ASPPA

Retirement Planning Consultant
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in VA

Health & Welfare Benefits Outsourcing Team Leader
BTHR Solutions
in MA

401(k) Administrator
Heartland Consulting Group, Inc.
in KS, MO

Senior Plan Administrator
Carlson, Quinn
in CA

Senior Actuary
Los Angeles Area TPA Firm
in CA

Director, Client Services
DailyAccess Corporation, A Verisight Company
in AL

Compliance Analyst
Pension Corporation of America
in OH

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Webcast: What You Need to Know About Target Benefit Plans: How They Work & Recent Developments
November 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])

Exploring the HSA Market: Past, Present and Future
November 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC)

Administering a Compliant, Consumer-Friendly HSA Program
November 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC)

Hepatitis C Treatment: Payer Strategies to Improve Outcomes and Contain Costs
December 8, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of OPM Final Regs: Federal Employees' Retirement System; Present Value Conversion Factors for Spouses of Deceased Separated Employee
"[OPM] is adopting its proposed rule to revise the table of reduction factors for early commencing dates of survivor annuities for spouses of separated employees who die before the date on which they would be eligible for unreduced deferred annuities, and to revise the annuity factor for spouses of deceased employees who die in service when those spouses elect to receive the basic employee death benefit in 36 installments under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) Act of 1986. These rules are necessary to ensure that the tables conform to the economic and demographic assumptions adopted by the Board of Actuaries and published in the Federal Register on May 21, 2014[.]" (Office of Personnel Management [OPM])  

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Latest Harris Stock-Drop Decision a Halloween Surprise
"The Harris II decision gives little consideration to the Supreme Court's warning in Dudenhoeffer against judge-made ERISA obligations that potentially conflict with complex federal securities regulations. Harris II's conclusions as to the plausibility of the plaintiffs' claims likewise seemed to give little weight to the cautious approach that Dudenhoeffer requires for such claims, and instead speculates as to the likely anticipated effect of certain actions that the fiduciaries could have taken with respect to the Amgen Common Stock Fund. Harris II is the first instance of a court of appeals applying Dudenhoeffer, and it's a surprising and unsettling decision for fiduciaries of 401(k) plans that permit participants to invest in company stock." [Harris v. Amgen, Inc., No. 10-56014 (9th Cir. Oct. 30, 2014)] (McGuireWoods LLP)  

Notice 2014-66 Addresses Lifetime Income's 'Relevancy' Problem
"One of the biggest challenges facing the task of wider implementation of retirement security through use of DC lifetime income has been the question of relevance. Quite frankly, plan sponsors and their advisors really have not seen the whole idea of lifetime income as relevant to their own plans and practices. It really hasn't been clear to them how 'DC annuities' could actually fit into the everyday realities of operating the typical 401(k) plan. IRS Notice 2014-66 and the related DOL Information Letter look to have had the effect of addressing that problem." (Business of Benefits)  

Better Financial Security in Retirement? Realizing the Promise of Longevity Annuities
"The current market for longevity annuities faces many barriers, ranging from consumer decision-making that does not account adequately for longevity risk to the fiduciary concerns of employers to incomplete markets for the hedging of risk by insurance companies. In this paper, [the authors] highlight how recent trends have precipitated a need for products that offer protection against longevity risk, consider whether longevity annuities can improve retirement security, highlight barriers to more widespread take-up of longevity annuities, and offer a menu of potential reforms to bolster this fledgling market." (The Brookings Institution)  

Retirement Planning: Comparing Millennials to Boomers
"The baby boomers ought to have the bulk of their portfolio in fixed income securities, while the millennials should be invested more aggressively -- almost exclusively in stocks. Right? ... TDFs typically start out with a heavy concentration in equities but progressively transition into predominantly fixed income securities over the years leading up to the plan participant's expected retirement date.... TDFs operate under the tacit assumption that they are the only asset in an employee's retirement kitty. That assumption is almost always false." (Research Affiliates)  

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Fidelity's Quarterly Retirement Snapshot: Average Balances Increase Year-Over-Year, Record Contributions
"The quarter-end 401(k) balance, which includes all participating employees at various stages of their careers, was $89,100, down 2% from the end of Q2 but an increase of nearly 6% from the same period last year. For employees in a 401(k) plan for 10 years straight, the average balance was $241,800, down 2% from the end of Q2 but up 8% from the same period last year....The average 401(k) contribution reached $6,080 in Q3, up 1% over the last year. The average contribution to a Fidelity IRA is $4,357, up 3% over the same period last year." (Fidelity)  

Six Key Reasons Why Investing in a Taxable Account Is Underrated
"[I]nvesting via a taxable account can be a sensible maneuver ... most investors should simultaneously fund their taxable and tax-sheltered accounts, and the current tax and interest-rate environment make saving in a taxable account particularly sensible.... [1] Extreme flexibility.... [2] Near-tax-free compounding if you plan carefully.... [3] You can use tax losses to reduce your tax bill.... [4] You may be able to enjoy no- or low-tax withdrawals.... [5] You'll have more control over your tax bill in retirement.... [6] Your heirs will receive a step-up in basis." (Christine Benz, for Morningstar)  

Annuity Owners in Key Income Segments More Confident About Retirement
"High confidence is most notable among households categorized as mass-affluent (those with investible assets of $100,000 to $499,000) and affluent (assets of $500,000 to $999,000). Those two categories account for 79 percent of the households in the survey. One third of mass-affluent households own an annuity and 38 percent of affluent households report annuity ownership." (LIMRA)  

Changes Coming for the 402(f) Rollover Notice to Participants
"The current IRS model 402(f) notice provides that if the participant has after-tax and is making a direct rollover of only a portion of the amount, and a portion is paid to the participant, each of these payments will include an allocable portion of the after-tax contributions. In Notice 2014-54, the IRS states that they will be revising the safe harbor explanations provided in the model 402(f) notice to explain the Notice's new rules." (McKay Hochman)  

Massachusetts City of Athol, in a First, Will Disband Its Pension Board
"All of that prompted this decision by the pension board to be the first local fund in Massachusetts to give up independent authority. It's a move that required an act of the Legislature and the governor's signature, which came through Friday. The measure is expected to save money for the Athol system and relieve it of the pressures facing dozens of small-town pension funds across the Commonwealth.... Only three of 105 state and municipal pension funds in Massachusetts are smaller than Athol's, with its $22 million in assets. But there are 38 funds across the state that oversee less than $100 million each[.]" (The Boston Globe)  

Has San Luis Obispo Gotten a Grip on Its Pension Problem?
"San Luis Obispo has more than $115 million in unfunded pension liabilities, as of June 30, according to reports released last month by [CalPERS].... But, during the 2012-2013 fiscal year, San Luis Obispo's total unfunded liabilities dropped by about $7 million. The decrease in pension debt can largely be attributed to a spike in CalPERS investment returns, which jumped from 0.1 percent in 2011-2012 to 13.2 percent in 2012-2013." (CalCoastNews.com)  

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by ASPPA, NAPA and NTSA to Connecticut Retirement Security Board on Design and Implementation of a State-Run Retirement Plan for Employees of Private Employers (PDF)
"The auto-IRA structure is a good fit for a state-run retirement plan for employees of private employers because of the desire of the state to avoid fiduciary and other obligations under [ERISA] ... ASPPA, NAPA, and NTSA recommend that the automatic, or 'default,' contribution level for a participant under the state-run plan be at least 3% of a participant's compensation, and that the state-run plan also include an automatic escalation feature that increases a participant's contributions over time to a maximum of 15% of compensation." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA], National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA], and National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA])  

Buck Consultants Introduces First Incentive-based Financial Wellness Program for Employees
Buck Consultants

Nationwide Expands 3(38) Fiduciary Service
Nationwide

Retirement Revolution Hires Business Development Officer
Retirement Revolution, LLC

Susan Mangiero of Fiduciary Leadership, LLC Earns the "Professional Plan Consultant" (PPC) Credential
Fiduciary Leadership, LLC

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