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Transamerica
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Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains
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New York Life Retirement Plan Services
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Transamerica Retirement Solutions
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Withdrawal Liability Claims: What Employers Should Do to Protect Their Interests
RECORDED
(Practical Law Company)

2014 Webinar: IRA Reporting
December 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

34th ECFC Annual Conference
March 4, 2015 in DC
(ECFC [Employers Council on Flexible Compensation])

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[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Monthly Interest Rate Update for December 2014
"This final rule amends the [PBGC's] regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in December 2014.... The December 2014 interest assumptions under the benefit payments regulation will be 1.00 percent for the period during which a benefit is in pay status and 4.00 percent during any years preceding the benefit's placement in pay status. In comparison with the interest assumptions in effect for November 2014, these interest assumptions represent a decrease of 0.25 percent in the immediate annuity rate and are otherwise unchanged." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

[Advert.]

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Fiduciary Tune-Up
65-page presentation outline. Topics include: [1] Does Dudenhoeffer change who should serve on a fiduciary committee? [2] What you should ask investment managers following the Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO) Settlement with the DOL; [3] Making sure investment consultants are subject to fiduciary standards; [4] Fiduciaries' ability to rely on advice of counsel: Clark v. Feder Semo & Bard, P.C.; [5] IRS emphasis on internal controls and what it means for fiduciaries; and [6] Rollovers: to whom are you giving access to terminating participants? [Also available: 106 presentation slides.] (Utz & Lattan, LLC)  

The Top Five 401(k) Compliance Matters That Employers Can't Delegate Away
"It's the plan sponsor who typically retains responsibility for overall plan operations as the 'Plan Administrator.' So practically every 401(k) plan sponsor needs to deal with each of the following -- sometimes without help from the plan's current providers. [1] Fee Disclosures ... [2] Investment Advice ... [3] Payroll Deductions ... [4] Plan Audits ... [5] Participant Releases." (The Retirement Plan Blog)  

Who Is Internationally Diversified? Evidence from 296 401(k) Plans
"[International equity] allocations show enormous cross-individual variation, ranging between zero and over 75 percent, as well as an upward trend that is only partially accounted for by the slight decrease in importance of the U.S. market relative to the world market. International equity allocations also display strong cohort effects, with younger cohorts investing more internationally than older ones, but also each cohort investing more internationally over time. This finding suggests that the home bias phenomenon may slowly disappear over time." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

Developing Pension Plan Investment Strategy: A Variety of Considerations (PDF)
"Building the investment portfolio to support the liabilities has a variety of considerations, looking at the risk and return, as well as the duration of the liabilities and portfolio and the impact of moving interest rates in considering an LDI strategy. In addition, there will be aspects that can't always be predicted that may merit attention and lead to a change of strategy. Most importantly, focus on the harmonious dynamic of assets and liabilities in the pension plan. They need to work together." (Milliman)  

Longer Life Expectancies Raise the Bar on Pensions
"The new SOA projections also will be adopted over the next few years by federal regulatory agencies that oversee pensions and will require plan sponsors to increase funding levels to meet expected rising obligations. That, in turn, likely will accelerate a major trend among plan sponsors to adopt de-risking strategies. Sometimes, that simply means reducing equity exposure in plan portfolios. But it also can mean offering lump-sum buyouts to retirees and former workers, or transferring their obligations to private insurance companies by buying huge group annuities to pay out benefits." (Morningstar)  

Social Security Program Data: Historical Estimates and Projections
"[D]ownloadable files provide historical and projected probabilities of death by single year of age, gender, and year for the period 1900 through 2090. In this context, a given probability of death represents the chance that someone exactly the given age will die within one year." (Office of the Chief Actuary, U.S. Social Security Administration [SSA])  

Aging Boomers and Rollovers to IRAs
"As large numbers of 401(k) and 403(b) participants approach retirement, regulators are becoming increasingly aware that they will be moving from a plan environment where they are 'bubble wrapped' by plan fiduciaries -- and have the benefit of being able to select from investments that have been vetted by the fiduciaries and that are, as a result, good quality and relatively low-cost investments.... The regulators are asking, 'Does it make sense for participants to leave the protected environment of retirement plans and go into the retail environment of IRAs?' " (FredReish.com)  

Retirement Planning Presents No Shortage of Challenges for Advisors
"More than half of advisors surveyed (52%) said that setting reasonable spending expectations was their top challenge in serving clients near or in retirement. That was followed by maintaining sustainable plans (44%), determining a sustainable spending policy (33%) and maintaining a scalable service model (26%)." (Russell Investments)  

[Advert.]

6th Annual Financial Advisor Retirement Symposium - April 1-2, 2015

The editors of Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines bring together industry experts to share insights and strategies on retirement at a conference that promises to energize advisors with new practice-building ideas. BenefitsLink Discount.

How Can Companies Help Employees Avoid 401(k) Loans? Offer an Employee Stock Plan
"While the positive impact of ESPPs on 401(k) loans was evident in companies of all sizes, the difference was notable in small companies (less than 500 employees), where only 9% of workers took out new 401(k) loans when an ESPP was also available, compared to 14% for employers that only offered a 401(k). The outstanding loan rate at small companies was also significantly lower, with only 14% of ESPP/401(k) workers having an outstanding 401(k) loan balance, compared with 23% of employees at 401(k)-only companies." (Fidelity Investments)  

ERISA Advisory Council 2014 Provides Recommendations on Lifetime Plan Participation
"The recommendations focus primarily on getting terminating participants to leave their retirement savings in their (former) employer's plan. This has been presented by many as a solution to the 'leakage' problem. It's unclear, however, whether sponsors actually want to retain the assets of terminating participants. And the changes in sponsor practice which the [ERISA Advisory Council] proposes to encourage participants to do this -- post-termination loan initiation, brokerage and mutual fund windows, lifetime income options and stable value funds, allowing consolidation of multiple accounts and providing access to financial advice -- all come with a cost." (BMO Retirement Insights)  

How Annuities Can Help You Stick to Your Retirement Plan
"As they approach retirement, many people understand the importance of having a financial plan to achieve their goals. But many retirees can struggle to stick with their plans as they navigate generating income from their savings. One potential solution might be to shift some of the burden of managing your savings to an annuity. [The authors] review a couple of scenarios where annuities have been used successfully." (Charles Schwab)  

Top Ten 401(k) Compliance Mistakes Auditors Catch
"[1] Late or erratic payment of employee deferrals.... [2] Oversights in calculating employee contributions.... [3] Misunderstanding of the vesting period.... [4] Disregard for break-in service rules.... [5] A growing number of forfeiture accounts.... [6] Incorrect tax withholdings when employees take distributions.... [7] Mistakes with profit-sharing contributions.... [8] Mishandling employee requests.... [9] Disconnect with service-provider contracts.... [10] Overlooking the plan's eligibility requirements." (BenefitsPro)  

Benchmark Study for Hiring Sales Personnel to Grow Your TPA Firm: Increasing Growth Projections in a Crowded Marketplace (PDF)
"Nearly one in ten of TPA firms surveyed employ four or more dedicated salespeople. Seventy-three percent of dedicated salespeople have an internal sales support partner. Fifty-one percent of TPA owners facilitate the obtainment of industry designations for their sales personnel. Over 70% of TPA owners provide dedicated salespeople with a phone allowance and marketing budget. Nearly 75% of TPA owners have activity requirements (e.g., face-to-face meetings, calls per week, etc.)." (Transamerica Retirement Solutions)  

Pension Access for All Is Priority for New York City's Public Advocate
"Public Advocate Letitia James wants to create a centrally pooled retirement fund in the next 15 years that would be open to any private-sector New York City worker who doesn't have access to a pension.... Ms. James [recently] told a civic group she will introduce legislation in the City Council ... to establish a seven-member advisory board to study her proposal. The board would be charged with making specific recommendations to the mayor and other government officials." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Pension Fund Activists Focus on Climate Change, Diversity, Director Nomination Process, with New York City Funds in the Lead
"The city comptroller, Howard M. Stringer, was elected in November 2013, along with the new high-visibility mayor (Bill DeBlasio). Under Comptroller Stringer's direction, the fund(s) are filing proxy proposals with 75 companies to demand a greater voice in the nomination of boards of directors. This is [being] characterized as 'giving shareowners a true voice in how boards are elected'." (Governance & Accountability Institute)  

[Opinion]

Let's Put 'Income' Back in ERISA
"Annuities can be an excellent and efficient way to covert wealth into secure lifetime income. Within small business 401k plans, however, variable annuity 'products' have become synonymous with larded, hidden fees and punitive surrender provisions. But it need not be that way if can open up our annuity markets and incent more competition in the industry. It's not the investment vehicle that's the problem, it's the way it is being marketed." (Employee Fiduciary)  

[Opinion]

Five Takeaways on Retirement from the Midterm Elections
"With Republicans in full control of Congress, expect efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. And more Republican-controlled statehouses mean more efforts to curtail state and local workers' pension plans. One positive note: Congress and the White House could find common ground on some promising ideas to encourage retirement saving." (Mark Miller, for Reuters)  

[Opinion]

Preparing for a Pension Bailout in California
"In just 10 years, California's unfunded pension liability went from a bit more than $6 billion to nearly $200 billion. That's despite a substantial increase in employer and employee contributions, and the gap is only getting wider. The system, in short, is completely, utterly broken. As [newly-elected state treasurer John] Chiang takes the reins of California's treasury, he'll only be able to present two fundamental policy alternatives. Either California gets serious about deep structural reform -- renegotiating contracts and cutting pension benefits across the board -- or California accepts the unthinkable: a full-blown public pension bailout." (Orange County Register)  

[Opinion]

Why Detroit's Pension Deal Is a Warning to Retirement Savers
"[T]he deal still left the city's 32,000 current and future retirees with diminished benefits and no certainty that they won't be asked to give up more down the road. Their fate is largely in the hands of the markets -- as is the case for millions of workers saving in 401(k) plans, and even many of those still covered by a private pension.... Detroit's ... pension managers are counting on average annual returns of 6.75% for the next 10 years. That might happen, and it's a lower expected rate of return than many public pensions are counting on. But ... it's probably an optimistic target." (TIME)  

US Labor Department Signs Agreement With New Hampshire Department Of Labor to Reduce Misclassification of Employees
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

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