Voluntary Benefits Account Manager
Buck Consultants a Xerox Company
in CA, CO, GA, TX

Client Manager
Hill, Chesson & Woody
in NC

Benefits Program Strategy Analyst 3/4
University of California Office of the President
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
Sikich, LLP
in WI

Senior Administrator 401k Plans
TPA firm in Northern Virginia
in DC, MD, VA

ERISA Consultant
New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA

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2014 Webinar: Understanding and Processing Transfers and Rollovers
December 2, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

2014 Webinar: HSA Basics
December 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Defined Benefit Plan Terminations
December 9, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Certificate Program for Non-Professional ESOP Fiduciaries
February 22, 2015 in CA
(Beyster Institute)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

NIPA [National Institute of Pension Administrators]

MassMutual Settles Fiduciary Lawsuit Over Fee Transparency
"The ruling and settlement appear to open the door to further legal action by plan sponsors in a similar arrangement with other providers. While not all providers with revenue sharing may be deemed fiduciaries, the risk of potential liability may cause many to evaluate their fee disclosure procedures and make pre-emptive changes. Look for other plan providers to open up and disclose revenue sharing arrangements in order to avoid potential liability." (Employee Fiduciary)  

[Advert.]

ASPPA's New Business Executives and Managers Conference -- January 2015

The Business Executives and Managers Conference (BEAM), is a must attend for small business TPA owners, executives, managers, and decision makers. This event offers valuable knowledge and ideas in best practices; register today!

Finding, and Battling, Hidden Costs of 401(k) Plans
"Like many employees, Mr. Tussey, now 70, was told that his retirement plan was 'free,' even though middlemen were deducting expenses from his savings.... Growing employee resistance, resulting from a greater awareness of plan costs, has resulted in more than 30 lawsuits against 401(k) plans and employers since 2006. Seventeen have been dismissed, but these suits are time-consuming, complex and difficult to litigate. The oldest 401(k) suits, like Mr. Tussey's, have been winding through courtrooms for the last half-decade." [Tussey v. ABB, Inc., No. 12-2056 (8th Cir. Mar. 19, 2014; cert. pet. filed Aug. 5, 2014)] (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Emerging and Future Trends in Retirement Communications
"[R]etirement providers leveraging a blend of high-speed digital print and a multi-channel, multi-touch strategy can generate between 10 percent and 20 percent in annual cost savings, plus double-digit returns from participation rate increases and adoption of managed account services. Plus, retirement providers are seeing benefits from their efforts to streamline communication materials -- moving away from comprehensive enrollment 'kits' to bite-size pieces that lead to easy-to-use enrollment 'apps.' " (Broadridge)  

Many Sponsors Don't Know Plan Documents, Aren't Aware They're Fiduciaries
"Some of the most common problems audits uncover in retirement plans come down to the basics: the plan sponsor must have a plan document, know where it is, and be familiar with what's in it ... Sponsors should also understand that 'internal controls' are a process, carried out by the individuals charged with plan governance, management and other personnel. The process is designed to provide reasonable assurance that the plan's objectives will be achieved in regard to the reliability of financial reporting, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

Withdrawal Liability Claims: What Employers Should Do to Protect Their Interests
"This Update provides a brief overview of the key procedural issues in an employer's response to an assessment of withdrawal liability from a multiemployer pension plan under [ERISA].... [1] Responding to an assessment of withdrawal liability... [2] Preparing to challenge the assessment... [3] Request for review of the assessment... [4] Initiating arbitration." (Practical Law Company)  

[Advert.]

Access Bloomberg BNA's Report on Considerations for Pension Plan Sponsors

Download now. Bloomberg BNA's Special Report, Insourcing, Advice, or Outsourcing: Considerations for Pension Plan Sponsors. Gain an in-depth look at the five assessment criteria that should be used to evaluate Investment Managers for DB or DC plans.

Society of Actuaries Releases Updated Mortality Tables
"[C]urrently actuaries may use static tables reflecting a fixed projection rather than fully generational tables.... [T]he SOA softened its language on this issue.... What position IRS takes on this issue may be significant.... One of the unusual things about RP-2014 is its blue collar/white collar weighting.... Many groups, including the Academy of Actuaries, raised questions about the methodologies used by the SOA in developing RP-2014 and about the 'prescriptive tone' of its recommendations for application." (October Three Consulting)  

IRA Rollovers Under Increasing Scrutiny
"In recent years, federal regulatory bodies have placed IRAs generally, and rollovers specifically, under increased scrutiny.... The cascade of rule making has also brought attention to the nature of communication between financial professionals and investors about retirement savings options, and created some anxiety among advisers about the processes they use to consolidate retirement assets. Now is the time to reset the bar on how you communicate with investors about IRAs and how you document those communications." (InvestmentNews)  

How Effective Is the Social Security Statement? Informing Younger Workers About Social Security
"This article briefly describes the development and implementation of the Social Security Statement; discusses the Gallup surveys conducted in 1998 and 2001; and uses data from those surveys to compare, for workers aged 46 or younger, knowledge about Social Security before and after receipt of the Social Security Statement." (Barbara A. Smith and Kenneth A. Couch, via SSRN)  

The 4% Spending Rule, 20 Years Later
"Many of the published studies show simulated outcomes using benchmark returns as a proxy, with no consideration of real-life costs such as taxes and investment fees.... For a moderate investor, the success rates drop from 84% to 74% when higher costs are used. What this means is that the risk moved from a 16% chance of running out of money to 26%, and the sole factor was investment costs, which is one of the main things that investors can control!" (Vanguard)  

Corporate Pension Funded Status Drops by $8 Billion in October (PDF)
"The funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension plans fell by $8 billion during October ... The deficit widened to $263 billion from $255 billion at the end of September, primarily due to a decrease in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities. As of October 31, the funded ratio declined to 84.8%, from 85.1% at the end of September. The projected benefit obligation (PBO), or pension liabilities, increased by $22 billion during October[.]" (Milliman)  

CalSTRS Pensions Grew Faster Than Pay, Inflation
"Retirees grew much faster during the [last 15 years] than active workers, increasing from 27 percent to 36 percent of total membership and raising questions about the impact of longer life spans on projected pension costs.... The average CalSTRS pension benefit for a K-12 teacher increased 70 percent during the same period, growing from $28,309 in 1997-98 to $48,094 in 2012-13. The California consumer price index grew 48 percent." (Calpensions)  

[Opinion]

New Mortality Tables Ignore Lump Sum Mortality, Penalizing Annuitants
"[A]ssumptions used for funding and disclosure are self-correcting over time. If you overestimate how long someone will live, and as a consequence put too much money into your plan, that simply means that contributions will go down in the future as experience gains are recognized. Not so for lump sums -- if you overestimate longevity and overpay there's no way to get the money back. It's gone for good. So you're giving participants a windfall, and draining the trust while you do it." (money vs. time)  

[Opinion]

Solutions Needed So Women Can Live Out Retirement in Dignity and Security
"Social Security is only one part of the retirement solution. People also need pensions. We need to keep pension plans that currently exist -- in both the private and the public sector. These pensions provide guaranteed income for life and benefits to spouses, which help keep women and families out of poverty. There should be spousal protections in 401(k)s, and options to turn 401(k) account balances into lifetime income that cannot be outlived." [Speech by Karen Friedman at the New England Women's Policy Conference (Nov. 7, 2014)] (Pension Rights Center)  

Detroit's Bankruptcy Plan: A Phoenix Emerges
"Under the agreement both pensioners and bond holders will take pain, albeit at varying degrees. The pensions of retirees will be cut by 4.5% and the cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) will go. Retirees from the police force and the fire brigade will have to live with a reduction in COLA from 2.25% to 1%. Health-care benefits will be reduced by 90% for all retirees." (The Economist)  

A Blank Page in the SEC Rule Book, Four Years Later
"Under the law, the SEC was supposed to direct the stock exchanges to bar securities from trading if they were issued by companies with no clawback policies. That should be a huge incentive for companies to write such policies. But what those policies should include seems to be stymieing the SEC's rule writers." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Expands Access to Health Insurance Choices for Small Businesses
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Former PBGC Legend Passes
PBGC [Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation]

Transamerica Retirement Solutions Debuts New Augmented Reality App To Help Boost Retirement Savings
Transamerica Retirement Solutions

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