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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter
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See our Defined Contribution Software in Action! [Advert.]
Over the last three years we’ve received lots of valuable feedback from our customers and made some impressive enhancements. Sign up for our free webinar on Wednesday, March 28th and see some of the automation and productivity tools in action.
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How We Sell — and Fail to Sell — Annuities (PDF)
"Why don't more people use annuities to guarantee their retirement income, and what can we do about it? This paper looks at the facts, the theories, and the proposed solutions, to bring more order to the discussion, and to update you on the latest ideas."
(Still River Retirement Planning Software, Inc.)
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Research Helps Before Opening First IRA
"What started as a simple product 38 years ago now has six versions: There are traditional (deductible and nondeductible), Roth, SEP, Simple and self-directed IRAs. Each has different eligibility requirements, contribution limits and tax benefits."
(San Francisco Chronicle)
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Finding the Lowest Cost Share Class for Retirement Plan Investments (PDF)
"Plan sponsors and their providers must maintain a competitive fee structure for their retirement plan investments or face potential liability from ERISA non-compliance and participant lawsuits. [The target page explains how to monitor and select] the lowest cost share class available."
(Securian Retirement)
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CalPERS Funding Level: How Low Can It Go?
"The worry is that if the funding level of the big pension fund drops too far, it may not be practical to raise annual employer payments enough to regain proper funding. The rough estimate (final figures are not in yet) is that CalPERS funding as of last June averaged 74 percent, up from 65 percent the previous year."
(Calpensions)
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CalPERS Reform Is Wake-Up Call for Pensioners
"The board of CalPERS, which oversees retirement plans for most state workers, is shaving estimates of future earnings ... The decision reflects prudent investment advice and newfound caution. But it means something else: With CalPERS earning less, state and local agencies will have to contribute more to cover obligations to retirees."
(San Francisco Chronicle)
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Which Is Cheaper to Run: 401(k)s or Social Security?
"[S]ome readers ... wonder[ed] which of America's retirement pillars, publicly-run Social Security, or privately run 401(k)s cost more to run. [The authors] went back to ... sources to investigate -- and the results might surprise some people."
(SmartMoney)
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Schedule C Notices: Is the DOL Looking Over Your Shoulder?
"With two years of electronic filing under their belts, the Form 8955-SSA finally issued and no significant changes to the forms, many 5500 preparers were under the impression that this year would be a rather uneventful year for Form 5500 preparation and filing. Recent events, however, suggest quite the contrary. The DOL and IRS are exhibiting an ability to use electronic filing to fulfill their regulatory responsibility and to facilitate the review of the forms and schedules to an extent that many felt would not be attainable for many years."
(SunGard Relius)
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What to Look for in 2012: Funded Status and At-Risk
"In 2010, most sponsors were in no trouble of being at-risk because the 2009 actuarial valuations benefitted from significant relief that resulted in high funded ratios.... In 2011, some sponsors may have fallen under the at-risk designation because 2010 valuations were likely calculated at a much lower discount rate, generally around 6.70%, or about 120-140 basis points lower than the 2009 valuation."
(Retirement Town Hall)
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Survey Finds Employers Doubtful About Employees' Ability to Save for Retirement
"A recent survey by Aon Hewitt finds that employers have become increasingly skeptical about their employees' ability to successfully save for retirement. In response, employers are embracing innovative solutions to help rethink their retirement benefits plan strategies and assist their employees in better preparing for retirement.... [This] survey of employers contrasts with a recent survey of employees by Towers Watson."
(Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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10th Annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends (PDF)
"One of the Study's most significant findings is the strong relationship between satisfaction with benefits and job satisfaction.... [T]his correlation creates compelling evidence for the power of benefits to drive a universal set of business objectives -- employee attraction, retention and productivity."
(MetLife)
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Press Releases
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Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Lois Baker, J.D., President
Holly Horton, Business Manager
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