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)

DOL Probing Improper Broker-Dealer and Registered Investment Advisors' Compensation from ERISA Plans
"[DOL's Consultant/Adviser Project] is a national enforcement project designed to focus on 'the receipt of improper or undisclosed compensation by employee benefit plan consultants and investment advisers.'" (AdvisorOne)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
Participants Who Voluntarily Terminated not Due Nonqualified Benefits
"In dismissing the case, the court also ruled that [the plaintiffs] could not have relied on their belief that their non-qualified benefits had been merged into and vested under Saint Luke's Hospital's qualified plan because they were repeatedly told that if they voluntarily terminated, they would be ineligible for benefits under the Executive Retirement Benefit Restoration Plan." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Milliman's Multiemployer Review, October 2011 (PDF)
It includes two articles: The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) adopts a new disclosure requirement for employers participating in multiemployer plans and Health reform: A roundup of recent developments. (Milliman, Inc.)

Press Releases

Retirement Sector Veteran Nevin Adams to Join EBRI
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Transamerica Retirement Services Announces Availability of ERISA Section 3(21) Fiduciary Service for Retirement Plans
(Transamerica Retirement Services)

Buck Consultants’ Annual Health Care Trend Survey Reveals Slow Down in Cost Increases for Canadian Employers
(Buck Consultants)

New TransitChek Parking Card Now Available
(TransitCenter)

Significa Benefit Services Utilizes Benefit Informatics Data Analytics Technology for Plan Analysis and Reporting
(Benefit Informatics)

bswift, Microsoft Join Forces to Provide Health Insurance Exchange Solutions
(bswift)

Unprecedented Transparency Taking Root in Healthcare Industry
(FAIR Health)

Westin Hotels & Resorts Announces Wellness Program for 25,000 Associates around the World
(Starwood Hotels & Resorts)

Healthcare Delivery Innovation Alliance Launches National Agenda to Develop Standards for Healthcare Delivery Systems that Lower Costs, Improve the Patient Experience
(Healthcare Delivery Innovation Alliance (HDIA))



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