WEB - Worldwide Employee Benefits Network

ERISA Attorney
Occidental Petroleum
in TX

Administrator
Benetech
in CA, CO

Actuary
Benetech
in CA

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Advanced Top Heavy Plan Testing and Plan Design
October 21, 2014 WEBCAST
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Same-Sex Spouses: What the Changing Legal Landscape Means for Employers
October 22, 2014 WEBCAST
(McAfee & Taft)

2014 Webinar: IRA Frontline Fundamentals – Part 1
November 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

12th Annual ERISA Update
November 6, 2014 in WA
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Great Northwest)

2014 Webinar: Coverdell Education Savings Accounts
November 6, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

2014 Webinar: IRA Frontline Fundamentals – Part 2
November 11, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Increase Productivity through Financial Wellness
November 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Houston Chapter)

2014 Webinar: IRA Reporting
November 13, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Fall Workshop
November 18, 2014 in MA
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of New England)

Success Starts with Education
November 20, 2014 in NC
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Carolinas)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Judge Rejects Citigroup Request for Dismissal of 401(k) Fees Suit
"A federal court judge in New York has rejected a Citigroup request for summary dismissal of a class-action lawsuit filed by two participants of a Citigroup 401(k) plan who allege the plan charged excessive fees. The case is now 7 years old. The original complaint made allegations of fiduciary breach relating to the merger in July 2001 of Travelers Group and Citicorp to form Citigroup ... The corporate merger resulted in the merger of respective 401(k) plans into a single Citigroup plan." (Pensions & Investments)  

[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.

Information on Brokerage Windows Requested by DOL
"Thus, a brokerage window can [1] allow plan participants who are sophisticated investors (including, e.g., participants using an account manager/advisor) access to investments not otherwise available and [2] deal with pressure from senior executives to increase the number of fund options available in the 'regular' fund menu. The RFI presents an opportunity for sponsors (and other interested persons) to provide DOL with information about how brokerage window programs work in practice, how useful they are and what problems they present. Respondents do not have to answer every question, and thus can concentrate on issues of particular concern." (October Three Consulting)  

Recent IRS Guidance on Roth Rollovers Lifts Long-Standing Ambiguity
"The guidance in [the] proposed rules ... and accompanying guidance in Notice 2014-54 clarified that plan participants can transfer after-tax savings from their retirement plans to Roth IRAs. The IRS also gave guidance on sending retirement plan distributions to multiple destinations, something that hadn't been clear in the past[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

NEPC 2014 Defined Contribution Plan and Fee Survey: What Plan Sponsors Are Doing Now (PDF)
"The recordkeeping fees for the majority of retirement investment accounts are still calculated using pricing models based on assets within the plan ... For most plans, recordkeeping fees include some element of revenue sharing. A recordkeeping fee structure based on a fixed-dollar amount per participant in the plan -- widely regarded in the investment industry as the most transparent and fair approach -- appears to be gaining traction and is especially popular among the larger plans, that is, those with $1 billion or more in assets ... The Survey underscores the challenge facing plan sponsors: they have to balance the quality of services provided with their efforts to cut costs and improve transparency ... [so they] may be better served if they examine their recordkeeping fee structures, exploring the potential to migrate to a more explicit fee model, for instance, one that charges a fixed-dollar amount per plan participant." (NEPC)  

San Jose Vote May Derail Pension 'Rights' Ruling
"An appeal of a San Jose pension reform ruling that could cause the state Supreme Court to revisit 'vested rights' may be halted by a settlement with unions, if candidates aligned with the policies of Mayor Chuck Reed are defeated next month." (Calpensions)  

Pension-Related Cases Being Heard by the Supreme Court
"The Supreme Court's new term includes cases challenging investors' burden of proof in securities litigation and whether 401(k) plan fiduciaries can be sued for investment choices made years earlier.... After reaching settlements resolving allegations of kickbacks, the pharmaceutical services firm was sued by the pension fund, which claimed Omnicare misled investors in its registration statement for an initial public offering. Since then, lower courts have disagreed on whether such statements are challengeable facts or simply subjective opinions, and how much more investors seeking damages would have to prove." (Pensions & Investments)  

Relief Under FRCP Rule 60 Unavailable to Plaintiff Who Lost on Motion to Dismiss State Law Claim for Negligent Misrepresentation (PDF)
"Arguments that the court misapplied the law or misunderstood a party's position are properly brought under Rule 59(e), but do not justify relief under Rule 60(b) ... And a party may not use a Rule 60(b) motion to raise arguments that he could have raised earlier.... In essence, plaintiff contends that defendant is not a fiduciary and that the court improperly assumed or found that she was." [Lebahn v. Owens, No. 14-1001-CM (D. Kan. Oct. 10, 2014) (U.S District Court for the District of Kansas)  

Unbundling the Target Date Fund
"Large market plans have generally moved towards the custom target-date strategies which usually combine some sort of a model portfolio with a custom 'glide path' bolted on to reflect the demographics of the participant base. This custom model 'unbundles' the packaged target strategies and thus the pseudonym 'custom.' In the mid-market space, we are left to choose from the fifty plus (and counting) mutual fund flavors what the most appropriate one is for our plan demographics. Let's unbundle these strategies to identify the perfect target-date fund for your plan." (PLANSPONSOR)  

Three Risk-Related Reasons to Put Off Claiming Social Security
"The move to delay benefits amounts to forgoing current income in exchange for a future stream of bigger payments that last a lifetime. The longer one waits to claim, the higher the monthly benefit. In the extreme, claiming at 70 instead of at the earliest age of 62 can raise lifetime monthly benefits by 76%. Yet 62 remains the most popular age to start taking benefits, accounting for 50% of claims by women and 45% of claims by men in recent years[.]" (InvestmentNews)  

Longevity Puzzle: A Medical Diagnosis Complicates Retirement Planning
"Even as life expectancy rises, the threat of passing away prematurely persists. More than 632,000 U.S. residents 60 to 74 years old will die in 2014, representing nearly a quarter of all deaths, the U.S. Census Bureau projects. That means many people may make more financial sacrifices than they need to. How long you will live is the most important but unpredictable variable in your financial plan. Trying to make sure retirement is both solvent and satisfying means taking the whims of fate into account." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

No Smoke, No Mirrors: The Dutch Pension Plan
"Dutch pensions are scrupulously funded, unlike many United States plans, and are required to tally their liabilities with brutal honesty, using a method that is common in the financial-services industry but rejected by American public pension funds. The Dutch system rests on the idea that each generation should pay its own costs -- and that the costs must be measured accurately if that is to happen." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

[Opinion]

Statement by CalPERS CEO on Pensions in Bankruptcy
"As the administrator of pensions, the California Public Employees" Retirement System does not win or lose in this situation. If pensions are reduced in bankruptcies, the only losers are public employees.... We applaud the leadership of Stockton officials in finding solutions to protect the pension promises made to its public employees while forging a reasonable path toward a fiscally sustainable future." (CalPERS)  

Coca-Cola Announces Equity Stewardship Guidelines
"In response to shareholder concerns over the potential dilutive impact of its 2014 Equity Plan, the Coca-Cola Company took the unusual step of announcing that it will use 'substantially fewer shares for long-term equity awards' by 'significantly reducing the use of stock options.'" (Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC)  

FASB Adds Stock Compensation Tax Accounting Topics to Its Agenda (PDF)
"On October 8, 2014, the FASB voted onto its technical agenda various topics related to improvements and simplifications to the current accounting for stock-based compensation. The topics include certain broadly applicable areas of income tax accounting ... The Board voted to include two income tax accounting topics to a stock-based compensation project and encouraged the FASB staff to continue researching the possibility of entirely eliminating the intraperiod tax allocation rules as a separate project." (PricewaterhouseCoopers)  

Mercer Marketplace — The Flexible Private Exchange — Posts Individual Participant and Client Gains
Mercer

Brand Asset Management Group, Inc. is Certified for Fiduciary Excellence
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

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