Benefits Analyst - Health & Welfare
PVH Corp.
in NJ

Plan Administrator
The Newport Group
in CA, FL, TX, VA

Benefits Associate
Ogletree Deakins
in IL

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Reinsurance Contributions 101
November 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS])

Wellness Plans Under Attack!
November 7, 2014 WEBCAST
(Littler Mendelson)

2014 Fourth Quarter Update
November 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Pub. 4546 (Rev. 11-2014): 403(b) Plan Checklist (PDF)
The publication is a PDF document that contains clickable links. Excerpt: "Every year it's important that you review the requirements for operating your 403(b) retirement plan. Use this checklist to help you keep your plan in compliance with many of the important rules. For additional information (including examples) on how to find, fix and avoid each mistake, click on '(More).'" (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Advert.]

Understand coverage testing options for your closed DB plan?

Mercer Select members do! With a user-friendly website and daily emails, Mercer Select members stay informed about retirement and other key benefit, comp and HR issues. Sign up for a free demo or guest membership.

[Guidance Overview]

Puerto Rico Retirement Plans Tax Prepayment Window to be Extended (PDF)
"[A] technical corrections bill to the Puerto Rico Tax System Adjustment Act ... is expected to be enacted into law later this week ... [which] would extend until December 31, 2014, the current window period for the pre-payment of income taxes under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011 ... on balances and benefits in qualified and non-qualified retirement plans (the 'Prepayment Window'). In addition, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department ... recently issued Circular Letter of Tax Policy No. 14-02 ... providing additional guidance on the Prepayment Window." (Groom Law Group)  

GFOA Best Practice: Enhancing Reliability of Actuarial Valuations for Pension Plans
"Because actuarial information directly affects the funded level and sustainability of pension plans, the GFOA urges pension plan fiduciaries to take the following steps to obtain additional information that will enhance the reliability of their actuarial valuations: ... Engage the actuary to perform additional services, to validate the actuarial assumptions used for the valuation or to help the plan with risk management strategies and future trends forecasting. Such services include: ... [1] Actuarial Gain/Loss Analysis ... [2] Actuarial Experience Study ... [3] Actuarial Projections ... [4] Asset/Liability Study ... [5] Sensitivity Analysis ... [6] Analysis of Proposed Benefit Changes. In considering benefit changes, decision makers need to understand the potential cost implications of the changes before they are enacted." (Government Finance Officers Association)  

Stockton Bankruptcy Ruling Will Decide Fate of Public Pensions in California
"[A] federal judge on Thursday is expected to decide whether the bankrupt city of Stockton can continue to pay employees generous pensions that soon could consume one-fifth of municipal revenues. The ruling has been much anticipated since U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Klein recently said that California's rich and powerful public pension system should be treated like all other creditors -- with no special protection. His comments stunned state and local officials and public employee unions, who had long considered pensions untouchable, even in bankruptcy." (Los Angeles Times)  

More Pension Relief from Low Rates -- But Is It Worth It?
Includes charts comparing the MAP-21 and HAFTA corridors and an example of the potential changes in effective discount rates over time under MAP-21 corridors versus HAFTA. "With lower interest rates still posing difficulties for some DB plans -- because of the impact it has on discount rates and ultimately their funding ratios -- this type of legislative relief provides for certain increases in the discount rate. Higher discount rates mean decreased plan liabilities, which in turn inflates the funding ratio, said Kimberly Stockton, an investment analyst in Vanguard Investment Strategy Group. 'However, it's important to remember that the ultimate inflation of the funding ratios under this scenario is somewhat artificial,' she said." (Vanguard)  

Small Business Owners Are Redefining the Market for 401(k) Plans
"[S]mall business owners ... are accustomed to making complex purchasing decisions and, as a group, are much more dynamic in making financial decisions. Collectively, these entrepreneur-driven companies are reshaping the 401k market. Literally, tens of thousands of small business owners are putting their personal preference for choice first and foremost when choosing a 401k provider. Conversely, larger companies often have competing needs when selecting a 401k provider and often are slower to make changes." (Employee Fiduciary)  

Roth vs. Regular 401(k): Doing the Math
"From the point of view of plan participants and plan sponsors, Roth math can be a little confusing. For some participants, Roth contributions will produce greater benefits (net of taxes) than regular contributions. For others, they produce smaller benefits. Which outcome applies often depends on the participant's marginal tax rate when the contribution is made and when it is distributed." (October Three Consulting)  

Six Ways to Make Active Management Work for You
"Think there is no point to active management? Consider the following ... [1] Eliminate all closet indexers.... [2] Index efficient asset classes.... [3] Hire active managers for inefficient asset classes.... [4] [S]ome mutual fund managers are really good defenders of your investment ... [so] choose mutual funds that have a down market capture rate of less than 100%. [5] Review the performance of all your mutual fund managers over a full market cycle.... [6] Use active management to determine your allocations between asset classes." (Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants)  

Majority of IRA Owners Hold 'Extreme' Asset Allocations (PDF)
"23.7 percent of IRA owners have less than 10 percent in equities and 35.5 percent have more than 90 percent in equities.... [A]lmost 1 in 5 IRA owners (18.5 percent) had more than 90 percent of their assets in bonds and money." [From an EBRI study entitled 'IRA Asset Allocation, 2012, and Longitudinal Results, 2010-2012.'] (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

Lights Out for a 401(k) Fund? Check the Blackout Rules
"Replacement of an investment option or a permanent restriction on new contributions to an investment fund does not, in and of itself, trigger a blackout notice requirement. However, if pursuant to such actions the rights to diversify investments or take loans or distributions are suspended, a blackout notice may be in order." (Mintz Levin)  

[Opinion]

ERISA @ 40: A Midlife Crisis
"Thirty-five years ago, 25 percent of people surveyed were concerned about adequate retirement income; today that's 61 percent and the percentage has been rising. Retirement insecurity is now the most broadly felt component of economic insecurity (more widespread than Americans' previous top concern: healthcare costs). The ERISA community, by comparison, seems passive. Some quibble about whether this is a 'crisis.' Others seem to be channeling Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: some are in denial; others accept that 'pensions are dead.' " (Former PBGC Directory Joshua Gotbaum, via The Brookings Institution)  

[Guidance Overview]

Final Regs Issued on ACA $500,000 Compensation Deduction Limit for Health Insurers (PDF)
"The final regulations largely adopt, with some modification, the provisions set forth in the proposed regulations. [They] apply to taxable years beginning on or after September 23, 2014.... [and] provide some relief and clarifications on the entities that are subject to the deduction limitation.... [If] an entity becomes a [Covered Health Insurance Provider (CHIP)] solely as a result of a corporate transaction, the entity generally will not be a CHIP for the taxable year in which the transaction occurs." (Groom Law Group)  

Many U.S. Companies Performed Executive Pay-for-Performance Analyses But Did Not Disclose in 2014 Proxies
"Six in 10 U.S. public companies have conducted analyses to assess how closely their executive pay levels align with company performance. However, nearly two-thirds of those companies did not disclose the results of those analyses in their 2014 proxy statements, mostly because they are awaiting soon-to-be-released pay-for-performance disclosure guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)[.]" (Towers Watson)  

15 Questions that Drive Payers Crazy
HighRoads, Inc.

Commercial Repayment Center Portal (CRCP) is Now Live
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS]

Gabriel, Roeder, Smith Statement on Serial Litigant Claims
Gabriel, Roeder Smith & Company

New Health Reimbursement Arrangement Solution from Aon Hewitt Enables Companies to More Efficiently Reimburse Retirees Transitioning to the Aon Retiree Health Exchange
Aon Hewitt

View All Press Releases