Plan Design Specialist
American National Insurance Company
in TX

Associate - Employee Benefits, Compensation, Labor & Employment
McDermott Will & Emery
in IL

Actuarial Analyst
CBIZ
in MI

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

How Health Care Reform Will Impact Employers in 2015
December 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clear Law Institute)

Inside the Beltway
December 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP)

Mercer’s Longevity Insights: The Benefits of Industry-specific Mortality Assumptions
December 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Mercer)

What Business Associates Need to Know about HIPAA
December 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clearwater Compliance)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

GAO Report on Individual Retirement Accounts: IRS Could Bolster Enforcement on Multimillion Dollar Accounts, But More Direction from Congress Is Needed
"This report [1] describes IRA balances in terms of reported FMV aggregated by taxpayers; [2] examines how IRA balances can become large; and [3] assesses how IRS ensures that taxpayers comply with IRA tax laws.... Congress should consider revisiting its legislative vision for the use of IRAs. GAO makes five recommendations to IRS, including approving plans to fully compile and digitize new data on nonpublicly traded IRA assets and seeking to extend the statute of limitations for IRA noncompliance. IRS generally agreed with GAO's recommendations." (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO])  

[Advert.]

Ready for 2014 year-end retirement plan amendment deadlines?

Mercer Select members are! 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.

Individual Account Retirement Plans: An Analysis of the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances
"The percentage of all families with an employment-based retirement plan from a current employer decreased from 38.8 percent in 1992 to 36.2 percent in 2013 ... [T]he percentage of family heads who were eligible for [DC] plans and chose to participate held essentially stable at 78.2 percent in 2010 to 78.7 percent in 2013. The percentage of families owning [IRAs] or Keoghs was also unchanged from 2010 (28.0 percent) to 2013 (28.1 percent).... [T]he median (mid-point) account balance of those families owning an individual account retirement plan increased in 2013: The value was $22,992 in 1992, reached $38,608 in 2001, and increased to $59,000 in 2013." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

Are Retirees Falling Short? Reconciling the Conflicting Evidence
"Studies showing that households are saving optimally hinge crucially on assumptions that people are willing to accept declining consumption as they age ... While other studies have found consumption does not decline early in retirement, new analysis suggests that many will be unable to maintain this pace over their full retirement.... To bolster retirement preparedness, policymakers may want to consider ways to encourage more private saving, such as requiring 401(k)s to adopt auto-enrollment and auto-escalation policies and to apply these policies to current workers as well as new hires." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

Preparing Employees for Retirement is Growing Concern for Plan Sponsors
"Nearly 70 percent of the plan sponsors surveyed are thinking about making design changes to their plans -- almost twice as many in 2012.... Investment expertise remains important, with 67 percent of sponsors making investment menu changes in the past two years, up from 35 percent in 2012.... Fewer than 20 percent of plan sponsors surveyed said that their advisor was consistently communicating the activities they perform for the plan." (Fidelity)  

Using Defined Contribution Plans to Improve Retirement Readiness
Infographic. "[M]any employers are still concerned their employees will not be ready to retire as planned. Employers can optimize their programs' effectiveness by measuring, monitoring and implementing changes based on how well the plan features help employees reach savings goals.... Automatic enrollment in DC plans is commonplace, but companies are missing opportunities to increase its value by adding automatic deferral increases.... Improving communication and adding new approaches will be top priorities in the next two to three years." (Towers Watson)  

[Advert.]

Premium Educational Event for Taft-Hartley Trustees

Attend FRA's Taft-Hartley Benefits Summit to effectively manage your fund's investments and ensure your members' health & welfare benefits remain top-notch. Mention FMP164 during registration for 10% discount.

A Guide to Calculating Employer Matching Contribution Limits
"When [annual contribution] limitations are announced, the focus has typically been on any increase in contributions participants can make to their retirement accounts. However, an equally important part of the equation accounts for any increase in matching contributions that the employer will make on behalf of the participant. With the annual compensation limit increasing to $265,000 from $260,000, the limit on the maximum amount of matching contributions participants can receive from their employer will also increase." [A table demonstrates the effect of the increase at various levels of matching contributions.] (Ascende)  

So You Think You're Financially Prepared to Retire? Here Are Spreadsheet Tools to Test That Assumption
"Generally [this author's focus] is to help individuals who are already retired establish an annual spending budget.... This post is aimed at individuals who are close to retirement but are unsure of whether they have sufficient financial assets to meet their needs throughout retirement.... [T]he first step ... is to determine your spending needs in retirement.... The second step ... is to determine your total expected income for a year from all sources ... This is where the spreadsheet tools available on this website come into play." (Ken Steiner, FSA Retired)  

How to Keep Information Overload from Ruining Your Plans for Retirement
"There is no shortage of retirement advice and products today. In fact, according to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, companies spent $1.14 billion advertising retirement products in 2011. Beyond all that advertising, you only have to type in the words 'retirement advice' into your favorite search engine to find page after page of information on retirement services and strategies. But according to some finance professionals, all that incoming information isn't necessarily a good thing." (Deseret News)  

PBGC Reports Five-Fold Increase in Multiemployer Program Deficit
"Employers who participate in multiemployer plans, as well as their controlled-group affiliates, investors and lenders, need to understand the current and potential future status of these plans. In particular, they should determine: What is the current and projected future funding level of the plan? Are other employers withdrawing from the plan? How is the plan protecting against future insolvency? Who are the employer's controlled-group affiliates and is there a risk that investors will face controlled-group claims? What is the employer's estimated withdrawal liability? Are there appropriate transactions available to the employer to mitigate its risk consistent with ERISA, including withdrawal from the plan and a transfer of liability from the multiemployer plan to the employer's single-employer plan?" (McGuireWoods LLP)  

Indexed Universal Life Products Fill Growing Gap in Retirement Plans
"Unlike 401(k) products that some call a 'time bomb' with regard to tax rates when the time comes to draw down on the assets, [indexed universal life products (IULs)] offer the ability to take loans and withdrawals against the policy. Come time to retire, IULs produce steady cash flow. As nearly everybody knows by now, millions of Americans are going to be desperate for those cash flows in a few years." (InsuranceNewsNet.com)  

Pension Actions in Atlanta and Jacksonville Stand, Stall on Courts' Whim
"Atlanta, Ga. and Jacksonville, Fla. are both in the southeast, both face fiscal pressures over their public pension systems like many other cities, and both have been taken to court over their attempts to ameliorate that stress. But the similarities end there -- the courts took different tacks on their efforts to rein in public pension issues." (National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA])  

Judge to Hear Arguments Over Illinois Pension Reform Law
"Lawyers for the state will try to convince a judge in state capital Springfield that the law is crucial to save the state's sinking finances. Attorneys for public labor unions and others will argue the law is invalid because it trounces on state constitutional protections for public worker retirement benefits. Illinois has the worst-funded state retirement system and its huge unfunded pension liability has helped pound its credit ratings to the lowest level among states." (Reuters)  

Amid Crackdown, Some Companies Rethink How to Sell Stock to ESOPs
"Some business owners are rethinking how -- and on what terms -- they will sell their firms to employee stock ownership plans in the wake of a [DOL] crackdown on inflated valuations that could jeopardize worker savings.... In June the [DOL] reached a landmark $5.3 million settlement with GreatBanc Trust Co., a ... trustee for more than 200 such plans, including many for small businesses.... [T]he settlement led to tougher scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest on the part of valuation firms and trustees." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

San Bernardino Will Not Cut Pensions, Restarts Skipped CalPERS Payments
"A court filing Monday officially revealed, after a mediator lifted a gag order, that under a deal announced in June San Bernardino has begun repaying skipped CalPERS payments ($13.5 million plus fees and interest) and will not cut pensions in bankruptcy. Stockton did not want to cut pensions, saying they are needed to be competitive in the job market. But a federal judge ruled in the Stockton case that CalPERS pensions can be cut in bankruptcy, where federal law prevails over state attempts to protect pensions." (Calpensions)  

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by NAPA to EBSA on Standards for Brokerage Windows in Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans (PDF)
"To encourage small employers to sponsor defined contribution plans, employers with 99 or fewer employees eligible to participate in the plan should be allowed to open [self-directed brokerage (SDB)]-only plans so long as each participant positively elects his or investment choices on the SDB account application form.... Fiduciaries of retirement plans with 100 or more eligible employees must designate a core menu of investment options before an SDB window can be offered to participants and beneficiaries ... The financial reporting rules for Form 5500 should continue to permit aggregate reporting of plan assets held in SDB accounts under the 'other' category of Schedule H." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA])  

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by ERIC to DOL on Standards for Brokerage Windows in Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans (PDF)
"For participants who already receive disclosures for their plans' designated investment alternatives, additional disclosures with respect to all or a limited subset of investments available through brokerage windows would be confusing, potentially misleading and an unnecessary burden on plan sponsors.... If the DOL determines that it needs to regulate brokerage windows, it should provide a safe harbor for plans that also offer at least three designated investment alternatives that satisfy the current DOL safe harbor under Section 404(c)." (The ERISA Industry Committee [ERIC])  

Final Rules on Health Insurer Pay Deduction Limit Impose Calculation and Recordkeeping Challenges
"In contrast to the $1 million pay deduction cap under Section 162(m) of the tax code that applies to all public companies, the health insurer deduction cap imposed under Section 162(m)(6) has a broader reach that applies to all employees (not just the CEO and next three highest-paid executives) and does not include exceptions for performance-based compensation or commissions. However, exceptions are provided for contributions to, or distributions from, certain types of retirement plans and benefits that are excludible from gross income (e.g., health benefits)." (Towers Watson)  

Reforming Executive Compensation to Accelerate Change
"Adjusting executive compensation structures provides an opportunity for organizations to positively impact retention and decrease turnover. An overwhelming majority of executives surveyed ... identified the need for changes to executive compensation to attract, retain, and engage leaders. In fact, 33% of executives said the compensation structure in their organization needed major enhancements, while 49% said only minor enhancements were needed." (HealthLeaders Media)  

Retrofit Corporate Weight Loss Accelerates Growth; Taps Leading Health and Wellness Veteran Mary Pigatti as CEO
Retrofit Inc.

Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc. an Alliance Benefit Group (ABG) Member Merges with Compensation Consultants, Inc.
Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc.

EdisonHealth Adds Health City Cayman Islands to its Elite Network of Medical Destinations of Excellence
EdisonHealth Network LLC

View All Press Releases