Pensions & Investments

Pension Plan Loan / Distribution Clerk
Retirement, LLC - Series Two
in IL, OK, SD

Retirement Plan Consultant
Stalker and Associates
in PA

Retirement Plan Admin Dept Supervisor
MidAmerica Administrative & Retirement Solutions, Inc.
in FL

Relation Manager
John Hancock Financial Services
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
United Retirement Plan Consultants
in NJ, PA

401(k) Pension Administrator
Nicholas Pension Consultants
in CA

Pension Administrators
Progressive Washington, DC Firm
in DC

Manager, Benefits Consulting
Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA

Temporary Audit/ 401k Associate
Equity Trust Company
in OH

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Wellness Programs After Health Care Reform: Compliance Checkup for Employers and Advisors
February 26, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Affordable Care Act 101 Webinar
February 27, 2014 WEBCAST
(U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA))

Cafeteria Plans
April 8, 2014 in GA
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Health Care Reform for Employers: Now What?
April 30, 2014 in OH
(Lorman Education Services)

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2014-13: February 2014 Update for Weighted Average Interest Rates, Yield Curves, and Segment Rates (PDF)
"This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve (and the corresponding spot segment rates), ... the 24-month average segment rates[,] ... the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities ... as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008, the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate ... and the minimum present value segment rates ... as in effect for plan years beginning after 2007. These rates reflect certain changes implemented by [MAP-21]." (Internal Revenue Service)  

[Advert.]

Avoid Qualified Plan Compensation Errors!

The IRS identifies the use of incorrect compensation as one of the most common qualification errors in plans. Attend this IRS approved webcast February 20th to prevent problems down the road. Click here to sign up.

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming IRS Phone Forum, March 13, 2014: An Overview of the 2013 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification
"EP Technical Guidance will discuss the list of changes plan sponsors and practitioners must make to a plan before submitting determination letter applications beginning February 1, 2014 (Notice 2013-84). Cycle D filers (single employer individually designed defined contribution plans, single employer individually designed defined benefit plans and Internal Revenue Code Section 413 multiemployer plans) should use this list to determine if a plan has been updated for all current law. Please email [IRS] your questions by February 28, 2014." (Internal Revenue Service)  

Facing Criticism After Remarks, AOL Chief Reverses 401(k) Changes
"Tim Armstrong, the chief executive of AOL, did an about-face on Saturday, reversing an unpopular change in the media company's employee benefits program and apologizing for publicly singling out two families' health care issues as a cause of those changes. AOL had recently altered its 401(k) program, switching its matching payments to one lump sum at year-end instead of throughout the year." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

The Big Casino: Local Governments Issue Bonds to Pay Pension Debt
"Pension funds expect to get what critics say is an overly optimistic return on their stocks and other investments, often 7.5 percent or higher. So the borrower paying a lower interest rate on bonds used for annual payments to the pension fund can come out ahead. But it's a gamble, and Oakland lost." (Calpensions)  

San Jose Mayor Sues California Attorney General Over Ballot Summary of Pension Initiative
"The lawsuit ... accuses Attorney General Kamala Harris of writing a title and summary that 'uses false and misleading words and phrases which argue for the measure's defeat, is argumentative, and creates prejudice against the measure, rather than merely informing voters of its chief purposes and points' ... Organized labor also objected to Harris' title and summary ... The unions wanted Harris to emphasize the risk they believe the measure poses to the retirement security of both current and future public workers. Harris also should have cast the proposal as sanctioning the abrogation of contracts, labor leaders said, since pensions are normally negotiated and are considered deferred compensation." (Sacramento Bee)  

After Historic Improvement During 2013, Pension Funding Takes a Turn for the Worse to Start the New Year (PDF)
"The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans dropped by $67 billion during January ... The deficit declined to $140 billion from $73 billion at the end of December 2013, primarily due to a 28-basis-point drop in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities. Pension assets also experienced a modest loss during January, contributing to the funded status deficit. As of January 31, the funded ratio decreased to 91.2%, down from 95.2% at the end of December 2013." (Milliman)  

Aon Hewitt 401(k) Index Observations, January 2014
"Despite equity markets getting off to a rough start in 2014, defined contribution plan participants continued to favor stock funds in January ... Out of the total net transfer activity of $306 million (0.19%) in January, $212 million (0.13%) flowed into diversified equities (equity assets excluding company stock). In addition, employee discretionary contributions to equities, another measure of participant sentiment, increased to 65.6% in January, up from 64.1% in December." (Aon Hewitt)  

Building Retirement Security Through DC Plans (PDF)
60 pages. Excerpt: "[The] DC system provides a strong foundation upon which to continue to strengthen the U.S. retirement system and is preferred to alternative proposals that seek to wholly or partially supplant the employer's role with expanded government provision of retirement benefits. [The authors] recommend that policymakers and the employer community work together to continue to build on the substantial progress already made regarding coverage, participation, and contributions as well as in the promotion of guaranteed retirement income and other retirement risk management practices." (Prof. Jeffrey R. Brown and Prof. Scott J. Weisbenner, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for American Council of Life Insurers [ACLI])  

Probe Launched Into British Pension Annuities Market
"The 12 billion GBP annuities market will be investigated by the City watchdog ... amid fears that British pensioners are getting bad deals for their retirement income. The Financial Conduct Authority will launch a market study next week to address concerns that retiring workers settle for bad deals on their pensions because the annuities sector is anti-competitive and wilfully confusing." (Daily Mail)  

Text of CBO Preliminary Estimate of the Budgetary Effects of Senate Amendment 2714 Extending Unemployment Benefits
Includes revenue estimates from "Pension Funding Provisions" of S.A. 2714, entitled the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014. (Congressional Budget Office)  

Court Discusses How Attorney-Client Privilege Applies to 401(k) Committee Minutes
"Citing extensive ERISA case law, the Massachusetts district court articulated two guiding principles for exceptions to the general rule that favors disclosure, to participants, of the minutes of plan committee meetings. First, the attorney-client privilege is available for settlor matters, such as 'adopting, amending, or terminating an ERISA plan' because those decisions do not involve ERISA fiduciary functions of managing or administering the plan .... Second, the attorney-client privilege is available to a plan fiduciary who seeks the advice of counsel in response to a threat of litigation by plan beneficiaries (or the government) against the fiduciary." [Kenney v. State Street Corp., No. 09-10750-DJC (D. Mass. Dec. 30, 2013)] (Paul Hastings LLP)  

New 3.8% Investment Tax Raises Flags
"Congress enacted the 3.8% surtax on dividends, interest and other income back in 2010, but didn't make it effective until tax year 2013. Even though advisers have been studying the tax's rules, many still have some questions as they help clients report the tax for the first time.... Tax experts want more direction from the Internal Revenue Service on how to report retirement income and calculate write-offs for state and local taxes and certain expenses that are also subject to the tax." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

SEC Revises Staff Manual on Share-based Compensation Disclosure in IPO Prospectuses
"The revisions [to section 9520 of the SEC's Financial Reporting Manual] streamline the recommended disclosure on pre-IPO share-based compensation by, among other things, deleting earlier guidance that suggested that issuers include: [1] A table disclosing, for the twelve-month period preceding the most recent balance sheet date: the number of instruments granted; exercise price; fair value of the underlying stock; and fair value of the instruments granted; [and] [2] Narrative disclosure describing the factors that contributed to significant changes in the fair market value of the underlying stock during that twelve-month period, including a discussion of any changes in underlying assumptions." (Practical Law Company)  

National Business Group on Health Applauds CVS Caremark Decision to Halt Sale of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products
National Business Group on Health

Ascensus Partners With Harland Financial Solutions For Integrated IRA Solution
Ascensus

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors Appoints Nick Davies as Area President in Washington, D.C.
Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc.

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