EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com logo BenefitsLink.com logo

BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter

October 4, 2012 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Installation Coordinator
for Ascensus in PA

Director, Employee Benefit Services
for e3 Financial in CA

Attorney
for Hill Ward Henderson in FL

Compliance Testing and Form 5500 Analyst
for OneAmerica Financial Partners in IN

Defined Benefit Pension Plan Administrator
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc. in ANY STATE

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


Webcasts and Conferences

SBCs for Employer Health Plans Revisited: Compliance for Major Medical, HRAs, and Other Plans
Nationwide on October 24, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Advanced COBRA: Top Compliance and Litigation Traps
Nationwide on September 27, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Health Care Reform Fees for Employers and Insurers: Understanding PCOR, Reinsurance, and Health Insurer Fees
Nationwide on October 30, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Economic Outlook and the Impact of the Upcoming Presidential Election
in California on October 16, 2012 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Council - San Diego Chapter

"ERISA Workshop 2012" - Portland
in Oregon on November 1, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2012" - San Francisco
in California on November 2, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius

Choosing A Retirement Solution For Your Small Business Workshop
in Rhode Island on November 7, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)


We also publish the BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter (free): Subscribe

 

Communicating a Redesigned Retirement Plan (PDF)
"Even the most effective plan design can have limited success when the communication of the newly designed plan is not properly planned and implemented among all affected audiences.... A true communication strategy today often uses a mix of traditional tools and new technologies to deliver consistent messages to employees and affect their behavior, ensuring that all the aspects of plan design and implementation work together for the benefit of employer and employee alike." (ISCEBS Benefits Quarterly)


[Advert.]

Enroll in November APA/APR Exams by October 15

Sponsored by NIPA (National Institute of Pension Administrators)

Take your career to the next level with APA/APR designations. Professionals with an ERPA designation automatically receive the APR designation upon joining NIPA and are eligible to obtain the APA by taking a comprehensive online exam.
Enroll today.


ETF Investor Study: Usage and Perceptions Among Retail Investors.
"Key Findings: Eighty-one percent of individual investors surveyed ... say ETFs are here to stay.... Cost is the most important factor in selecting ETFs.... Overall understanding of ETFs remains elementary.... The expense ratio is the most important cost.... Investor knowledge of ETFs is improving." (Schwab)

Corporate DB Funding at 70% in Q3
"The typical corporate defined benefit plan ended the third quarter at around 70% funded, a modest decrease from the previous quarter ... Despite global equities returning about 7% for the quarter, the discount rate fell 25 basis points to 4.15%, resulting in a 6% increase in pension liabilities. Equity markets have been up more than 15% year-to-date Sept. 30, but the funded status has actually fallen by one or two percentage points[.]" (Pensions & Investments)

Funded Status of U.S. Corporate Pensions Rises for Second Straight Month to 75 Percent
"The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan in September increased 1.8 percentage points to 75 percent as stock markets continued to rally ... This was the first time since February that the funded status of these plans improved for two months in a row ... Assets for the typical plan increased 1.7 percent as stock markets in the U.S. and around the world continued to rally ... Year to date, the funded status of the typical U.S. corporate plan is down 0.3 percentage points[.]" (BNY Mellon)

Benchmark-Provider Changes Can Benefit Index Investors
"Vanguard's announcement that 22 index funds will transition to different benchmarks may prompt index investors to ask two important questions: What are key factors to consider in evaluating different benchmark providers? What are the most important differences among the leading providers?... [A] growing consensus among providers behind a set of industry best practices has helped to answer these questions and define how these approaches can benefit index equity investors." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)


[Advert.]

Learn, Network and Sell at the SPARK Forum Retirement Industry Conference

Sponsored by SPARK

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


Today's Plan for Tomorrow's Retirees: Are We Building DC Plans That Measure Up?
"Fifty-six percent of companies report a participation rate of 80% or higher, compared to 50% reporting these participation rates in 2010.... Seventy-four percent of employers report they offer their DC plan to provide adequate retirement income. But when asked for the top issues driving plan design, workers' ability to retire came in fifth.... About one-quarter (24%) of employers now make non-matching contributions.... Only 6% of respondents currently offer a lifetime income distribution option." (Towers Watson)

The Case for Target Benefit Plans in Canada
"[O]nly a relatively small number of Canadians (24 percent) are covered by traditional employer-sponsored plans. Managing the investment, interest-rate and longevity risk associated with saving for retirement is exceptionally challenging for individuals. Employers are moving away from traditional DB plans because of risk, regulatory burdens and uncertainty of ownership of surplus plan assets associated with defined benefit plans." (The Segal Company)

Canada's DB Pension Plans' Solvency Funding Inching Upwards in Third Quarter of 2012
"Strong equity returns were the main reasons for the slight improvement in the financial status of pension plans in the third quarter of 2012, according to Aon Hewitt, the global human resource solutions business of Aon plc. The median solvency funded ratio of a large sample of pension plans has increased from 66% at the end of June 2012 to 68% at the end of September 2012." (Aon Hewitt)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on its Discussion Draft, 'Assessment and Disclosure of Risk Associated with Pension Obligations, Plan Costs, and Plan Contributions' (PDF)
"[T]here is substantial uncertainty involved in most retirement plan calculations due to the broad array of assumptions that are made, almost none of which are certain to be borne out. Taking at least some steps to ensure that the users of an actuarial work product are aware of the uncertainty involved is certainly advisable. The key decision, however, is how much additional work can be required of actuaries in performing substantially all actuarial assignments." (American Academy of Actuaries)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments to Moody's Regarding Proposed Adjustments to Public Pension Plan Data (PDF)
"The reported actuarial results under GASB's standards are not necessarily appropriate as a basis for other purposes, such as Moody's comparing pensions and other incurred debt.... [T]he margin for error in the adjustments proposed by Moody's, which starts with information prepared for a different purpose, could be substantial and could result in misleading, confusing or inappropriate information presented to the public." (American Academy of Actuaries)

[Opinion]

Everyone Into the Pool: Why Advisers Should Root for Small Biz 401(k) Reforms
"Although 90% or more of large employers offer 401(k) plans, only about a third of small employers do.... The biggest stumbling blocks are cost, administrative hassles and fiduciary responsibility ... But think what would happen if groups of small businesses could band together in a model 401(k) plan that is already approved by the IRS, one that offers low-cost, professional investment management and shifts the fiduciary responsibility from the plan sponsor to the plan administrator." (Investment News; free registration required)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

NYSE Amends Proposed Rules on Independence of Compensation Committee Advisers
"The amendment accelerates the effectiveness of the requirements relating only to compensation committee oversight, which were originally scheduled to be effective by (a) the first annual meeting after January 15, 2014, or (b) October 31, 2014—July 1, 2013. This means that any necessary committee charter amendments will need to be in place a bit earlier than we thought last week. (NASDAQ's proposed rules already provided for earlier effective dates.)" (Winston & Strawn LLP)

NYSE Corrects Effective Dates for Compliance with New Compensation Committee and Compensation Adviser Independence Standards
"The amended proposed listing standards clarify that, subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission, compliance with the provisions relating to compensation adviser access and compensation adviser independence will be required effective July 1, 2013, but that compliance with the provisions relating to the independence of compensation committee members will not be required until the earlier of the first annual meeting after January 15, 2014, or October 31, 2014." (Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP)

Text of DOL Inspector General Report: Changes Are Still Needed in the ERISA Audit Process to Increase Protections for Employee Benefit Plan Participants (PDF)
"Despite EBSA's significant efforts to improve oversight and audit quality, protections and assurances have decreased over time for participants and beneficiaries.... The percentage of plans electing limited scope audits has grown from about 46 percent in 1987 to approximately 70 percent in 2010.... While the use of limited scope audits is a major obstacle in providing audit protections for plan participants, EBSA could have done more within the existing law to improve audit quality.... We recommended the Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security continue to seek repeal of the limited scope audit exemption and obtain authority over plan auditors. We also recommended that in the interim, EBSA: (1) use existing authority to clarify and strengthen limited scope audit regulations and evaluate the ERISA Council recommendations, (2) make better use of available enforcement tools over IQPAs, (3) improve procedures in audit quality reviews, and (4) perform a reassessment of audit quality." (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General)

Text of EBSA Response to Inspector General Performance Audit (PDF)
"[EBSA has been and continues to be] concerned about what appears to be failures among some plan auditors to comply with their professional standards and with ERISA's reporting and disclosure requirements.... [EBSA has] long advocated statutory reform because several statutory provisions of ERISA limit the Secretary's ability to combat audit quality deficiencies.... EBSA continually evaluates the effectiveness of its existing regulations and the appropriateness of amendments to them.... EBSA has a comparatively small enforcement staff relative to the size of the employee benefit universe ... The agency continues to work diligently to assess audit quality within all segments of the IQPA population as a part of its multi-tiered inspection program." (Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Ohio District Court Holds That Wisconsin FMLA Substitution Law Is ERISA-Preempted
"[The Wisconsin] FMLA's substitution provision permitted employees to substitute 'paid or unpaid leave of any other type provided by the employer' for portions of family leave or medical leave.... [The court] determined that WFMLA's substitution provision, to the extent it is used to require payment of STD plan benefits, is expressly preempted under ERISA Section 514(a) and conflict preempted due to its interference with ERISA Section 502(a)'s civil enforcement provisions." (Bloomberg BNA)

Bill Would Require Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy
"The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ... is modeled after the ADA and borrows some of its language.... [It] would require employers to 'make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of a job applicant or employee, unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of such covered entity.' Employers also wouldn't be able to force pregnant employees to take leave, if another accommodation was available." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

Employer Sued for Failing to Return Employee to Equivalent Position After FMLA Ended
"[E]mployers often get into trouble when they don't fully consider how the duties of the new position will be viewed by the employee in terms of prestige, authority and especially earning potential. One common example is a sales position.... Selling a different trinket, or assigning them to different accounts that arguably provide for less earning potential or cause them to work with 'lower profile' clients in your industry may very well be enough ... to create genuine risk of a viable FMLA interference or retaliation claim." (FMLA Insights)

Press Releases



BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151

Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager

Copyright © 2012 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. but feel free to forward this newsletter if done without modification in any way.

All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Links to Web sites other than those owned by BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

Useful links: