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February 11, 2013          Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Client Service Representative
for Associated Pension Consultants in CA

Defined Benefit / Pension Administrator
for T.J. Pensions, Inc. in NY

Pension Administrator
for Martin Retirement Services, Inc. in DC, MD, VA

Sr. Benefits Specialist
for Wawa in PA

Client Success Specialist
for The Online 401(k) in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Third Party Administrator in NC

Client Data Lead/Director
for Prudential in CT, IA, NJ, PA

Defined Contribution Specialist
for United Retirement Plan Consultants in CA

Director of Retirement Plan Consulting
for MBG Retirement, Inc. in TX

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Webcasts and Conferences

Health Care Reform
in Texas on May 17, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Texas on May 16, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

HIPAA Privacy & Security
in Texas on May 16, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Texas on May 15, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Texas on May 15, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Cafeteria Plans
in Texas on May 14, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Affordable Care Act Compliance Workshop
in Oregon on February 22, 2013 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Helping Small Business Owners With New Retirement Plan Fee Disclosures Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2013 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Health Care Reform
in Illinois on June 7, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Illinois on June 6, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

HIPAA Privacy & Security
in Illinois on June 6, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Illinois on June 5, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Illinois on June 5, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Cafeteria Plans
in Illinois on June 4, 2013 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

View All Webcasts and Conferences


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[Official Guidance]

VCP Submission Kit for 403(b) Plan Sponsors Who Missed December 31, 2009 Deadline to Adopt Written Plan Document (PDF)
"This kit was created to guide [a plan sponsor] through the steps in filing a submission for a VCP compliance statement. It includes instructions and a sample submission correctly completed. It is designed for use by eligible organizations that sponsor a 403(b) retirement plan but that failed to adopt a written plan document for the plan by December 31, 2009, as required." (Internal Revenue Service)


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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Issues Final Forms 8950 and 8951 for VCP Submissions, Posts Model Documents on Website
"The instructions to Form 8950 provide special instructions for orphan plans, group submissions, and anonymous submissions, offering welcome clarifications in those situations. The instructions also add some interesting gloss on some of the requirements of Revenue Procedure 2013-12, including an example about withdrawn determination letters that calls attention to a situation that may make a plan ineligible for VCP under the procedure's broad definition of what it means to be 'under examination.'" (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

EBSA Clears Way for Pension Fund Swaps Use
"Pension executives also were relieved to read EBSA's opinion, which stated, 'It does not appear that Congress contemplated that (clearing members) would act as ERISA fiduciaries with respect to plan customers. The swaps regulations ... similarly do not envision' that." (Pensions & Investments)

Men More Confident About Retirement Planning Than Are Women
"Significantly more men (45 percent) responded they were either 'confident' or 'very confident' when asked if they believe they will be able to retire and maintain their current lifestyle. Only 33 percent of women gave the same responses. In contrast, 44 percent of women and 36 percent of men say they're 'not sure.'" (OneAmerica)

Hedge Fund Manager Looking to Shake Up Governmental Pension Plans in Kentucky
"[Laura and John Arnold] realized that as state and local budgets were forced to spend more covering pension debts the less money their would be in civic coffers for their other concerns -- the so-called crowd-out effect.... The Arnold Foundation aims to tackle pension reform in two principal ways. The first, says [the foundation's vice president for public accountability] is to 'engage in a research agenda that would highlight success stories and wins on pension reform, and knock down stumbling blocks to reform.' The second, and more controversial, is to provide education and technical assistance to those seeking to reform public pension funds; often this means advising and assisting state legislatures." (Institutional Investor)

The Unstable Definition of 'Stable Value'
"I [Robert Toth] know of no common investment used by retirement plans that is less well defined than the term 'stable value fund.' Investment companies, insurance companies, financial advisors, and others all seem to define them a bit differently. They can be found in mutual funds, collective trusts and in group annuity contracts. They can also be 'synthetic' in nature, with investment managers cobbling together 'stable value funds' within a plan consisting of a number of different investment funds otherwise available under the plan." (Business of Benefits)

Small-Plan Sponsors Hesitate on Fee Disclosure Rule
"[F]or smaller employers, retirement plan advisers are realizing the mandated fee disclosure isn't leading to the bonanza of changes for which they had hoped. The hesitation by small-plan sponsors to take recommendations and make adjustments to their arrangements has led some financial advisers to worry about their fiduciary liability." (Investment News; free registration required)

Target Date Fund Assets Continue Ascent
"Target maturity funds picked up more than $13 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, bringing the industry's total assets to some $485 billion, a 29% increase from a year ago ... [S]ince the beginning of 2000, the average annual growth of target maturity fund assets has been 43% year-over-year. The growth rate for 2012 (year-over-year) was 29%[.]" (Financial Planning)

Annual IRA Rollovers to Surpass $450B by 2017
"Assets in 401(k) plans totaled $3.1 trillion in 2011 ... IRA assets reached nearly $5 trillion by the end of 2011 and rollover contributions were more than $300 billion. Both of these totals will increase over the next five years as Baby Boomers enter retirement." (PLANADVISER.com)

Employers Prepare to Add Roth Features to 401(k) Plans
"While almost half (49 percent) of respondents [to a recent survey] currently offer no Roth option, 29 percent of those that don't offer a Roth said they were very or somewhat likely to add this feature in the next 12 months. Of those new adopters, more than three-quarters (76 percent) will add both Roth contribution and in-plan conversion features." (Society for Human Resource Management)

Digital Divide: Generations Differ in Retirement Planning
"More than 60 percent of U.S. retirement plan participants younger than age 40 said they found online retirement calculators most helpful. This compares to 51 percent of participants ages 41 to 50 and 41 percent of those over 50. In contrast, 67 percent of those over 50 found articles most helpful, compared to 45 percent of those ages 20 to 30." (Society for Human Resource Management)

[Opinion]

Deflecting Blame for Investment Stumbles
"While there's much to criticize in S&P's unrealistically rosy ratings of 'structured investment vehicles,' it's unreasonable to blame S&P for the mistakes of the two giant pension funds. These funds are among the most influential, powerful and sophisticated investors in the nation, and they would have us believe that they were somehow conned into making poor choices." (Orange County Register)

[Opinion]

Pennsylvania Short-Term Pension 'Fix' Could Add to Long-Term Problems
"By scaling back increases in pension contributions from the state and Pennsylvania's school districts, the Republican governor expects savings of $175 million in fiscal 2014, helping to ease immediate financial pressures for the budget that must be approved by June 30. But that would widen the public pension gap." (Reuters, via The New York Times; free registration required)

[Opinion]

Why Municipal Pension Systems Are a Terrible Idea
"Pension systems are complicated, and overseeing them properly takes time and expertise. This is a heavy lift for municipalities overseeing small pension plans.... This lack of attention has meant that local plans are much more likely than statewide plans to have become deeply underfunded." (Bloomberg)

[Opinion]

Revoking the Federal Free Pass on State and Local Pension Plans
"Congress today is ignoring a gathering financial tsunami -- the unaffordable pension promises of state and local governments. Consider California, where just 10 individual pensioners will cash $50 million in pension checks from state and local governments over the next 25 years.... The good news: While the federal government isn't technically responsible for these pension debts, Congress could enact tough reform legislation to protect taxpayers and prevent further abuses." (Reason Foundation, via FlashReport)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Trucker Huss Benefits Report, January 2013 (PDF)
Article in this issue: IRS Finalizes Guidance on Fees to Fund Comparative Effectiveness under PPACA; Resolutions for Effective Plan Governance; Notice of Exchange Deadline Delayed. (Trucker Huss)

Milliman Monthly Benefit News and Developments, February 2013 (PDF)
Articles include: Legislative Activity; Regulatory Roundup. (Milliman)

Press Releases

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

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