Staff Accountant
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Assistant to Pension Plan Administrator
Yang's Pension Consulting
in CA

Retirement Benefits Specialist
Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System
in PA

Retirement Plan Consultant
Stalker and Associates
in PA

Defined Contribution / Defined Benefit Administrator
TPA Pension Firm
in AZ

Implementation Analyst
T. Rowe Price
in CO

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Cafeteria Plan, Health FSA, and DCAP Mistakes: Finding, Fixing, and Preventing
RECORDED
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

An Analysis of Investor Behavior
November 11, 2014 in CO
(Western Pension and Benefits Conference-Denver Chapter)

Members-Only Specialty Session: Short-term and Long-term Incentive Plan Design and Related Issues
November 19, 2014 in CO
(Western Pension and Benefits Conference-Denver Chapter)

A Celebration of 50 Years of Colorado Wilderness
December 9, 2014 in CO
(Western Pension and Benefits Conference-Denver Chapter)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Disaster Relief Announcement 14-07 Relating to Earthquake in California
"This Disaster Relief Announcement does not cover every situation in which PBGC disaster relief may be warranted. For example, it does not capture every person that might experience difficulty in meeting a PBGC deadline for reasons relating to the Earthquake that began on August 24, 2014, in California. It also does not grant specific disaster relief for all filings." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[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.

[Official Guidance]

Text of 2014 IRS Form 4972, Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions, with Instructions (PDF)
Applies to lump-sum distributions from qualified retirement plans of participants born before January 2, 1936. Form 4972 for prior years is also available on the IRS website. (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

Text of GAO Report on Pension Plan Valuation: Views on Using Multiple Measures to Offer a More Complete Financial Picture
"GAO examined different approaches used to determine the discount rate. This report addresses [1] the significance of differences in approaches used to determine discount rates among public and private plans; [2] purposes for measuring the value of a plan's future benefits and key considerations for determining discount rate policy; and [3] approaches selected countries have taken to choose discount rates.... GAO is not making any recommendations in this report." (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO])  

Text of Ninth Circuit Opinion Allowing Amgen Stock Drop Lawsuit to Go Forward (PDF)
42 pages. "It is true that removing the Amgen Common Stock Fund as an investment option would have sent a negative signal to investors if the fact of the removal had been made public, and that such a signal may have caused a drop in the share price. But several factors would have mitigated this effect .... If defendants had acted to remove the Fund as an investment option when Amgen's share price began to be artificially inflated -- that is, when some of the defendants began to violate their obligations under the securities laws -- that action may well have caused those defendants to comply with those obligations. But defendants did not do this.... [If] defendants had made no disclosures but had simply not allowed additional investments in the Fund while the price of Amgen stock was artificially inflated, they would not thereby have violated the prohibition against insider trading, for there is no violation absent purchase or sale of stock.... [D]efendants contend that their fiduciary duties of loyalty and care to plan participants under ERISA, with respect to company stock, are less than the duty they owe to the general public under the securities laws. Defendants are wrong[.]" [Harris v. Amgen, Inc., No. 10-56014 (9th Cir. Oct. 30, 2014)] (United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit)  

What ERISA Service Providers Should Know About Money Market Reform (PDF)
"[D]efined benefit plans, endowments and small businesses are not considered 'natural persons' and would not be eligible to invest in a retail money market fund.... The SEC provided examples of how funds could satisfy the natural person definition with intermediaries ... ERISA service providers who hold fund shares in omnibus accounts may expect to be contacted by retail money market funds to provide these certifications or representations and/or to enter into new agreements with funds for this purpose.... The liquidity fee and gate requirements will usually only be triggered in times of extreme market stress. But they are features that many ERISA participants and ERISA service providers will not find appealing." (Drinker Biddle)  

Bankruptcy Judge Explains Hurdles to Potential Pension Cuts by Municipalities
"[U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein] ruled that two CalPERS-sponsored state laws are invalid in a federal bankruptcy. One prevents a city from rejecting a CalPERS contract in bankruptcy. The other places a CalPERS lien on all assets, except wages, when a city declares insolvency.... The CalPERS general counsel, Matthew Jacobs, told reporters the approval of Stockton's plan that leaves pensions intact makes the earlier ruling 'less significant.' He said CalPERS is looking at its options, including the possibility of an appeal." (Calpensions)  

Stockton's Pension-Protecting Bankruptcy Plan Approved
"The earlier ruling by [U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein] gave Stockton the opportunity to end the Calpers contract, which it declined to do because, as the judge said, the workers 'would be the real victims.' Ending the contract with Calpers would have reduced pensions by 60 percent and caused many employees to leave, Marc Levinson, Stockton's lead bankruptcy attorney, has said.... Dan Pellissier, president of Sacramento-based California Pension Reform, said Stockton is going forward with 'one hand tied behind its back' by choosing not to reduce its pension burden." (Bloomberg)  

New Rules for Annuities and Target Date Funds Inspire Products Race
"BlackRock's LifePath Retirement Income -- which paired target date funds with deferred income annuities from MetLife Inc. -- was launched about seven years ago. But lack of regulatory clarity on whether plan sponsors could use such products, along with other concerns, kept it and other products from taking off ...Though the Treasury, IRS and DOL's latest guidance makes it easier for plans to incorporate annuities as a part of their plan line-up, experts note that there is room for further clarification from additional guidance. For one thing, the fact that the investment manager is responsible for selecting the insurer takes a weight off the shoulders of employers." (InvestmentNews)  

Boeing, The Hartford Offer Lump Sums to Reduce Pension Liabilities
"Boeing alerted 40,000 former employees last month about an opportunity to cash out their pension benefits as a lump sum payment or begin monthly annuity payments in December -- regardless of whether the participants are qualified to begin collecting their retirement benefits.... For The Hartford ... its 'limited voluntary lump sum' offer was made to approximately 13,500 former employees within its U.S. defined benefit pension plan." (Employee Benefit News)  

Outsourcing of the Defined Contribution Plan Fiduciary Function
"It is generally understood that a named fiduciary (e.g., a sponsor-fiduciary) may (under properly drafted plan documents) delegate fiduciary responsibilities. In that circumstance, the named fiduciary is generally responsible for the prudent selection and monitoring of the performance of the delegate.... The idea behind outsourcing is that that duty itself -- the responsibility for appointing and monitoring fund managers or service providers -- would be outsourced. In theory, the sponsor would then be left with the sole duty of prudently appointing and monitoring the outsourcing provider. Does that work? Is it an improvement over the prior situation? " (October Three Consulting)  

Saving Public Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
"[1] DB plans serve many purposes beyond providing constituents with retirement income. [2] DB plans are proven to be extremely cost effective and reliable in delivering basic retirement income security -- when the rules of DB finance are followed. [3] Many public DB plans are underfunded today ... primarily because plan sponsors' contributions were neither sufficient nor consistent enough to properly fund the benefits promised. [4] New benefits cannot be funded out of better-than-average investment returns simply because 'average returns' is all one can expect over the life of the plan. [5] DB plan funding surpluses and deficits occur as part of the normal cycle of investment market returns. [6] Plans that implement an actuarially sound funding policy will achieve 100% funded status over the long run. Over the short term, the plan could veer off course because of market cycles. [7] Healthy DB plans are underpinned by a sustainable benefit design, a strong governance process, and the sponsor's commitment to regularly fund the plan." (Callan Investments Institute)  

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, September 2014
"[For private industry workers, the increase] in the cost of benefits was 2.3 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2014. In September 2013, the increase in the cost of benefits was 2.0 percent. Employer costs for health benefits increased 2.6 percent over the year. In September 2013 the increase was 2.7 percent." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS])  

Text of Federal District Court Opinion: Sole Owner of Business Could Be Personally Liable for Multiemployer Plan Withdrawal Liability (PDF)
"A close review of the Seventh Circuit cases noted above indicates that a more helpful recitation of the rule would proceed as follows: Where an individual [1] owns the property on which a withdrawing employer conducts its operations, [2] leases the property to the withdrawing employer, and [3] owns the withdrawing employer, then that individual is personally liable for the payment of withdrawal liability incurred by the withdrawing employer. In sum, if an individual engages in a trade or business under common control with the withdrawing employer by leasing his property to the withdrawing employer, he is personally liable for payment of withdrawal liability." [Board of Trustees of the Automobile Mechanics' Local No. 701 Union And Industry Welfare Fund and Board of Trustees of the Automobile Mechanics' Local No. 701 Union And Industry Pension Fund v. Beland & Wiegers Enterprises, Inc., No. 13-CV-1611 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 29, 2014) (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois)  

ERISA 40th Anniversary Timeline
24 interactive slides containing historical photographs and hypertext links to source documents. (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

Great-West Financial Launches Empower to Represent Retirement Services Offerings for U.S. Marketplace
Great-West Financial

ACOPA Awards Fellow Designations to Exceptional Actuaries
ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries [ACOPA]

ASPPA Presents Richard A. Groszkiewicz with Distinguished Educator’s Award
ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries]

View All Press Releases