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[Guidance Overview]
Final DOL Rules on Participant Advice (PDF)
"Employer/plan sponsors should re-evaluate the investment advice offered to plan participants to determine what, if any, new opportunities for enhanced investment advice are available as a result of these final regulations. They should also obtain evidence from potential advisors that an exemption applies or seek legal counsel regarding the application of an exemption."
(Polsinelli Shughart PC)
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[Guidance Overview]
What 'Fee Disclosure' Rules Really Mean for Plan Sponsors
"Retirement plan sponsors [will] experience a sea change in their fiduciary role and responsibilities. The DOL rules will impact plan sponsors equally, if not more, than their service providers and will require an overhaul of the plan sponsor's approach to many formerly rote fiduciary activities."
(Society for Human Resource Management)
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The Hottest Ticket in Town! [Advert.]
ASPPA co-sponsors several regional conferences each year with the IRS to provide discussion opportunities with colleagues and local, regional and national government representatives from IRS and DOL. Check to see when we're coming to your region!
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Retirees with Financial Advisers More Financially Secure
"[The Society of Actuaries, LIMRA and the International Foundation for Retirement Education] study found individuals who have calculated how long their money might last in retirement are more confident they have saved enough money to live comfortably than those who have not."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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Rhode Island Pension Problem Larger than Reported
"Rhode Island estimates the unfunded liability for municipal and state plans is $9.3 bil.lion, while Mercatus researchers calculate it as closer to $18 bil.lion."
(Mercatus Center at George Mason University )
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How Much Do Means-Tested Benefits Reduce the Demand for Annuities?
"We find that the availability of means-tested benefits can reduce the desired annuitization levels substantially. Using individual level data, we show that the model's predicted annuitization rates as a function of the level of pension wealth are roughly consistent with the cash-out patterns of occupational pension wealth observed in Switzerland."
(Social Science Research Network)
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Social Security in an International Context
"[This discussion describes] how U.S. social security operates for multinational employers and employees, and how it currently coordinates with other countries' social security systems."
(Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)
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Developing a Global Policy for Controlling Your Defined Contribution Plans
"The purpose and rationale for switching the provision of retirement benefits to a DC model is to allow the multinational to reduce its financial risks and pass most of these onto employees, including investment, inflation and longevity risks. DC has now become the new global standard. In this new DC world, is there a need for control through a global policy and, if so, how would a multinational develop one?"
(Mercer LLC)
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Segmenting Workers under Age 35 Seen as Good Approach for 401(k)s
"Only 4% of plan sponsors have established goals to engage workers younger than 35 in their defined contribution plans, even though they know the younger generation's participation and contribution rates lag their older colleagues, a survey by Greenwich Associates for Northern Trust finds."
(Employee Benefit News)
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PBGC Audit Finds Errors in Calculating Pensions in Bankruptcies
"The errors appear to have come about because the agency . . . used unqualified outside vendors to review the pension plans it took over, then failed to supervise the contractors adequately or verify the accuracy of their work. The audit firm, Clifton Gunderson, referred to 'serious internal control weaknesses' in its report."
(The New York Times; free registration required)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Guidance Overview]
How Does 1,000-Hour Rule Apply to Non-Retirement Benefits?
"The best-known 1,000-hour rule is contained in Part 2 of Title 1 of the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and generally only applies to employee pension benefit plans. It's also mentioned in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sections 410(a) and 411(a) regarding participation and vesting in retirement plans."
(Workplace Management: free registration required)
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How Do Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior Vary by State? (PDF)
"After controlling for the effect of individual demographic characteristics, most bottom-ranked states have a statistically significant effect on their residents' financial literacy and almost all states have a statistically significant effect on their residents' financial behavior. This suggests that there might be something going on at the state level whereby individual financial literacy and financial behavior are being shaped not only by individual demographic characteristics but also by the state in which people live."
(Employee Benefit Research Institute)
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Press Releases
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