Pensions & Investments

Relationship Manager/Financial Analyst
The Cochlan Group
in IL

DC Pension Administrator
MGKS
in AZ

Institutional Services Client Consultant
Fifth Third Bank
in OH

DC Retirement Plan Administrator
Pension Plan Administration, LLC
in AR

Contracts Consultant
Great West Financial
in CO, KS

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Correcting Retirement Plan Mistakes Using IRS Correction Programs
RECORDED
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
RECORDED
(Ernst & Young, LLP)

403(b) Plans for 401(k) Practitioners 2015 - A Three-Part Program
March 6, 2015 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

Strategies for Managing the Employer Mandate
March 11, 2015 in NC
(Hill, Chesson & Woody)

Health Insurance Benefit Design 2016: Insurer Strategies for Large Groups
March 24, 2015 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc.)

2015 NTSA 403(b) Summit
June 28, 2015 in TN
(National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA])

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[Official Guidance]

IRS Notice 2015-19: February 2015 Interest Rate Update (PDF)
"This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates used under Section 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under Section 430(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, this notice provides guidance as to the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities ... as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008 and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate ... The rates in this notice reflect the application of Section 430(h)(2)(C)(iv), which was added by [MAP-21] and amended by [HATFA]." [Also available: Recent corporate bond yield curve spot rates spreadsheet.] (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

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Crunching the Numbers on That Lump Sum Optional Form of Payment (or Lump Sum Buyout Offer)
"[I]nterest rates to determine lump sums are currently very low, and retirees may be legitimately tempted by the amount of the lump sum offer they may be eligible to receive and roll over to an IRA.... Since pension plan lump sum offers are based on unisex mortality assumptions (and will therefore be equal in amount for males and females of the same age with the same benefits) and annuity rates from insurance companies are higher for females than males, a pension lump sum offer will almost always be more favorable for males than females when measured as a percentage of the market value of the annuity." (Ken Steiner, FSA Retired)  

PBGC, IRS Seek Information for Guidance on Multiemployer Plan Cutbacks, Partitions
"IRS and the [PBGC] have less than six months to develop regulations that will spell out how the new law will be enacted and enforced for affected plans. Comments they are soliciting are due by April 6.... IRS and PBGC called for public comments on two areas of MPRA revisions: suspension of benefits and plan partition, respectively. The agencies say they will share the materials submitted with each other and the [DOL]." (Thompson's HR Compliance Expert)  

Do U.S. Households Perceive Their Retirement Preparedness Realistically?
"This study examines the divergence between objective and subjective assessment of retirement adequacy, analyzing U.S. households with a full-time worker age 35 to 60 in the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances. Of those households, 58% have objective inadequacy, and 54% have subjective inadequacy, but only 52% have objective/subjective consistency.... [H]ouseholds with defined benefit plans and with defined contribution plans are less realistic than those without plans, and as age increases, realism decreases." (KyoungTae Kim and Sherman D. Hanna, via SSRN)  

DOL Fiduciary Rule Would Pose Roadblocks to Americans' Ability to Retire
"The interests of retirement savers are served by enhancing access to professional retirement planning and guidance at an affordable price rather than imposing barriers to access. Americans currently have choices about how to work with a financial professional. These choices have increased workers' confidence and retirement savings. Any change to the current rules under ERISA that would limit access to professional retirement planning, guidance and investment products would potentially reduce workers' overall level of retirement savings. Experience in the United Kingdom and Australia does not support adoption of similar regulations in the United States." (Debevoise & Plimpton, for Financial Services Roundtable)  

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Small Businesses Need Help With Retirement Plans
"Current law allows businesses to match up to 6 percent of employee contributions, while employees can pay up to 10 percent of their earnings into a 401K. [The proposed Retirement Security Act of 2015] would enable employers to match contributions of up 10 percent. Employees would also be able contribute more than 10 percent -- albeit without an additional employer match. The bill contains a provision to help smaller businesses -- those with fewer than 100 employees -- offset the cost of this additional match through a new tax credit." (MPBN News)  

Illinois Budget Proposal Calls for Changes to State Pension Plan for New Hires
"[Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's] budget proposal ... relies on $2.2 billion in savings by shifting current workers into the state pension plan for recent hires -- a plan that offers lower benefits -- in a move certain to face legislative and legal hurdles. The state already is being challenged in court over one pension reduction plan. The state constitution prevents the diminishment or impairment of public employee retirement benefits. Police and firefighters would be exempt from the pension shift." (Chicago Tribune; subscription may be required)  

[Opinion]

Are Chicago and Tampa The Next Detroit?
"In December 2013, Illinois passed a huge bill to slay its pension dragon but all that did was kick the can down the road which is why credit rating agencies are cutting the ratings of cities like Chicago, fearing a Detroit-style disaster. Actually, when Chicago blows up, it will make Detroit look like a walk in the park." (Pension Pulse)  

[Opinion]

MyRA or the Highway?
"[T]he MyRA has several significant drawbacks: Because the MyRA only invests in government debt (bonds), it is not the wisest choice for workers who have decades before retirement. The MyRA is only available to workers whose employers are set up to make automatic payroll deductions. The MyRA account is limited to 30 years or a $15,000 balance, at which time the account must be rolled over into a private IRA." (National Center for Policy Analysis)  

Cedar Brook Financial Partners’ Howard Slater, MBA, MSFS®, ChFC®, CLU, is Recognized for His Tremendous Volunteer Work
Cedar Brook Financial Partners

BeneTrac Launches New Service to Help Businesses Comply with Employer Shared Responsibility Provision of Affordable Care Act
BeneTrac

Report Shows High-Tech Specialty and Mail-Service Pharmacies Will Reduce Costs for New York Employers, Consumers and Public Programs by $23 Billion
Pharmaceutical Care Management Association [PCMA]

Counsel for Plaintiffs: $36 Million Settlement Has Been Reached with Northern Trust Company and Northern Trust Investments, N.A.
Berger & Montague, P.C.

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