ASPPA

401k Plan Administrator - Account Manager
for CPS Inc. in ANY STATE

Senior Pension Account Representative
for American National Insurance Company in TX

Senior Team Leader - DC Relationship Management
for Trinity Pension Consultants in OH

Pension Administrator
for Jack A. Cross & Associates, Inc. in CA

eProduct Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services in MA

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Completing the Schedule SB Webcast
Nationwide on July 10, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Opportunity Knocks – Cash Balance Plans Webcast
Nationwide on July 12, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Open MEPs: Life after the DOL Advisory Opinion Webcast
Nationwide on July 19, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Live FutureOffice Network Smartcast - Creating a Culture of Well-Being: Servant Leadership
Nationwide on June 21, 2012 presented by Davidson Marketing Group -- FutureOffice Network

ACOPA Actuarial Symposium
in Illinois on August 10, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Financial Groups Fighting to Stop Proposed California Government-Run Pension for Private Employers
"Industry groups are fighting a proposal pending in the California State Assembly that would set up a state-authorized pension plan for private employees. In the latest development, the Financial Services Institute Inc. on Monday issued a call to action to members in California asking them to oppose the bill. The legislation 'would force employers with five or more employees to automatically enroll [in the state plan] if they don't provide a workplace savings plan,' [said an] FSI spokesman[.]" (Investment News)

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San Diego Voter-Approved Pension Initiative Under Scrutiny in Appeals Court
"A state appeals court on Tuesday called into question the validity of cutbacks in San Diego employee pensions approved by the city's voters two weeks ago, ordering a hearing before a state labor board on whether the initiative was a collusive city-engineered effort designed to avoid union negotiations. State law requires local governments to meet and confer with labor unions before enacting measures that affect union members' rights. San Diego officials conducted no such negotiations before the passage of the pension measure, Proposition B, because it was placed on the ballot as an initiative, with 116,000 signatures." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Proposed Pension Funding Stabilization: How Does It Affect The Single-Employer Defined Benefit System? (PDF)
"The Pension Funding Stabilization provisions of the Senate transportation bill would effectively prescribe a pattern of valuation interest rates for the next several years, with a significant increase in 2012 rates followed by declines in subsequent years.... The predictability of contribution requirements would show some improvement in the short term but little improvement in the long term, because the funding stabilization provisions do not address non-interest-rate sources of volatility and are less likely to affect valuation rates in the future. The prescribed rates would mask market-related changes in funded status for several years. For example, funded statuses in 2013 and 2014 would likely not be materially affected by increases or decreases in interest rates from today's levels. The solvency of plans would decline in the short term due to lower contributions, and would eventually return to the levels expected under current law as contributions increase." (Society of Actuaries)

Pension Plan Derisking Enters Its Dynamic Era
"Faced with the volatility of equity markets, declining interest rates and rising pension deficits, U.S. corporations are exiting the business of providing and investing defined benefit pension plans. By now, fully one-third of S&P 500 companies have no defined benefit plan liabilities at all." (Pensions & Investments)

Statement of U.S. Rep. David Roe, Chairman of HELP Subcommittee, at Hearing on 'Assessing the Challenges Facing Multiemployer Pension Plans'
"While some plans have made responsible decisions to help ensure their long-term success, an aging workforce, weak economy, investment losses, and unsustainable promises are placing a great deal of strain on the multiemployer pension system.... A number of provisions in existing law are set to expire in 2014, which means Congress will need to take action once again to help address the shortfalls of the multiemployer pension system. While some pension plans are financially sound and prepared to meet their obligations, it is becoming increasingly clear the depth and breadth of the challenges facing the system will demand significant reform." (U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions)

A False Objection to Public Pension Reform: 'GASB Won't Let Me'
"The public pension fund industry and its allies (public employee unions, money managers and some consulting actuaries) claim that closing an old DB plan and enrolling new employees in alternative plans requires an acceleration of payments to amortize the old plan's unfunded liability. This creates unpalatable transition costs, raising employer contributions in the short run. Most commonly, the argument rests on an accounting rule of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board." (Pensions & Investments)

Maine State Retirement System Will Need Less State Money in Next Budget
"State retirement system officials have told the Legislature ... they will need from $70 mil.lion to $80 mil.lion less than expected to meet pension obligations in the next two-year budget that begins July 1. Improvements in the stock market raised the value of the pension system's investments, while changes made to the system by the Legislature have reduced pension costs." (Bangor Daily News)

Transfer of Pension Risk to External Parties Is Global Trend
"Mercer's Global Head of DB Risk and Senior Partner, Frank Oldham [said:] 'The market for transferring pension risk away from plan sponsors has developed significantly in the UK in recent years with the number, size and sophistication of these deals all moving on in leaps and bounds. Other European countries, particularly the Netherlands and Ireland, are also starting to see more activity and interest in this area and so it was therefore just a matter of time before these developments transferred to a latent US market.'" (Mercer)

J.D. Power 2012 U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction Study
"Although self-directed investors' overall satisfaction with their investment firm has improved from 2011, satisfaction with trading charges and fees has decreased for a second consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction StudySM" (J.D. Power and Associates)

Illinois Adds Actuary Post to Oversee State Pension Funds
"Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation creating the position of a state actuary to oversee the five state-funded pension systems ... Meanwhile, Mr. Quinn continues to work with legislators on pension reform. The state-funded retirement systems have a combined unfunded liability of $83 bil.lion." (Pensions & Investments)

Older Americans' Ambivalence Toward Annuities
"The [AARP] survey found that annuities are more popular than many observers have thought. In addition to participants receiving an annuity automatically from their DB plan, 30 percent of workers and 41 percent of retirees planned to choose or had actively chosen a life or other type of annuity. Older workers who could not or would not choose an annuity expressed moderate interest in a more flexible arrangement, such as partial annuitization, gradual annuitization, or a trial arrangement. Retirees were less interested." (AARP)

3% Deferral Rate for 401(k)s Not Nearly Enough for Retirement Readiness
"While plan sponsors are nudging their participants toward retirement safety through the use of auto-enrollment in a 401(k) plan, such basic steps alone are insufficient when it comes to preparing for success in retirement.... Instead of measuring retirement readiness through the number of people enrolled in a plan, plan sponsors should weigh their success by determining how many workers are on track to replace their income in retirement[.]" (Investment News; free registration required)

How Much Longer Do Americans Need to Work? (PDF)
"The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) measures the share of American households 'at risk' of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement. The NRRI is determined by comparing households' projected replacement rates—retirement income as a percentage of pre-retirement income—with target rates that would allow them to maintain their living standards.... [In] the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, 51 percent of today's working households are at risk. But a key assumption of the NRRI is that people retire at age 65.... This brief adapts the NRRI calculations to address the question: At what age would the vast majority of households be ready to retire?" (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Puerto Rico Retirement Plans: Issues Employers Should Think About in 2012
"[At the linked article] is a list of the primary compliance issues that U.S. employers should consider in 2012 if they maintain tax-qualified retirement plans with Puerto Rico employees—both dual-qualified (i.e., plans qualified under both the U.S. and Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Codes) and Puerto Rico-only qualified retirement plans." (McDermott Will & Emery)

Are Pension COLA Reductions a Breach of Contract, or Are They Necessary Flexibility?
"Recent reductions in retiree COLAs for several state and local government pension plans have brought legal challenges. The following paragraphs briefly examine how legal protections for COLAs differ in private sector and public sector pension plans. Recent cases offer less protection to public pension COLAs than previous cases, yet public pension COLAs still exist. In contrast, private plan COLAs have are rare, perhaps due to legal restrictions. Is a COLA that may be reduced better than none?" (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)

How One CEO Used Teamwork to Accomplish a Complete Fiduciary Strategy Overhaul (PDF)
"This leadership team discovered the true information gap that providers hold over plan sponsors, and the skill required to safely close this gap and act in the best interests of their employees. [This article describes] an increasingly pervasive fiduciary experience—an abrupt recognition that certain policies, vendors and expectations that have been the status quo are no longer in line with current fiduciary standards—and the subsequent renovation of fiduciary processes in order to fulfill a new age of stewardship and fiduciary responsibilities." (Roland|Criss)

[Opinion]

Five Things to Consider Before Cutting Public Employee Pension Benefits
"The message from voters about public pension plans is clear: They're ready to cut the retirement benefits of police, firefighters, teachers and other state and municipal workers.... But—before we continue swinging the axe—here are five things to keep in mind about public sector pensions ... Pensions aren't simply a gift from taxpayers ... Many workers don't get Social Security ... Pension underfunding isn't as bad as you think ... Pensions are more efficient than 401(k)s ... The retirement crisis is real." (Mark Miller, via Reuters)

[Opinion]

Democratic Legislators: You Need to 'Get It' About Public's Demand for State Employee Pension Reform
"The presumption for many decades was that civil servants and other workers on the public payroll enjoy more job security than most persons who work for private companies. There was little risk of them ever getting fired or laid off because unlike private businesses, governments could never go broke so long as they had the power to tax. The tradeoff for that was lower salaries for public employees than those in private companies, and lower pensions, too. Much of this equation has gone by the boards." (San Jose Mercury News)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by Associations Representing State and Local Government Plans and Sponsors to IRS on Proposed Regs Defining 'Governmental Plan' (PDF)
"Given the vast and varying legal constructs of state and local governments and their agencies/instrumentalities throughout the country, the impact of the proposed definitions and requirements will differ from state to state, and entity to entity. However, 'safe harbors,' grandfathering treatment, and transition requirements will be paramount to ensuring the administrability [sic] of all governmental plans going forward." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), with NAGDCA, NASRA, GFOA and NCTR)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by the American Benefits Council to SEC on Proposed Regulation of Money Market Funds (PDF)
"In 2010, the Commission enhanced the rules for money market funds to improve their liquidity and transparency. These reforms have generally been viewed as helpful and positive steps. We understand that the Commission is considering further, more significant, changes ... For example, concerns have been raised that the Commission may require either that a money market fund's NAV 'float' on a daily basis or that the fund would be required to hold back some percentage of an investor's shares as a 'liquidity fee' for 30 days when an investor redeems their shares. We believe these changes will alter the fundamental characteristics of money market funds, namely their stable pricing and full liquidity." (American Benefits Council)

UK Legislation to Give Shareholders Power Over Executive Pay
"The plans will strengthen the hand of shareholders who currently only have an advisory and non-binding vote on directors' remuneration.... The move follows measures to limit the level of banker's [sic] bonuses following the financial crisis and comes as the European Union considers similar proposals to boost shareholder control over director pay.... Shareholders, led by insurers and large pension funds, have become increasingly critical of what they regard as overgenerous pay for senior executives, especially where corporate performance has been disappointing." (Reuters)

More Companies Getting Serious About Compensation Risk Assessments
"Item 402(s) of Regulation S-K, issued by the [SEC] in December 2009, requires a company to assess whether its compensation policies and practices for all employees, including non-executive officers, are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the company. Item 407(h) ... requires disclosure of the company's board leadership structure and the reasons why the company believes that its board leadership structure is appropriate, including a description of the extent of the board's role in the risk oversight of the company, such as how the board administers its oversight function, and the effect that this has on the board's leadership structure. Because the SEC published [these] new rules ... in December 2009, too late to do much for the 2010 proxy statements, and 2010 saw promulgation of the Dodd-Frank Act, many companies never fully ramped-up their compliance efforts related to their executive compensation disclosure in the area of potential risks created by compensation plans." (Winston & Strawn LLP)

Providence R.I. Retirees to Vote on Proposed Pension COLA Freeze, Health Plan Restructuring
"Providence's retired police officers and firefighters start voting Tuesday on whether to accept a proposed settlement to keep the city out of bankrup.tcy by voluntarily reducing their pension and health benefits ... The retirees' ballots will be counted on Thursday ... If the retirees reject the deal, the lawsuit they filed challenging the city's attempt to move them to Medicare will move forward." (WPRI.com)

Impact of Federal Policies on an Aging Workforce with Disabilities
"This review of federal policy toward older workers with disabilities highlights the work disincentives built into the Social Security Disability Insur.ance (DI) system. For example, DI does not pay benefits or provide rehabilitation services until workers are fully disabled, by which time intervention is often too late to promote employment. Because partial benefits are unavailable, DI beneficiaries risk losing all cash benefits (and eventually Medicare coverage) by earning just a dollar more than the earnings limit, reducing the use of DI work supports. Rules governing Social Security retirement, Medicare, and phased retirement also discourage employment by older adults with disabilities." (Urban Institute)

Autism Legislation Database
This searchable database tracks autism legislation from the 2008 session to present. Search legislation by state, topic, status, primary sponsor, bill number or keyword. Updated June 18, 2012. (National Conference of State Legislatures)

Wasting Money: Plan Fees With Little Participant Success
(Unified Trust Company, NA)

Groom Law Group Expands its Government Experience and Capabilities: Five Attorneys Join the Firm
(Groom Law Group)

Patrick Alfano Joins MassMutual Retirement Services
(MassMutual Retirement Services)

Helping Third-Party Administrators Grow Profitable Businesses
(The Principal Financial Group)