Senior Tax Qualified Plans Specialist
for New York Life Insurance Company - Investments Group in NY

Benefits Assistant
for Arnold & Porter LLP in DC

Benefits Analyst
for Genuine Parts Company in GA

Defined Benefit Pension Analyst
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc. in RI

Retirement Plan Consulting, Administration & Design
for Retirement Plan Design, Consulting and Administration Business in CT, NY

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

COBRA, HIPAA, Affordable Care Act Compliance Webcast
Nationwide on September 6, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

COBRA, HIPAA, Affordable Care Act Compliance Webcast
Nationwide on September 7, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

COBRA, HIPAA, Affordable Care Act Compliance Webcast
Nationwide on September 5, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Gateway St. Louis ASPPA Benefits Council - Legislative and Regulatory Update
in Missouri on September 19, 2012 presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Greater St. Louis

 

California Lawmakers OK Nation's First State-Run Retirement Plan for Private Sector Employees
"Democratic lawmakers on Friday approved a bill that would create the nation's first state-run retirement program for private-sector workers over the objection of Republicans who said it creates a new liability for taxpayers.... [T]he program directs employers to withhold 3 percent of their workers' pay unless the employee opts out of the savings program. It would be administered by a seven-member board chaired by the state treasurer." (Silicon Valley MercuryNews)

[Advert.]

DATAIR! New Features – Flexible Pricing – Module Integration

Proposals, Testing, Administration, 5500s, 1099Rs, Plan Documents
401(k), New Comparability, 403(b), Non-qualified Plans
(888) 328-2474    Sales@DATAIR.com    www.DATAIR.com

California Lawmakers Pass Broadest Public Pension Cuts in State's History
"The overhaul, which may save taxpayers as much as $55 billion over 30 years, would require new employees to pay half the cost of their benefits and work longer before they can retire. It also reduces formulas for calculating benefits and caps pension payments." (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

Link to Actuarial Cost Analysis by CalPERS of California Pension Reform Legislation Passed on Friday, Aug. 31
"The California Public Employees' Retirement System [on Aug. 31] released an Actuarial Cost Analysis of the ... Public Employee Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013.... CalPERS estimates the proposed legislation will save between $42 billion and $55 billion over 30 years for CalPERS administered pension plans.... CalPERS provides retirement benefits to 1.6 million State, public school, and local public agency employees, retirees, and their families, and health benefits to more than 1.3 million members." (California Public Employees' Retirement System)

California Pension Reform Allows Cities to Bypass Bargaining
"Pension reform approved by the Legislature last week gives many cities new cost-cutting power that some have been unable to win from public employee unions at the bargaining table. The legislation does not cover a quarter of California cities, 121 of 482, that operate under their own charters rather than general law. Among them are several with well-publicized pension problems: Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and San Jose. But for most cities the legislation extends retirement ages, caps pensions and gives new hires a lower pension by imposing a single formula (rolling back increases after SB 400) instead of allowing bargaining on a menu of different formulas." (CalPensions)

Public Pension Plans Brace for Legal Challenges to Cuts
"Right now, all eyes are on New Jersey and Rhode Island, where legal challenges to dramatic pension reforms affecting current workers await decisions by the states' supreme courts. Similar cases also have been filed by employee groups in Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire, challenging benefit changes that include greater employee contributions, higher retirement ages or lower pension multipliers." (Pensions & Investments)

California Beating Illinois Shows Pension-Gap Cost: Muni Credit
"California debt is beating Illinois bonds by the most in three months as investors choosing between the two lowest-rated U.S. states reward efforts to bolster the finances of the nation's biggest pension. Illinois lawmakers failed to advance any measures in a special session Aug. 17 aimed at addressing the nation's worst-funded pensions. Standard & Poor's last week cut the state's credit one level to A, sixth highest. That's one step above California, where the Legislature passed a plan last week that is projected to curb pension liabilities by as much as $55 billion." (Bloomberg)

California Pension Reform
"Lots of people throughout the United States are watching and hoping that change occurs quickly. Plan participants want assurances about promises made. Taxpayers are groaning about possible hikes to cover what they describe as employee benefit plan largesse. Municipal bond investors are nervous about defaults." (Pension Risk Matters)

The Rules of Retirement for Women
"For women heading toward retirement, there's good news and bad news. The good news is they're likely to be blessed with long life. The bad news: They may not be able to afford it.... Despite the increase in women's workforce-participation rates over the past two decades, the poverty rate in 2010 for women 65 and older was 9%—nearly twice the rate for men, at 5%. And while 6% of widowers lived in poverty, 12% of widows were poor." (Reuters)

New 401(k) Disclosure Regulations Could Cause a Stir in November
"So far, the Department of Labor's new rule requiring 401(k) plan sponsors to distribute fee-disclosure statements to plan participants hasn't had much impact, experts say.... Disclosures by early adopters have produced a 'collective yawn' from employees ... But plan participants may not be so apathetic after November 14, when they start receiving their statements for the previous quarter. That's when they will find out how much in administrative fees is being deducted from their accounts in terms of dollars and cents." (CFO)

Bankruptcy Saves Tiny Rhode Island City, But Leaves Scars
"Central Falls, in Rhode Island, is close to emerging from bankruptcy with a plan that hammers its retired municipal employees but leaves bondholders unscathed, in a contrast with other recent U.S. municipal bankruptcies.... The smallest city in Rhode Island and the only one ever to file for bankruptcy will emerge with powerless elected officials, property owners facing tax hikes every year and retired public employees irate about having their pensions slashed." (Reuters)

Phased Retirement Poised to Become More Common in Washington, D.C. Region
"Phased retirement could be on the cusp of becoming more common in the Washington region. Congress passed legislation in July that will allow many federal workers to notch down to part-time hours and receive a pro-rated salary and annuity. And experts say that move could lead other workplaces to follow suit, because businesses and organizations in the area feel pressure to match the government's benefit offerings so they can better compete for the most talented workers." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

How a Plan to Help Stockton Fund Pensions Backfired
"Financial analysts and actuaries say essentially the same pitch that swayed Stockton has been made thousands of times to local governments all over the country—and that many of them were drawn into deals that have since cost them dearly.... The basic premise of all pension obligation bonds is that a municipality can borrow at a lower rate of interest than the rate its pension fund assumes its assets will earn on average over the long term. Critics contend that municipalities that try this are in essence borrowing money and betting it on the stock market, through their pension funds. The interest on pension obligation bonds is not tax-exempt for this reason. " (The New York Times; free registration required)

Advisers Fail Social Security Benefits Quiz
"Most financial advisers consider it an important part of their job to educate their clients about how Social Security benefits fit into their retirement income plan. But some inadvertently may be hurting their female clients because they don't understand fully how claiming decisions affect survivor benefits. Bad claiming decisions doom many women to poverty in old age." (Investment News; free registration required)

When Duty Clashes with Public Policy
"Almost all states have constitutional, statutory or common-law protections for public pensions. However, as state and local governments struggle, protections are being changed or tested through state-level legislative initiatives. Legislation introduced in Michigan is an interesting case study.... Under Michigan law, a municipality must have voter approval to withdraw from [the Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Michigan (MERS)]. Bills introduced in June in both houses of the Michigan Legislature would permit an exit from MERS with approval by a majority of the municipality's governing body rather than of voters." (Investment News; free registration required)

Judge Orders Plan Sponsor to Restore $2.7 Million to Worker Retirement Plan Following DOL Investigation
"[A] federal court has issued a default judgment against Elmhurst-based A.B.D. Tank & Pump Co. to restore $2,767,051 to the company's retirement plan.... [T]he company's president and sole owner, allegedly depleted the assets of the plan through a series of withdrawals and transfers to himself and the company from Dec. 6, 2006, through Nov. 4, 2010, in violation of [ERISA].... The court order requires [the company] to restore all losses, including lost opportunity costs, to the retirement plan ... The complaint against [the company owner] remains pending." (U.S. Department of Labor)

'Overstating' the Requirement of 404(a)(5) Disclosure to Non-Electing Participants: It's a Question of When, not If...
"A number of friends, and other commentators, had suggested [that the author] was perhaps 'overstating' the position ... regarding the delivery of 404(a)(5) notices to non-electing participants in an elective deferral plan.... [The author] stated that 'the mere eligibility to make a deferral into an individual account plan doesn't trigger the right to the 404(a)(5) disclosures.' That is the error. The 'mere eligibility' does trigger the right to the 404(a)(5) disclosure, without question. The real question ... is 'when'." (Business of Benefits)

Louisiana Municipal Police Pension Fund Sues J.P. Morgan Chase Over Foreign Exchange Trading
"The $1.4 billion Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System ... filed a lawsuit in federal court against J.P. Morgan Chase, accusing the bank of manipulating clients' foreign-exchange transactions for its own benefit. The suit ... claims J.P. Morgan Chase took advantage of investors by causing them to pay what were often the worst currency rates available on a given trading day." (Pensions & Investments)

Can You Really Count on Your Pension?
"Back in the good old days, we used to say that a secure retirement was a three legged stool; One leg was Social Security, one was your savings, and one was your pension. Private employers spent the last couple of decades sawing away at the pension leg. Now state and local governments are hacking at it too ... As a result, hopes for a nice retirement are getting wobbly for millions of Americans. They can wonder if they'll actually get the pension they were promised." (STLtoday.com)

Five Steps to Better Retirement Plan Fiduciary Compliance
"Here's a list of five areas to review to ensure you're meeting your fiduciary responsibilities: 1. Confirm you're sharing all required information with your plan participants.... 2. Make sure the investment committee meets regularly to discuss items relevant to the plan.... 3. Have documentation, including minutes, of all meetings.... 4. Follow the proper procedures when making decisions about the plan. ... 5. Monitor costs." (Employee Benefit News)

[Opinion]

Are Pensions Gambling On Hunger?
"[A]s more and more pension funds invest in active commodity funds, these flows are causing wild gyrations in many commodity prices. It's not just 'hedging for farmers' as Barclays claims, there is a great deal of speculation going on." (Pension Pulse)

[Opinion]

California Pension Reform Savings Too Puny
"The pension reform agreement reached last week between Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic-controlled Legislature was at best a modest step in the right direction but does little to avert the looming disaster of a $500 billion unfunded obligation that ultimately will fall on California taxpayers. As the Register reported, the deal 'may save a lot of money for your grandchildren. For you, not so much.'" (Orange County Register)

[Opinion]

Go Ahead, Make Our Pensions Disappear?
"[T]here are many reasons behind the funding shortfalls at public plans, chief among them is that governments neglected to top up these plans in the good years, erroneously believing that investment gains alone would do the magic. Now that they're confronted with the economic reality of low rates, low returns, everyone is clamoring to find ways to obtain the required rate of return, moving into alternative investments that haven't delivered anything close to what they were suppose to. The situation isn't hopeless but it's depressing watching the pension herd repeat the same mistakes over and over again[.]" (Pension Pulse)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments to ERISA Advisory Council on Beneficiary Designations in Retirement Plans (PDF)
"As organizations that represent consumers and women, we are generally concerned with the potential impact that electronic communications by retirement plan sponsors can have upon vulnerable populations and upon beneficiaries, including spouses ... Although we understand that electronic communications is not the focus of the Council's study, we believe that increased reliance on electronic technology for beneficiary designations and spousal consent could cause harm to those spouses and beneficiaries who are protected by the law." (Pension Rights Center and National Women's Law Center)

Yes, Some Employers Do Provide Generous Employee Benefits
"Plenty of employers say workers are their most valuable asset. But when times get tough, companies look first to cutting their largest expenses, which are often employee benefits.... Why do some [employers] make a bigger commitment to employees' financial security than others?... What they have in common ... is a commitment from top management to make benefits a priority. And when times get tough ... these employers look for other ways to rein in costs, such as slowing the pace of hiring or not filling empty positions, before cutting benefits. They also involve workers in these decisions[.]" (Baltimore Sun)

Benefits Manager Who Lacked Discretionary Authority Is Not ERISA Fiduciary
"The [Second Circuit] rejected [the participant's] argument that [a mid-level benefits manager] was a fiduciary because [the manager] determined [the participant's] benefits and communicated the information to him. Applying eligibility rules, the court held, is a ministerial function. Although a fiduciary's responsibilities may include communicating plan information, the court noted, it held that the mere act of doing so is not sufficient to confer fiduciary status." [Tocker v. Kraft Foods N. Am., Inc. Ret. Plan, No. 11-2445-cv (2d Cir. Aug. 29, 2012).] (Practical Law Company)

Insufficient Delegation of Discretionary Authority Affects Standard of Judicial Review
"Although the benefit denials in both cases were upheld, these rulings should nevertheless remind plan administrators of the importance of plan language. In order to increase the likelihood of deferential review by a court, the plan must provide discretionary authority to parties making final benefit decisions, and any delegation of such authority must be duly authorized pursuant to the terms of the plan." [Aschermann v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 2012 WL 3090291 (7th Cir. 2012); Decovich v. Venetian Casino Resort LLC, 2012 WL 3096696 (D. Nev. 2012)] (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Proposed Regulations Clarify the 50% Entertainment Limit for Expense Reimbursement Arrangements (PDF)
"The proposed Regulations clarify who is subject to the 50% deduction limit when multiple parties are involved, as only one party is subject to the limit[.]" (Groom Law Group)

Security Benefit Sounds Alarm On Impact Of New 401(k) Fee Disclosure Rules
Security Benefit

Cedar Brook Financial Partners Welcomes Certified Financial Planner® Andrew Denis As Partner
Cedar Brook Financial Partners