Defined Contribution Relationship Manager
Trinity Pension Consultants, Inc.
in OH

Retirement Plan Consultant and Compliance Analyst
Alliance Benefit Group of Houston, Inc. [ABG]
in TX

Plan Consultant Service Director
OneAmerica
in IN

Defined Benefit Administration Team Leader
Milliman, Inc.
in NJ

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Advanced and Current Topics Reinsurance Seminar
August 27, 2014 in NY
(Society of Actuaries)

Public Pensions in Flux? A Review of State Retirement Systems and Alternatives to Traditional Defined Benefit Plans
September 10, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

What's trending in fiduciary responsibility?
September 17, 2014 in NY
(Nixon Peabody LLP)

Ready, Set, Retire: How Plan Sponsors And HR Can Facilitate Retirement Readiness
September 18, 2014 in NY
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - New York Chapter)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

Final IRS Regs Expand on Proposal to Facilitate Longevity Annuities
"The final rules are largely consistent with the proposed regulations but respond to public comments by expanding the permitted longevity annuities in several respects, including: Maximum permitted investment ... 'Return of premium' death benefit: ... Correction mechanism." (Towers Watson)  

[Advert.]

ASPPA Annual Conference on October 26-29 in Washington DC

We don't just set the bar, we're constantly raising the bar for America's Retirement. And we unleash that tenacity at every ASPPA Annual Conference.

More Than One-Third of Americans Have No Savings
"About 70 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 have not started saving for retirement, compared with 33 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds and 26 percent of 50- to 64-year olds ... One out of every seven Americans 65 and older does not have retirement savings ... the most common decade for people to start saving is in their 20s. Twice as many 30 to 49 year olds said they started saving in their 20s instead of their 30s, while the 50 to 64 age group was 'only slightly more likely' to have started saving in their 20s over their 30s[.]" (U.S. News & World Report)  

Have Missing Participants? The DOL Says, 'Google Them!'
"If the free or cheap options don't work, fiduciaries can't stop there. They need to consider how prudent it would be to utilize other tools, such as commercial locator services, credit reporting agencies, information brokers, investigation databases, and analogous services that charge. The fiduciary's analysis should take into account the size of the participant's account and the cost of those steps. Many of those services can be quite cost effective, so it's important to research them thoroughly before dismissing them out of hand.... The DOL notes the plan administrator can charge missing participants' accounts for the reasonable expenses associated with finding them." (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

IRS Updates Form 8717-A for Opinion, Advisory Letter Fees
"The IRS has released an August 2014 version of Form 8717-A, User Fee for Employee Plan Opinion or Advisory Letter Request.... The user fees listed on this form became effective February 1, 2014. Use of this August 2014 form is mandatory for any opinion or advisory letter submissions postmarked on or after August 1, 2014." (Ascensus)  

Investment Advisers Can Help Plan Sponsors Become Better Fiduciaries (PDF)
"Many plan sponsors rely on and often have been 'educated' by non-fiduciaries like securities brokers or record-keepers who don't know what it's like to be a fiduciary. Because they aren't fiduciaries, their advice about what a fiduciary must do is often flawed and incomplete....There are many ways that, as an investment fiduciary. you can support plan sponsors without accidentally creating compliance issues of your own.... You're a full-time fiduciary and understand the problems, issues, mindset, and, in some ways, how to make the process easier for them." (Deborah A. Castellani, CFA, via NAPFA Advisor)  

Hedge Funds in Your 401(k): Do They Fit?
"So far, 401(k) plans aren't stampeding into alternatives. Industrywide, analysts and consultants say, well below 10% of assets is invested there. Most 'target date' funds, popular among employees who expect to retire on a specific date, don't yet hold any alternatives. But according to Lipper, the fund-research company, the 25 target-date funds with the biggest stake in derivatives -- futures, options and other instruments tied to the returns of stocks, bonds and commodities -- have an average of 36% of assets there. That indirect measure of exposure to alternatives is up from 21% a year ago." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Testing Investment Service-Provider Agreements: The 'Brown M&Ms' Provision
"Consultants, asset managers and banks say they are searching for ways to satisfy their clients while still being able to earn a reasonable rate of return for their efforts. One solution is to streamline operations, to the extent possible, while acknowledging any fiduciary implications associated with prevailing law and governance standards. If cutting corners to preserve a profit margin ends up sacrificing requisite quality, trustees could be at risk of being investigated for anemic oversight of service providers. Vendors could be at risk for failing to deliver contractual services." (Pension Risk Matters)  

Merced County (California) Pensions Still Only 51.4% Funded
"Merced County stands out with the lowest level of funding in the last reported year, 54.7 percent in 2010-11.... The 4,600-member system owes $1 billion for pensions promised in future decades, up from $692 million in 2008. The projected assets from employer-employee contributions and investment earnings only increased from $488 million to $547 million.... [A] pension increase a decade ago was retroactive to the date of hire, immediately adding to the pension system's debt or liability. Past employer and employee contributions had been based on amounts needed to pay for lower pensions." (Calpensions)  

Local Governments in West Virginia Say New GASB Pension Rules Will Have Little Impact
"Although the [GASB] approved rules in June 2012 requiring a change in reporting pension plan accounts by local government, most ... city and county officials said they have been working diligently to make sure government-operated pension plans are solvent and have had little time to consider Statement Number 67 and 68 ... [Charleston Mayor Danny Jones] said he was not certain that the new requirements will assist the city in handling its pension funds and he is also not sure it will require any information not already available from his city." (Williamson Daily News)  

Cypen and Cypen Newsletter for August 14, 2014
Article titles include: Stakeholders...or Steakholders? How IRAs Work; Federal Employees Will Get Phased Retirement; Pension Plan Amendments May Constitute Breach of Contract Under State Law; Equities Boost U.S. Master Universe Returns; So Long Tension ... Hello Pension; TIAA-CREF Survey Finds One-third of Americans Have Never Increased Their Retirement Plan Contribution Rate; and Social Security Has Rules to Explain Rules! (Cypen & Cypen)  

Embracing Social Media and Mobile Technology in 401(k) Communications
"How important is it that plan sponsors factor social media and mobile into their participant communications strategies? ... Are there any common myths plan sponsors have about social media and mobile use? ... What are some steps or action items a sponsor should take to meet the challenge of this new world of communications? ... What are a few examples of 'meaningful and valuable' information? ... What role does the plan vendor play?" (401kHelpCenter.com)  

Employee Ownership Update for August 15, 2014
Article titles include: [1] Employee Ownership and Veteran-Owned Businesses; [2] United Steelworkers Support Employee Ownership; and [3] Twenty-One ESOP Lawsuits Decided in Last 12 Months. (National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO])  

Retirement Plan Policy: The Tax Deferral vs. Benefit Debate Continues
"It's not that the joint tax committee is unaware of the fact that taxes will eventually be paid on qualified retirement plan assets (at least when it comes to DC accounts), says Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wisconsin). The problem is rather how the [CBO] and other key players in the tax assessment, collection and expenditure process are forced to account for tax-deferred savings under current law. Put simply, the CBO and others are 'not allowed to score anything dynamically,' Ribble explains, 'so the shortfall of income from taxes on plan contributions necessarily becomes part of debt now.'" (planadviser)  

Money Market Fund Assets, August 14, 2014
"Total money market fund assets increased by $10.51 billion to $2.58 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, August 13 ... Among taxable money market funds, Treasury funds (including agency and repo) increased by $8.15 billion and prime funds increased by $2.93 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $570 million." (Investment Company Institute [ICI])  

[Opinion]

Beware of Statistic-Laden Compensation News
"[Recent] reports on 401(k) ... discuss that the average company match was about $3,540. Average of what companies? Average of which employees' contributions? ... Most also mention this amount is $1,000 more than 10 years ago without mentioning 'why'. Could it be that people are paid more than a decade ago? Maybe the companies in the survey offer better 401(k)s now, but have cut short-term incentives, long-term incentives or other benefits.... Only after reading multiple articles do we learn that Fidelity reports that the average employer contribution is currently 4.3% per year vs. 4.0% in 2006. So, no big change there." (Performensation)  

AllianceBernstein to Launch Multi-Manager Target-Date Series Co-managed with Morningstar Associates
AllianceBernstein

TRA Hires Mid-Atlantic New Business Consultant
The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

Towers Watson’s OneExchange Records Largest Off-Cycle Enrollment in Its History
Towers Watson

Segal Expands Administration and Technology Consulting Practice
The Segal Group

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