ASPPA

Actuarial Analyst
USI Consulting Group
in NY

Actuarial Consultant
USI Consulting Group
in NY

Retirement Plan Administrator II
Fulton Financial Advisors (a subsidiary of Fulton Financial Corporation)
in PA

Retirement Plan Administrator
PenSys, Inc.
in CA, NC

Senior Actuarial Consultant
Consulting Actuaries Incorporated
in NJ

Data Conversion Specialist
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in NY

Retirement Business Development Officer
PNC
in NJ, PA

Pension Administrator
Scholz, Klein & Friends Enlightened Retirement Group, Inc.
in TX

Financial Services Assistant
Mueller Financial Services, Inc.
in IL

Sales Consultant
Third Party Administration and Consulting Firm
in NC

401k Daily Valuation Administrator
Loren D. Stark
in TX

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Winning Strategies for Collecting Social Security Benefits
March 10, 2015 in CO
(Western Pension & Benefits Council - Denver Chapter)

Temps, Contractors, Leased Employees and the ACA
March 11, 2015 WEBCAST
(Littler Mendelson)

Actuarial Standards of Practice No. 1: Its Importance to Smaller Insurance Company Actuaries
March 18, 2015 WEBCAST
(Society of Actuaries)

Getting It Right - Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities: Part 3: ERISA Reporting For Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
March 19, 2015 WEBCAST
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Employee Benefits Ready Series - Reducing Financial Risk
March 24, 2015 in NC
(Hill, Chesson & Woody)

The U.S. Biosimilars Market: Preparations Payers Should Make Now
March 31, 2015 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc.)

Discipline Process Overview Audio/Webcast
April 1, 2015 WEBCAST
(Conference of Consulting Actuaries)

Cafeteria Plans
April 14, 2015 in OR
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
April 15, 2015 in OR
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Private Exchange Strategies for Insurers: What’s Working Today? What’s Next?
April 21, 2015 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc.)

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[Guidance Overview]

Brokerage Windows in Retirement Plans: Can Further Guidance Broker Peace?
"[A] key reason that the DOL has expressed concern with brokerage windows appears to be its perception that, by offering a brokerage window, a plan fiduciary can effectively abrogate its responsibility to contour and otherwise choose an investment menu, by making available to plan participants an extremely wide range of unspecified investments. Arguably, the DOL's concerns with the potential appropriateness of brokerage windows generally led to a disclosure-related approach that could have had the effect of making windows costly and difficult to administer and otherwise implement, or even completely unworkable in a number of cases." (Andrew L. Oringer, Andrew H. Braid and Aaron S. Cha, in Law Journal Newsletters)  

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Publication 3998: Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business (PDF)
8 pages. "In addition to helping your business, your employees, and yourself, it's easy to establish a retirement plan, and there are additional reasons for doing so: [1] High contribution limits so you and your employees can set aside large amounts for retirement; [2] 'Catch-up' rules that allow employees age 50 and over to set aside additional contributions.... [3] A tax credit for small employers that enables them to claim a credit for part of the ordinary and necessary costs of starting a SEP, SIMPLE, or certain other types of retirement plans[.]" [Dated Dec. 2014; published online Feb. 27, 2015.] (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Publication 4334: SIMPLE IRA Plans for Small Businesses (PDF)
"A SIMPLE IRA plan provides you and your employees with a simplified way to contribute toward retirement. It reduces taxes and, at the same time, attracts and retains quality employees. And compared to other types of retirement plans, SIMPLE IRA plans offer lower start-up and annual costs... they are just simpler to operate." [Dated Oct. 2014; published online Feb. 27, 2015.] (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Publication 4587: Payroll Deduction IRAs for Small Businesses (PDF)
8 pages. "A payroll deduction individual retirement account (IRA) is an easy way for businesses to give employees an opportunity to save for retirement. The employer sets up the payroll deduction IRA program with a bank, insurance company or other financial institution, and then the employees choose whether to participate and if so, how much they want deducted from their paychecks and deposited into the IRA. Employees may also have a choice of investments depending on the IRA provider.... A payroll deduction IRA program is easy to set up and operate." [Dated Oct. 2014; published online Feb. 27, 2015.] (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

The Best Way Plan Sponsors Should Pay Fees for 401(k) Fiduciary Advice
"The rise of the machines may sound like another Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action movie, but it may also be a harbinger of things to things to come for employees whose company's offer 401k plans. The 'Robo-Advisor' represents an automated delivery vehicle for investment advice. It has been touted as the answer to cheap, efficient, participant advice." (Fiduciary News)  

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Big Changes Expected from Obama Push on Fiduciary Standard
"Administration officials say the new proposal will look very different from a 2010 attempt that got sent back to the drawing board after a storm of criticism. This time, it will include economic analysis and several exemptions to prohibited transaction rules that would allow service providers to maintain their compensation practices, such as commissions and revenue sharing, as long as clients' interest come first and potential conflicts of interest are disclosed." (Pensions & Investments)  

Engaging the Next Generations in Retirement Savings
8 pages. "Plan sponsors who commit the time and resources to work with plan consultants who understand Gen X and Gen Y expectations and priorities can adopt strategies to communicate the importance of retirement savings in a way that is meaningful to Gen X and Gen Y and may be in a better position to help these generations of workers save for retirement. This whitepaper identifies some distinguishing characteristics of Gen X and Gen Y and suggests strategies that plan sponsors may want to adopt to engage younger workers in retirement savings today so they can achieve retirement readiness in the years to come." (Calamos)  

The Average Retirement Age: An Update
"Labor force activity among older Americans began rising in the mid-1980s due to: changing Social Security incentives; the shift to 401(k) plans; and improving health, longevity, and education. Updated data, however, suggest that these factors may have played themselves out. As a result, the average retirement age has increased only slightly in the last 10 years: to 64 for men and 62 for women." (Alicia H. Munnell, via Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

Age Anchors and the Individual Retirement Age: An Experimental Study
"This study examines the sensitivity of the retirement age decision to standard retirement ages [age anchors] ... Individuals retire later when they are confronted with a higher age anchor. Specifically, their retirement age corresponds to the age of the anchor. The effect of the age anchor on the retirement age is strongest for women.... Financial literacy does not seem to play a role, while the role of advice from pension funds and the role of social interactions are limited. This suggests that age anchors may have a distinct effect on the retirement age." (Niels Vermeer, via SSRN)  

Retirement Security 2015: A Roadmap for Policy Makers (PDF)
36 pages. "An overwhelming majority of Americans believe there is a retirement crisis.... Three in four Americans remain highly anxious about their retirement outlook, but the concern has dissipated slightly as the economy has recovered.... Even though Americans feel slightly less stressed about their retirement prospects, support for steady and reliable retirement income from a pension is high and growing.... Americans see retirement benefits as a job feature that is almost as important as salary.... Americans express strong support for pensions for public employees. Few Americans realize that 75 percent of public pension costs are paid for with employee contributions and investment returns.... Protecting Social Security benefits is increasingly important." (National Institute on Retirement Security [NIRS])  

Change in Average 401(k) Account Balances from January 1, 2014 Through March 1, 2015 (PDF)
This report shows change in average account balances grouped by age and tenure, from January 1, 2014 through March 1, 2015, for participants who had an account balance at the end of 2013. (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

Longer Life Expectancies May Increase Benefit Obligations
"You aren't required to use the new mortality tables when preparing the year-end benefit obligation accrual; other available information may represent a better estimate of mortality for the population of participants in your plan. However, you are required under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to use your best estimate when measuring the benefit obligation, and in making that estimate, to consider all available information through the issuance date. Your auditors will want you to provide them with documentation that the selected mortality assumptions result in the best estimate of expected mortality for plan participants based on conditions existing as of the measurement date." (Moss Adams LLP)  

Funded Status of U.S. Corporate Pensions Rises Five Percent in February
"It was the best month for gains in the funded status of corporate plans since January 2011 ... For the typical U.S. corporate plan, assets in February rose 2.1 percent as U.S. stocks, international developed markets equities, and emerging markets equities all gained. Liabilities for the typical corporate plan in February fell 3.9 percent as the Aa corporate discount rate rose 28 basis points to 3.84 percent." (BNY Mellon)  

NYC Public Advocate Pushes Private Sector Plan
"It's no longer just states that are looking at the notion of expanding private sector retirement plan coverage. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James on Feb. 26 introduced legislation creating a commission of experts to study the establishment of a pension fund for private sector workers in New York City. The 11-member advisory board would have a year to present a report to the mayor and other elected officials about the feasibility of a centrally pooled retirement fund, and to provide recommendations on how such a fund would be structured and managed." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA])  

Don't Overlook the Tax Credit for Small Employer Start-Up Plans
"Many employers are unaware that, in certain circumstances, they may be eligible for a valuable tax credit in connection with their establishment of a retirement plan.... The credit is equal to up to 50 percent of the 'qualified plan start-up costs' incurred for a period of up to three years.... An employer may elect to initially apply the credit to the year the permissible plan is established or to the year before establishment." (Legacy Retirement Solutions)  

Stockton Bankruptcy's Unsettled Pension Legacy
"Larger questions remain, however, from the judge's first-of-its-kind ruling that CalPERS pensions can be cut in a municipal bankruptcy, even though in this case Stockton chose not to do so. Will CalPERS appeal the pension ruling or let it stand unchallenged, possibly clouding the sense of security of state and local government employees, encouraging future bankruptcies and giving management leverage in labor negotiations? And does Stockton's decision not to cut pensions in bankruptcy risk future insolvency, as Moody's credit rating service warned a year ago, possibly putting the city on a path to future budget deficits, which Vallejo has faced since its bankruptcy?" (Calpensions)  

Ninth Circuit: Spousal Consent Not Required Under Top-Hat Plans
"[T]he Court found that: (a) the participant's first wife, who was designated as the primary beneficiary, had waived her rights to benefits as part of the couple's divorce; and (b) the participant's second wife had no rights to the benefits, since she was not a named beneficiary and top-hat plans are exempt from ERISA's spousal consent requirements." [E & J Gallo Winery v. Rogers, No. 13-55327 (9th Cir. Feb. 23, 2015; unpublished)] (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

Segal Group Houston Office Relocates
Segal Consulting

CBIZ Acquires Employee Benefits Provider Model Consulting, Inc.
CBIZ, Inc.

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