ASPPA & WBC

Defined Contribution Analyst 2
for Wells Fargo in TN

Pension Administrator II
for Beneco in AZ

Defined Benefit Pension Specialist
for Actuarial Designs & Solutions, Inc. in ME

401K Plan Compliance Administrator
for Ascensus in IN

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CFDD

Does Your 401(k) Plan Have an Investment Policy Statement and Do Your Fiduciaries Follow It?
"There is an important lesson in [Tussey v. ABB. Inc.]: it can be very expensive to depart from your investment policy. [The authors] find that many employers adopt 'canned' investment policies that they received from their outside service provider without much explanation or analysis. The best defense against the kind of award won by the plaintiffs is for investment fiduciaries to make sure that they have read and understand the [investment policy statement, or 'IPS'] and determined whether it is appropriate for them, and, where appropriate, made any changes to customize a canned IPS." (Osler)

401(k) Essentials Plus Series, Ten 100-minute modules   [Advert.]

Everything you need to know about 401(k) plans, but were afraid to ask! Each session, such as loans, ADP/ACP testing, 408(b)(2) disclosure, or cross-tested design, is available individually or as part of the series. Click here for information.

'Unrelated Business Taxable Income' Did Not Spoil Tax-Exempt Organization's Exemption from Excise Tax on Plan Asset Reversion
"[A 20%] excise tax is imposed on employer reversions [of assets] from a 'qualified plan,' defined ... as a plan that is qualified under Code Sec. 401(a) or Code Sec. 403(a), 'other than ... a plan maintained by an employer if such employer has, at all times, been exempt from tax under subtitle A[.]' ... The IRS maintained that the plan was a 'qualified plan' [and hence subject to the excise tax despite the aforesaid exemption for tax-exempt employers] because the taxpayer had paid unrelated business income tax, which is a tax under Subtitle A, for certain years.... The court held that the employer was an organization that had, at all times, been exempt from tax under Subtitle A. Thus, the employer's pension plan was not ... liable for the Code Sec. 4980 excise tax." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Former Trustee Liable for over $4 Mil.lion for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
"The [Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit] said that [the retirement plan's trustee] breached his ERISA-imposed duty and caused a loss to the Plan. He fraudulently reported an inaccurate account balance ..., improperly distributed the Plan's assets to himself, and otherwise used the assets for his personal benefit. These fraudulent actions resulted in a loss when the Plan participants received an amount smaller than their proportionate shares in the [trust fund]." (ERISA Lawyer Blog)

Co-Sourcing Trends of DC Plan Management
"Under the co-sourcing model, the adviser plays an inside role, side by side with the plan sponsor, often acting as an extension of the sponsor's staff. As insiders, advisers have access to details and background information that allow them to proactively identify problems and risks." (Mercer)

Learn, Network and Sell at SPARK National Retirement Industry Conference   [Advert.]

Join top record keepers, asset managers, TPAs, advisors, marketing and sales executives for unequaled education and networking. Gain insights into the latest regulatory and legislative issues, market trends, product developments and business strategies.

'We Care, But We're Not Doing Enough to Help Employees Prepare for Retirement,' Employers Say
"While plan sponsors feel a strong sense of responsibility in educating participants about retirement preparedness, only 43% are confident that their participants are saving enough to get the monthly income they need in retirement." (BlackRock)

CalSTRS Brings Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Wal-Mart Directors and Executives
"[T]he California State Teachers' Retirement System owns about 5.3 mil.lion shares in Wal-Mart, worth about $313 mil.lion. Although that is a small stake—far less than 1 percent—the suit was filed on behalf of Wal-Mart itself against people the pension plan identified as having failed in their duties to the company.... [The plan] has never brought such a lawsuit before.... [It] asks that damages from the result of any violations be awarded to Wal-Mart, and that the company reform and improve its corporate governance and internal procedures.... Since derivative suits ask that damages be returned to the company, there is not usually a great monetary reward for plaintiffs." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Cash Balance Plans for Public Employees: 'Defined Benefit Plans in Drag'
"Across the country, the pension reform debates have spurred a lot of talk about how to fix the mess created by runaway defined benefits plans that promised more than they could deliver. So it's no wonder that pension skeptics are suspicious about the latest scheme to emerge from traditional pension advocates, notably the labor groups and many in the actuarial community, who have proposed 'cash balance' plans as the new panacea.... For those unfamiliar with cash balance plans, they are sometimes known as 'defined-benefit plans in drag.'" (Governing)

Most Self-Directed Plan Participants Avoid Extreme All-Equities or No-Equities Positions
"Over the last ten years, there has been a definite trend away from extreme equity positions in [DC] participants' portfolios.... [Research] shows that fewer participants are at the tail ends of the spectrum—with either their entire plan portfolios in stocks or no position in equities at all." (Vanguard)

Pension Plan Funding Improves During First Quarter 2012 (PDF)
"During [this period], the funded status of the model pension plan examined ... improved by five percentage points: from 74 percent to 79 percent. This improvement was driven by asset growth of 7 percent." (Sibson Consulting)

Trends in Employee Retirement Planning, 2st Quarter 2012
"Despite an increased focus on retirement planning, employees still report being woefully unprepared for retirement, and recent stock market performance has done little to change employees' confidence in their investments. This could be the result of lost momentum coming out of a 'soft' recovery, or the early signs of an impending second recession." (Financial Finesse; free registration required to download copy of the brief)

PBGC Statement on the Bankrup.tcy of Hawker Beechcraft, Inc.
"'[PBGC is] committed to working with Hawker Beechcraft and its creditors so that the company can reorganize successfully, while also maintaining the retirement security of its nearly 20,000 workers and retirees' [said the director of the PBGC]. Collectively, Hawker Beechcraft's three pension plans are 56 percent funded, with $769 mil.lion in assets to cover $1.4 bil.lion in benefits. If Hawker Beechcraft ended the plans, PBGC would pay $533 mil.lion of the $611 mil.lion shortfall." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

New Trade Association for Retirement Plan Advisors Grows Much More Than Expected
"The National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA)—an individual membership organization created by and for retirement plan advisors ... announced it has exceeded its first-year membership goal just six months after its launch." (ASPPA)

Value Investing: Investing for Grown Ups?
"While value investing looks impressive on paper, the performance of value investors, as a whole, is no better than that of less 'sensible' investors who chose other investment philosophies and strategies. We examine explanations for why 'active' value investing may not provide the promised payoffs." (Stern School of Business, New York University)

As a Plan Sponsor, Are You Prepared to Provide Fee Disclosures to Participants?
This 39-minute video includes a description of the format of Vanguard's reporting of its fees as a service provider to its plan sponsor customers, and what Vanguard will be doing to assist its customers with the participant-level fee disclosures. (Vanguard)

10 Worst-Off State Pension Funds
"How bad is the funding gap? The study calls it "a matter of debate," but according to the funding-status measure prescribed by the Government Accounting Standards Board, the nation's largest 126 pension plans were underfunded by around $800 bil.lion in 2010, while critics of GASB's accounting methods estimate the aggregate pension fund shortfall to be as much as $4 tril.lion." (The Street)

ERIC Offers Recommendations to Improve Treasury Lifetime Income Guidance
"[ERIC] submitted to [Treasury and IRS] a series of three comment letters in response to their February 2012 package of proposed regulations and revenue rulings regarding lifetime-income options for participants and beneficiaries in retirement plans.... ERIC's three comment letters offer recommendations addressing the longevity annuity contract regulations, the partial annuity regulations, and the revenue ruling concerning rollovers from defined contribution [plans to defined benefit] plans[.]" (The ERISA Industry Committee)

Text of Comments by American Benefits Council to IRS on Proposed Regs on Longevity Annuity Contracts (PDF)
"The Council respectfully suggests that Treasury and the Service could provide clarification and additional guidance on a few related issues that the Council believes would encourage more plan sponsors to consider adding longevity insur.ance to their plans. These related issues include (1) the need for a correction program, (2) clarification of potential forfeiture or cutback issues, (3) clarification that these rules also apply to IRA annuity rollovers and (4) interaction of the Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) rules with the qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA) rules." (American Benefits Council)

Text of Comments by American Benefits Council to IRS on Proposed Regs on Modifications to Minimum Present Value Requirements for Partial Annuity Distribution Options under DB Plans (PDF)
"Clarifying that the regulations permit a plan to treat both portions of a partial annuity distribution option as two separate forms of benefit for purposes of applying the requirements of section 417(e)(3) is a significant step in assuring that more participants have the opportunity to elect to receive benefits in this manner." (American Benefits Council)

Ford's Retiree Cashout: A Trap for the Unwary
"If enough retirees accept the cashout offer, Ford will reap significant financial benefits. First, it would reduce the volatility on the company's financial statements that results from its pension obligations. Second, Ford wouldn't need to pay premiums to [PBGC], ... on behalf of any retirees who accepted the lump-sum deal. Ford also would likely be able to extinguish its pension liability at below-market rates for retirees who accept the offer." (CBS money watch)

SEC Guidance Addresses Scaled Disclosure and Other Emerging Growth Company Issues under the JOBS Act
"Certain provisions of the JOBS Act conflict with SEC form requirements, Regulation S-X and Regulation S-K. An [Emerging Growth Company] may comply with the JOBS Act disclosure provisions in its registration statements, periodic reports and proxy statements, even if doing so would be inconsistent with existing rules and regulations. The disclosure provisions in the JOBS Act supersede, in relevant part, existing rules and regulations." (Hinshaw)

Tuning Up Your Company's Severance Plan (PDF)
"This article reviews the history of severance plans, explains how supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB) plans work, provides plan sponsors with questions they should ask when reexamining their severance offerings, and suggests options for plan sponsors to consider in terms of optimizing their severance plan's cost control and certainty, tax savings and appropriate cost sharing with employees." (Buck Consultants)

'It's Good to Be the King!'—CEO Pay Is 231 Times Pay of Average Worker
"From 1978-2011, CEO compensation grew more than 725 percent, substantially more than the stock market and remarkably more than the annual compensation of a typical private-sector worker, which grew a meager 5.7 percent." (Economic Policy Institute)

Tegrit Group CEO, Michael M. Spikcard is Named to Board of Directors of Cobalt Community Research
(Tegrit Group)

Cedar Brook Financial Partners’ Barbara Baxter Celebrates 20th Anniversary
(Cedar Brook Financial Partners)

Integrated Retirement Supports Key Initiatives at Primerica
(Integrated Retirement)