ASPPA

Internal Client Account Executive
Rapidly Growing Financial Services Firm
in NC

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Affordable Care Act Best Practices: Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Workforce Planning and Leaves of Absence
November 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(HR.com)

2014 Webinar: IRA Required Minimum Distributions
December 11, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

2014 Webinar: Traditional IRA Distributions
December 16, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Creating a Certified Employee-Owner Program
March 18, 2015 WEBCAST
(Beyster Institute)

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS and DOL Encourage Annuities in Target Date Funds (PDF)
"Notice 2014-66 ... provides that a TDF series of funds will be tested as a single right or feature available to all participants eligible to invest in any of the funds if certain criteria are met. This would eliminate any concerns that the feature would not satisfy nondiscrimination testing because of the inclusion of age-restricted bands in the TDF." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

[Advert.]

2015 Advanced Pension Conference in St. Pete Beach, FL – January 28-30

New location – St. Pete Beach, FL. Learn from our ERISA experts: 21 breakout sessions and general sessions to keep you current, plus earn 19 CE hours. See agenda and register online by 12/22 and save $150.

The Politics of Retirement: Impending Changes to Private Retirement Plans (PDF)
The administration's push to safeguard plan investment returns by requiring more disclosure and expanding the boundaries of fiduciary status has the potential to disrupt large segments of the financial services industry.... With the finalization of rules permitting longevity annuities, policymakers are starting to reach a consensus on how lifetime income options can be used to help participants manage the distributions they take from plan accounts.... The private pension system is under pressure and may be significantly transformed through tax reform seeking to reduce retirement savings incentives or more direct efforts to transform the character of the system to a more centralized model." (Marcia S. Wagner, via Investments & Wealth Monitor)  

Windsor Decision on DOMA: Does Your Plan Have a Year-End Plan Amendment Deadline?
"Whether or not a tax-qualified retirement plan needs to be amended to conform to Windsor depends on plan design. Any plans that have provisions that are inconsistent with Windsor (e.g., if the term 'spouse' is defined under a retirement plan by citing to the old DOMA standard or by referring to the laws of the state of domicile) will have to be amended.... [S]ome plan sponsors will opt to make conforming amendments if there is any uncertainty (e.g., if a 'spouse' is defined by reference to a marriage under state law but the plan has in the past been interpreted to follow DOMA)." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)  

ERISA's Perfect Storm: Participant Requests for Benefits Paid Decades Ago (PDF)
13 presentation slides. Topics include: [1] The scope of the problem; [2] The 'forgotten' DB plan; [3] The 'vampire' ESOP; [4] Some common scenarios; and [5] The solution: What can we do now? (Alston & Bird, LLP, for American Benefits Council)  

Have 401(k) Fiduciaries Gone Astray? (PDF)
"It is a question few fiduciaries have seriously considered. After all, Congress endorsed target-date funds in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 by making them a qualified default investment alternative. TDFs are often black boxes, so many fiduciaries don't realize they do not have a rigorous conceptual basis -- as demonstrated by the dramatic variation in the returns and asset allocations of funds with the same target date." (Investment Horizons, Inc.)  

[Advert.]

Targeted Strategies to Increase Your Defined Contribution Market Share

Hear directly from industry innovators, retirement platforms, advisors & consultants on everything from effective product positioning, to the latest news in plan design, QDIAs, and regulatory updates. Mention FMP164 during registration for 10% discount.

Caution: New IRS Rules for IRA Rollovers Come with Risks for Advisers
"The Internal Revenue Service has published further guidance on its new one-IRA-rollover-per-year rule, but financial advisers beware: You must ask clients key questions on where their money has been or risk a snafu that could sever that relationship.... Though rollovers completed through the remainder of the year are acceptable, financial advisers need to go over the regulation and talk to their clients and prospects about its implications." (InvestmentNews)  

Will the DOL Fiduciary Rule Level the Playing Field for Brokers?
"Regardless of the standard that applies to them, in the eyes of their clients, brokers are offering investment advice. And the plan sponsor is acting on that advice. This the typical broker does without any processes or procedures that are protective of his client's (or even his own) interests.... The reproposal and finalization of the DOL's fiduciary definition rule (now expected in early 2015) will likely change things for brokers." (Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC)  

Japanese Acquirer Resolves Pension-Related Liabilities of U.S. Subsidiary After Court Finds Jurisdiction
"The Asahi district court determined that Asahi had directed its activities at the United States by acquiring Metaldyne with prior knowledge of the pension liability issues, and that this was sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction over Asahi. The district court highlighted the fact that Asahi had hired a U.S. company to conduct due diligence on Metaldyne for the specific purpose of identifying Metaldyne's pension plan obligations,... Even if personal jurisdiction is found and controlled group liability is applied to a non-U.S. defendant, the PBGC may have difficulty collecting a judgment against the non-U.S. corporation if it has no assets in the United States other than a U.S.-based subsidiary that has filed for bankruptcy." [PBGC v. Asahi Tec Corp., No. 10-1936 (D.D.C. Oct. 4, 2013)] (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP)  

Four Companies That May Suffer Because We're All Living Longer
"[Will Becker, an analyst at the independent research firm Behind the Numbers] looked at non-financial S&P 500 companies with defined-benefit pension plans that satisfy the following criteria: [1] They have a significant number of retirees; [2] Their pension plans carry heavy (at least 30%) equity exposure; [3] Their plans were already underfunded by more than $100 million over the last fiscal year; and [4] They are already diverting much of their free cash flow to dividends, share repurchases, and debt servicing. Using this process Becker identified four companies in particular whose stocks could take a hit as life expectancy estimates rise[.]" (Fortune)  

CalPERS Will Find It Tough to Sustain Strong Real Estate Returns
"It is unlikely that CalPERS' $25.6 billion real estate portfolio will be able to sustain the strong returns produced in the last three years ... The real estate portfolio for [CalPERS] had annualized returns of 13.4% for the three-year period ended Sept. 30, 148 basis points above CalPERS' custom benchmark[.]" (Pensions & Investments)  

Detroit Emerges from Bankruptcy, Yet Pension Risks Linger
"If all goes as planned, the grand bargain will keep the retirees' reduced pension checks coming for the rest of their lives. But the pension system that the settlement leaves behind has some of the same problems that plunged the city into crisis in the first place -- fundamental problems that could also trip up other local governments in the coming years.... These risks might not matter if Detroit's pension obligations were just a marginal part of the city's finances. But they are not." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

[Opinion]

The Most Important Symbol for Investors Is 'DOL'
"Early next year, the DOL will decide whether to issue a proposal that will require all advisers to 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to have a 'fiduciary duty' to the participants in those plans and the holders of those accounts. This decision will have a major impact on the $12 trillion in assets now held in 401(k) plans and IRAs." (Dan Solin, in The Huffington Post)  

[Opinion]

Detroit's Pension Risks Still Linger?
"[A]ll this settlement did was kick the can down the road. The reforms are mostly cosmetic and will do nothing to mitigate an even bigger pension catastrophe down the road.... And the actuaries are out to lunch too. By permitting the use of investment forecasts to discount future benefit payments into today's dollars, they are tacitly endorsing a dangerous and failing policy that is based on the pension rate-of-return fantasy." (Pension Pulse)  

SPD Format Voids Benefit Limitations: Ninth Circuit Applies 'Reasonable Participant' Standard of Review
"In [this case], the plaintiffs were admittedly beyond the two year contractual period set forth in the plan documents.... [But] because the limitations period was 'buried' deep within the SPD and not referenced or adjacent to the benefit provisions, the Court held the contractual limitations period was unenforceable." [Spinedex Physical Therapy USA Inc. v. United Healthcare of Arizona, Inc., No. 12-17604 (9th Cir. Nov. 5, 2014)] (Health Plan Law)  

2014 Pension and OPEB Assumption and Disclosure Survey (PDF)
"Median [pension] plan funding levels increased significantly since 2012, with pension plan assets equal to approximately 90% of the projected benefit obligation in 2013 as compared to 77% in 2012. In 2007 the median funding percentage was 100%.... The percentage of companies whose OPEB plans are funded has changed slightly with 52% of plans being funded in 2013 compared to 51% of plans being funded in 2012 and 57% being funded in 2007. Unlike pensions, OPEB plan funding levels (assets as a percentage of accumulated postretirement benefit obligations) have not decreased significantly." (PricewaterhouseCoopers)  

2014 Wells Fargo Nonqualified Plan Benchmarking Survey (PDF)
"Most plan sponsors experience challenges with employee education and employees' appreciation of the plan, an important part of making the plan a success. Nearly one-half of all companies cited recordkeeping problems, including processing errors and service difficulties. Recordkeeping flexibility and dedicated nonqualified plan expertise are among the top selection criteria for nonqualified plan providers." (Wells Fargo)  

What Companies Should Be Doing Now to Get Ready for the 2015 Proxy Season (Part 2)
"[L]imiting the pay-for-performance discussion in the proxy statement to boilerplate statements like 'our programs are designed to pay for performance' will no longer suffice.... One key is to use clear and consistent definitions so that pay for performance can be reviewed annually with a consistent methodology.... [A] holistic approach based on a variety of perspectives best supports effective disclosure and the broader shareholder engagement process." (Towers Watson)  

UnitedHealth Group Advances Senior Leadership Team
UnitedHealth Group

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