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Employee Benefits Jobs
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Webcasts and Conferences
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[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Notice 2015-7: Proposed Relief for Charter School Participants in Section 414(d) Governmental Plans (PDF)
16 pages. "Section III of this notice describes the guidance under consideration, which would provide that employees of a public charter school may participate in a State or local retirement system if certain conditions are satisfied. Section IV of this notice discusses the potential for broader transition relief for governmental plans once final regulations under Section 414(d) are issued. Section V of this notice requests comments ... The guidance under consideration would take into account the special and unique nature of public charter schools, the governance structure associated with these schools, the structure of many public school systems that permit or encourage public school teachers to move between public charter and traditional public schools, and the relationship between public charter schools and the agencies authorized by the State or political subdivision of the State ...
that hold these schools accountable for academic results. It is expected that the principles described in section III.A of this notice would apply regardless of whether the retirement plan is a defined benefit, defined contribution, Section 403(b), or Section 457(b) governmental plan." [Editor's Note: IRS has also released an undated Reference Guide which lists factors to be applied in considering charter school exemption applications.]
(Internal Revenue Service [IRS])
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2015 Planning Calendar for ERISA Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plan Operations (PDF)
10 pages. "[This] calendar ... will help you set up your own schedule of activities to address as the year progresses so that you do not miss important deadlines for your qualified plans. As you evaluate the various tasks, you can confirm suitable deadlines with your vendors for getting them done.... As you make your plans, in addition to the calendar deadlines, [the authors] discuss a number of key issues for you to consider as we head into 2015."
(Buck Consultants at Xerox)
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Selection of Mortality Assumptions for Retirement Plan Valuations (PDF)
10 pages. "Although the RP-2014 tables are intended to model mortality rates for the general uninsured retirement plan population, specific plans and employers may have factors that would make a customized table more appropriate. These factors include (but are not limited to): Variability in plan benefit level ... Proportion of the workforce that is unionized... Geography ... Industry ... Socio-economic level."
(Buck Consultants at Xerox)
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Billions in Lost 401(k) Savings, Abusive Brokers Under White House Scrutiny
"Jason Furman, chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, drafted a Jan. 13 memo citing research that says some broker practices, such as boosting commissions with excessive trading, cost investors $8 billion to $17 billion a year.... [The memo] makes the case for a Labor Department regulation that would impose a fiduciary duty on brokers handling retirement accounts ... 'Consumer protections for investment advice in the retail and small-plan markets are inadequate,' Furman wrote in the memo ... 'The current regulatory environment creates perverse incentives that ultimately cost savers billions of dollars a year.' "
(Bloomberg)
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DOL Feeling Heat on QPAM Exemptions
"The [DOL] is under increasing pressure to get tough on money managers with U.S. retirement plan clients when their firm, or an affiliate, gets into legal trouble. That pressure -- on display recently in an unprecedented public hearing on a proposed exemption for Credit Suisse Asset Management -- could change what used to be a relatively straightforward matter of approving the firms as qualified professional asset managers. Its ripples could affect BNP Paribas' bid for a similar exemption, as well as any future requests by other managers."
(Pensions & Investments)
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Amicus Brief of Defense Research Institute to Supreme Court in Tibble v. Edison (PDF)
"The Ninth Circuit's judgment should be affirmed because Petitioners' claims are untimely.... In reaching that conclusion, the Court should preserve ERISA's distinction between benefit claims and fiduciary duty claims. Because the question presented concerns only the timeliness of Petitioners' fiduciary duty claims, this Court's decision should be narrowly tailored to avoid benefit claims under Section 502(a)(1)(B)." [Tibble v. Edison International, No. 13-550 (U.S., cert. pet. granted Oct. 2, 2014]
(Defense Research Institute)
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Amicus Brief by Employer Organizations Urging Supreme Court to Affirm ERISA's Six-Year Statute of Limitations for Alleged Fiduciary Breach Claims (PDF)
"Petitioners attempt to avoid the clear import of [ERISA] Section 413(1) and subvert Congress's considered judgment that six years is sufficient by advancing an interpretation of a fiduciary's duty to monitor that would render fiduciaries perpetually liable for allegedly imprudent decisions made more than six years before. This Court should reject this effort to rewrite Section 413(1), which would effectively transform it from a statute of repose into a rolling limitation on damages, and instead preserve the careful balance struck by Congress when it crafted ERISA." [Tibble v. Edison International, No. 13-550 (U.S., cert. pet. granted Oct. 2, 2014)]
(The ERISA Industry Committee [ERIC], National Association of Manufacturers [NAM], American Benefits Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Business Roundtable)
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Forecasting Future Investment Experience: Use Monte Carlo Simulations Responsibly
"In terms of the question of what a low-return environment means if one is using the Actuarial Approach, ... if you are using the recommended assumptions for 2015 (5% investment return, 3% inflation and a payout period of 95-current age, or life expectancy if greater) then you are already using assumptions that are consistent with a low-return environment and you don't necessarily need to change anything."
(Ken Steiner, FSA Retired)
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Accumulators: Are Your Retirement Savings on Track?
"Because savings targets will be so sensitive to individual-specific inputs, online calculators that allow investors to adjust these inputs are the best way for investors to determine the adequacy of their savings rates.... Because all of these calculators are a bit different -- and because retirement readiness is such an important issue -- be prepared to sample a range of calculators rather than settling on just one. Also, focus on the most holistic tools you can find[.]"
(Morningstar)
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Illinois Retirement Initiative Could Blaze a Path for Other States
"The structure of the Secure Choice program should help minimize -- but not eliminate -- the employer regulatory burden.... A smooth implementation for employees may spur other states to enact similar legislation ... Oregon and California are among the approximately one dozen states that are actively considering adopting a similar program."
(Morningstar)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Guidance Overview]
Code Section 162(m) Compliance Alert
"[P]ublicly traded corporations should carefully review their compensation plan/arrangements to ensure that: [1] The proxy statement disclosures do not include a promise (or imply a promise) that the compensation will qualify as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m); [2] The performance goals are based on a business criteria; [3] The performance goal is based on an objective formula so that a third party could calculate the award with knowledge of the relevant performance result; [4] The performance goal is established before or soon after the performance period starts; and [5] There is no discretion to increase the amount of compensation payable."
(Ford & Harrison LLP)
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How Paid Sick Leave Can Be Healthy for Pensions
"[CalPERS] actuaries assume, when calculating future costs, that service credit for unused sick leave will increase pensions and other benefits by 1 percent for state workers and non-teaching school employees. Actuaries for [CalSTRS], making the calculation in a different way, assume that unused sick leave will increase the service credit for educators by 2 percent. An analysis by the CalSTRS actuary, Milliman, issued in 2010 found that the average amount of unused sick leave converted to service credit was 0.5 years for members retiring after 26 years on the job."
(Calpensions)
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Press Releases
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