|
Employee Benefits Jobs
|
Webcasts and Conferences
|
|
|
[Advert.]
Register Now, Save $100! Earn 15 CE credits, including 2 Ethics
Topics: plan amendments, mergers & acquisitions, takeover plans, potentially dangerous plan provision, effective communication, lost participants, after-tax contribution strategies, interactive sessions on EPCRS and plan design, etc. Register Now.
|
The Upcoming Conflict of Interest Rule: What Will it Look Like, and Why?
"The new proposal is not publicly available and won't be until OMB completes its review. But the statements, reports, FAQs, fact sheets, and the President's speech do tell us a number of things. In this article, based on that information, [the authors] discuss [1] the Administration's view of the importance of this proposal, [2] how it intends to support its adoption and [3] what (in bare outline) the proposal may look like."
(October Three Consulting)
|
How Old Is Your DB Plan? Matching Pension Investing to Plan Demographics
"In the 2000s, pension plan investing for corporations became more focused on lower risk, liability-driven strategies. As time goes on and funded statuses improve ... plans will become more sophisticated about how they match their assets with their liabilities. One key consideration of matching (a.k.a. hedging) strategies ... is the demographics of the plan population. [This paper explains] why demographics have become increasingly important and how a plan sponsor can use this shift to better structure a pension investment strategy."
(Nuveen Asset Management)
|
Retirement Plan Investment in Company Stock Depends on Employer Goal
"[The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)] has found that employee ownership makes employees more productive and ESOP companies tend to perform better. If a plan sponsor is choosing to offer company stock for these reasons, it could offer the ESOP as a stand-alone plan fully funded and only funded by the company, and offer a separate retirement plan.... [C]losely held companies are more likely to offer a retirement savings plan separate from the ESOP than any company is to offer any retirement plan."
(PLANSPONSOR)
|
|
Coalition Opposes Oregon Proposal for State-Run Retirement Plan for Private Employers
"The American Council of Life Insurers and nine other business and financial groups have formed a new coalition seeking to block the state of Oregon's efforts to create a state-managed retirement savings plan for people who do not have access to a pension, 401(k) or Individual Retirement Account through their employer.... The coalition opposes the legislation because they worry it could force the state's employers to follow [ERISA] and subject them to the fiscal liabilities contained in this law. They also think the state should encourage employers to take part in the private retirement savings plan marketplace ... on a voluntary basis instead of forcing them to take part in a government-managed plan."
(The Bulletin)
|
[Opinion]
Wall Street Is Not (Primarily) to Blame for America's Retirement Mess
"[M]any households do not pay any financial-services firm even a dime to manage their money -- because they have no investments. Nearly half of families do not save anything for any purpose, according to the Federal Reserve. As a result, the median family in the United States has financial assets of just $21,200, according to the Fed, and just more than half have no retirement account."
(Morningstar)
|
[Opinion]
Employer-Provided Retirement Benefit Estimates: A Critical Part of Planning for Federal Employees
"Employees at some [federal] agencies are being told they can't request a retirement estimate unless it is part of their application for retirement. Others have been told they must rely on an online estimator until they are within a year of retirement, at which point they can request an estimate from a human resources specialist. A retirement estimate provides valuable information to employees that not only helps them to plan for retirement, but to make sure they're getting credit for all the federal service they've performed."
(Government Executive)
|
Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
|
Average Employer Cost for Union Workers Is $46.50 Per Hour
"Private industry employers spent an average of $31.32 per hour worked for employee compensation in December 2014. Wages and salaries averaged $21.72 per hour worked and accounted for 69.4 percent of these costs. Benefits averaged $9.60 and accounted for the remaining 30.6 percent. Total compensation costs for union workers averaged $46.50 per hour worked in December 2014. The average for nonunion workers was $29.83. Benefits accounted for 40.3 percent of compensation costs for union workers, compared with 29.2 percent for nonunion workers."
(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS])
|
Sixth Circuit Overturns $2.8 Million ERISA Award for Unjust Enrichment
"The fact that LINA made money off the denied claim did not aggravate Rochow's injury, the circuit court said. The opinion stated that if Rochow's logic held, then all wrongful denials of benefits that enables insurers to make gains could subject plan fiduciaries to ERISA enforcement for disgorgement of profits. The earlier Rochow ruling focused on the company's gain, but that was beyond consideration for ERISA relief. Since there was no showing that the benefit recovery, attorney's fee and (potential) prejudgment interest would be inadequate, the further award was inappropriate." [Rochow v. LINA, No. 12-2074 (6th Cir. Mar. 5, 2015)]
(Thompson SmartHR Manager)
|
2015 Workplace Threats Survey: Are Measles or Cyber Attacks the Number One Concern?
"Despite seemingly common workplace fears like disease outbreaks, violence and natural disasters, the number one concern for organizations is a cyber attack.... 37 percent of organizations said a cyber attack was their number one concern, compared to other potential threats. In response, organizations are more financially prepared -- 64% are spending more now than they did 5 years ago for workplace threat prevention."
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])
|
Senate Panel Mulls Changes in Rules on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
"Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), released a report on tax avoidance strategies that outlines possible recommendations for reforming nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) as part of an expected tax reform proposal.... The report outlines several options for reforming NQDC, including proposals that would: [1] Include NQDC in gross income for the taxable year in which it vests; [2] Limit the amount of NQDC (for example, to $1 million); and [3] Impose the 162(m) deduction limit on former employees."
(Towers Watson)
|
Press Releases
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional useful links:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151
Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
Copyright 2015
BenefitsLink.com, Inc. — but feel free to forward this
newsletter without further permission from us, if you do not
modify the newsletter in any way (including this lower
portion).
All materials contained in this newsletter are
protected by United States copyright law and may not be
reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed,
published or broadcast without the prior written
permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of
third party materials, the owner of that content. You
may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or
other notice from copies of the content.
Links to websites other than those owned by
BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to
readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
was not involved in their production and is not
responsible for their content.
We are proud of our
Privacy Policy.
Thanks for reading this newsletter!
|