To EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com To BenefitsLink home page

BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter

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

Employee Benefits Jobs

Education Consultant
for AXA Equitable in FL, TX

Assistant General Counsel
for Guidant Financial Group in WA

Senior Retirement Plan Analyst
for CHEC, Inc. in PA

Client Service Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services in MA

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


Webcasts and Conferences

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Bloomington
in Illinois on December 7, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Dallas
in Texas on December 7, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Denver
in Colorado on December 8, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - St. Louis
in Missouri on December 8, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium- Scottsdale
in Arizona on December 6, 2011 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Controlled Groups, Affiliated Service Groups, and Leased Employees Webcast
Nationwide on November 8, 2011 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Current Developments in Creditor Protection Issues for IRAs In and Outside of Bankruptcy, Including Lurking Conflict of Law Issues
Nationwide on November 15, 2011 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Executive Compensation: Strategy, Design, and Implementation
in New York on June 14, 2012 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in District of Columbia on May 16, 2012 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Health Care Reform: Look Back on 2011 and Look Forward for 2012 w/ Craig J. Davidson, CEBS
Nationwide on December 6, 2011 presented by FutureOffice Network

IGNA v. Amara: The Supreme Court Speaks on Remedies for Faulty SPDs Webcast
Nationwide on November 21, 2011 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans
in Illinois on April 25, 2012 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Retirement Practitioner Research Tools
Nationwide on December 9, 2011 presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.


We also publish the BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter (free): Subscribe

[Guidance Overview]
Employer Stock Litigation Update: Second Circuit Adopts Moench Presumption
"Under the Moench presumption, a plan fiduciary's decision to continue offering company stock as an investment option is considered consistent with ERISA, unless the plaintiff can show that the fiduciary knew or should have known during the relevant time period of an imminent corporate collapse or other dire circumstances." (Groom Law Group)


Get answers to your toughest questions at NIPA’s 2012BMC   [Advert.]

Sponsored by NIPA (National Institute of Pension Administrators)

There is no better way to get answers than to join TPA owners at NIPA’s 2012 Business Management Conference. Held Jan. 14-16, NIPA's 2012BMC addresses the unique needs of TPA owners by providing top-notch education and networking with peers.


Pension COLA to Be Reduced for South Carolina Retirees
"The 4-0 vote . . . reduces the annual [pension benefit] raises for retirees, called cost-of-living adjustments, to 1 percent from 2 percent. The dollar amount will vary for each retiree, but retirees get an average of $19,000 a year, meaning a 1 percent cut would equal $190 a year." (TheState.com)

Pension Funding Index Improves in October
"October was the first month showing an increase in pension funded status since June and the best month since January. This was favorable news in light of the $254 bil.lion decline in the period from June 30 . . . ." (Milliman)

More 401(k) Plans Are Offering Investment Advice, Often for a Fee
"Among large companies, 74% now offer advice or managed accounts to plan participants, up from 50% in 2009, says benefits consultant Aon Hewitt." (The Wall Street Journal)

Profit Sharing Plan's Spousal Death Benefits Fight Spotlights DOMA Question
"The parents [of the deceased qualified profit sharing plan participant] have argued [in federal district court] that DOMA, which limits marriage to only between a man and a woman, prohibits [the proposed payee, to whom the participant became married in 2006 under (Can.ada) law] from being considered a 'spouse' as defined by the plan. And even if Pennsylvania law were to apply instead of the federal DOMA, the state also has a similar law prohibiting same-s.ex marriage, they argued." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)


MassMutual’s Award-Winning ERISA Advisory Services   [Advert.]

Sponsored by MassMutual

MassMutual’s ERISA Advisory Services can help plan fiduciaries and other professionals by providing up-to-date information and easy-to-use tools that help simplify the process of maintaining the compliance health of your retirement plan.


[Guidance Overview]
The Coming GAAP Gap for Governmental Pensions and Ultimately Private Pensions, Too
"[W]e won't know exactly how sweeping the GASB's changes will be, but it's pretty evident to most observers that public officials will feel a seismic shift: Unfunded pension fund liabilities will be reportable on the balance sheets of the employers, and pension expenses will be shown as costs regardless of the level actually contributed; New disclosure rules will require pension funds and employers to display the assumptions trustees approve for projecting investment returns by asset class; For certain plans with unfunded liabilities, the discount rate used for accounting purposes will be lower . . . Amortization periods used for unfunded liabilities will be shorter . . . Future investment gains and losses will be recognized over five years . . . ." (Girard Miller on Governing.com)

PSCA Survey Finds That 401(k) Plans Tend to Restrict Auto Enrollment to New Hires
"In a related finding, the survey reports that over 60% of the plans now offer target date funds as an investment option." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Texas Pension Plans Told to Evaluate DB, Other Plan Types
"The studies are an outgrowth of bills introduced but not passed in the session that ended in June, proposing to move to a defined contribution system because of concern about the defined benefit systems' possible 'drain on the Texas economy and Texas state resources' . . . ." (Pensions & Investments)

Illinois Pension Overhaul Caught in Limbo
"Pension reform has been one of the most contentious issues of this legislative session. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago has engaged in sharp-elbowed lobbying to increase workers' pension contributions and sponsored a $1.5 mil.lion television campaign, under the name 'Illinois is Broke.'" (Chicago News Cooperative)

Soaring Marin County Pension Liabilities Fueled Largely By Top-Paid Jobs
"Some 30 percent of the Marin County Employee Retirement Association's pension payroll goes to just 9 percent of retirees who get checks of more than $80,000 a year . . . ." (Marin Independent Journal)

San Jose Faces December Decision on Proposed Pension Changes
"Unions representing police, firefighters and some other city workers had offered voluntary pension cuts and reduced benefits for new hires, concessions they said would save almost $500 mil.lion over five years and avoid a ballot measure and legal challenge that Reed acknowledges could cost $4 mil.lion. But city leaders disputed about half of the claimed savings in the union proposals . . . . (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

California Governor's Pension Reform Proposal Likely Going Nowhere
"[T]he plan probably is dead on arrival in the union-dominated Legislature. One might even argue that Brown is being cynical here — offering reasonably tough reform proposals that he knows will go nowhere. Then he can claim that he has tried to fix the problem but could not surmount the insurmountable." (Orange County Register)

The Cost of Doing Nothing for OPEB
"Interest rates on government securities have reached generational lows, trading at levels not seen since the Great Depression. Today the yields on ultra-safe investments allowed for state and municipal treasurers are often less than 1 percent, and rarely average more than 2 percent. Yet actuaries who calculate the liabilities, costs and contributions for OPEB (other post-employment benefits plans) are still using numbers like 4 percent, which understates the liability and the true costs of the plans." (Girard Miller on Governing.com)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Public-Private Pay Gap Widens; Private-Sector Employees Way Ahead, BLS Says
"Comparing wages and benefits of government employees and private sector workers is an imperfect science because there are many variables, including age, education, different pay scales and bonus opportunities." (GovernmentExecutive.com)

Texas Governor Rick Perry Entitled to Large State Pension, Health Benefits
"Perry is a member of what the Texas Employees Retirement System (ERS) calls 'the elected class,' which provides the kind of lucrative pension benefits that have all but disappeared from the private sector. Under its provisions, Perry, 61, could have retired at age 50 with lifetime health care paid for by the state. To the annoyance of his opponents, he is still in office — and every year he stays will benefit him in the long run." (The Texas Tribune)

Many Baby-boomers to See Age 100
"Experts even predict that today's crop of teenagers could include the first couples to celebrate a century of marriage, as lifespans extend to 130 or even 150 years. They will have their own financial problems." (Daily Mail)

Press Releases

Recession Over, But Employment-Based Health Coverage Still Down
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Milliman Analysis: Investment Gains Fuel Pension Funded Status Improvement
(Milliman USA)

NAIC Proposal Guts Important Consumer Protection and Decreases Value in Health Insurance
(Consumers Union)

Integrated Benefits Institute Offers New Resource to Help Employers Manage Health and Productivity
(Integrated Benefits Institute)

USAA Life Insurance Company Announces Guaranteed Retirement Income Plan
(USAA)

New Fixed Annuity from Security Benefit Brings Flexibility to 403(b) Marketplace
(Security Benefit)

McGraw Wentworth Named As A "Top Agent/Broker To Work For" In Nation For Third Consecutive Year
(McGraw Wentworth)

Data Shows Retirement Investors Using Solo 401K Plans to Take Advantage of Attractive California Real Estate
(IRA Financial Group )

Flexible Benefit Service Corporation Launches Medicare Outreach Program With A Personal Touch For Consumers
(Flexible Benefit Service Corporation (Flex))

Magnetek Receives Final Approval of Pension Funding Waiver
(Magnetek, Inc.)



BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151

Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Lois Baker, J.D., President
Holly Horton, Business Manager

Copyright © 2011 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Links to Web sites other than those owned by BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

More useful links: