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Primark Benefits
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Bank of Texas - Houston
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Third Party Administrator with long history of service
in DC, MD

ERISA Testing and Reporting Consultant
MassMutual Financial Group
in CT

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Transamerica Retirement Solutions
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Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in IL, MN, NJ, NY, PA

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Future of Population Health Analytics: The Value of Complementing Risk Adjustment Models with Predictive Analytics
March 31, 2015 WEBCAST
(Healthcare Web Summit)

2015 Health and Wellness Forum - Better Health through Economic Opportunity: Engaging Business to Strengthen Community Wellness
April 7, 2015 in DC
(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Becoming an S Corporation ESOP
April 7, 2015 WEBCAST
(National Center for Employee Ownership)

Retirement Plan Topics: The Latest Updates on EPCRS, Plus Ethics
April 17, 2015 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Dallas/Fort Worth)

HIPAA and Business Associates
May 19, 2015 WEBCAST
(MentorHealth)

Cafeteria Plans
June 2, 2015 in IL
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
June 5, 2015 in IL
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Women Business Leaders Forum
June 8, 2015 in SC
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

68th Annual National Conference
October 14, 2015 in IL
(PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America])

2017 Enrolled Actuaries Meeting
April 2, 2017 in DC
(Conference of Consulting Actuaries)

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[Official Guidance]

Text of DOL Final Regs: Fiduciary Requirements for Disclosure in Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans -- Timing of Annual Disclosure
"The amendment makes a technical adjustment to a timing requirement in the current regulation. As amended, the regulation provides plan administrators with flexibility as to when they must furnish annual disclosures to participants and beneficiaries.... The current regulatory language states that the term at least annually thereafter 'means at least once in any 12-month period, without regard to whether the plan operates on a calendar or fiscal year basis.' Today's direct final rule replaces '12-month period' with '14-month period.' Thus, the definition, as amended by this rulemaking, states that the term at least annually thereafter 'means at least once in any 14-month period, without regard to whether the plan operates on a calendar year or fiscal year basis.' ... The Department also requests comments on whether a similar adjustment is needed for the 'at least quarterly' definition in paragraph (h)(2) of the regulation. Today's direct final rule has no effect on the definition contained in paragraph (h)." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

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[Official Guidance]

Text of DOL Proposed Regs: Fiduciary Requirements for Disclosure in Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans -- Timing of Annual Disclosure
"This document proposes to amend the [DOL's] 'participant-level fee disclosure' regulation by making a technical adjustment to an annual timing requirement.... [W]e are making this same amendment as a direct final rule. If we receive no significant adverse comment, the direct final rule will go into effect and we will not take further action on this proposed rule. If, however, we receive significant adverse comment, we will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

[Guidance Overview]

Text of DOL Fact Sheet: Direct Final Rule Provides Flexibility for the Timing of Annual Disclosures to Workers in 401(k)-Type Retirement Plans
"The rule provides plan administrators with a two-month grace period to furnish required annual disclosures concerning plan and investment fees and other information. The rule continues to ensure that participants and beneficiaries receive the information they need on a regular and periodic basis. The amendment provides plan administrators with some necessary flexibility by modifying the original requirement that annual disclosures must be made no later than one-year exactly after the prior year's disclosure." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

[Guidance Overview]

ERISA Section 4062(e): New Provisions and PBGC Enforcement Policy (PDF)
30 presentation slides. Topics include: [1] PBGC Downsizing Liability: A Brief History; [2] New Law Liability Trigger; [3] New Law Liability Exemption: Small Plans; [4] New Law Liability Exemption: 90% Funded Plans; [5] Reporting of 4062(e) Event; [6] New Law Liability Option; and [7] New Law Transition and Related Rules. (Keightley & Ashner, LLP, for American Benefits Council)  

Target Date Fund Adoption in 2014
8 pages. "In 2014, 45% of Vanguard participants were invested in a professionally managed account option, including 39% who were invested in a single target-date fund (TDF). Use of TDFs in defined contribution (DC) plans continued to grow rapidly. At year-end 2014, 88% of plans offered a TDF, 64% of all participants had a position in the funds, and the funds accounted for 41% of total plan contributions." (Vanguard)  

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Testimony of EBRI to Senate Committee on Aging: Bridging the Gap -- How Prepared Are Americans for Retirement? (PDF)
Mar. 12, 2015; 27 pages. "The aggregate deficit number computed by the EBRI RSPM model, taking into account current Social Security retirement benefits and the assumption that net housing equity is utilized 'as needed,' is currently estimated to be $4.13 trillion for all U.S. households where the head of the household is between 25 and 64, inclusive. Under the scenario ... in which pro rata reductions to Social Security retirement benefits are assumed to begin in 2033, the aggregate deficit increases by 6 percent to $4.38 trillion." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

Saving for Vacation Is a Priority for Three Times as Many as Saving in an IRA
"24 percent of Americans said short-term savings, such as for a vacation or household appliances, is their first priority when deciding how to allocate savings. That's three times the number (8 percent) who said contributing to an [IRA] is their first priority, and in parity with the number (25 percent) who said they would prioritize contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b) plan.... [A] significantly low number of respondents (only 18 percent) report that they are currently contributing to an IRA. Another 14 percent say they have an IRA, but they are not currently contributing anything to it.... Of those Americans who do not currently have an IRA, 56 percent of Americans said they would consider an IRA as part of their retirement strategy, an increase from 47 percent in 2014." [Executive summary also available (PDF).] (TIAA-CREF)  

Pension Funding Study: 2014 Was a So-So Year for Most Multiemployer Plans; Impact of New Legislation Remains to Be Seen (PDF)
"The aggregate funded percentage for multiemployer plans was estimated to be 80% as of December 31, 2014, compared with 81% as of December 31, 2013. For most multiemployer pension plans, the 2014 investment experience is estimated to be slightly less than what was expected by the plans' actuarial assumptions. The more mature plans continue to struggle to recover from the financial crisis. Over one-half of the total underfunding for multiemployer plans is attributed to the 15% of plans that are less than 65% funded." (Milliman)  

State Pension Funds Are Weirdly Good at Playing Local Stock Markets
"State pension investment funds like CalPERS, which tend to the nest eggs of nearly 20 million Americans, seem to be really good at sniffing out the winners from the losers among companies headquartered in their own state. There's a happy hypothesis for this as well as a sinister one.... The simplest explanation is that state pension funds have more information about companies in their own state.... But the researchers were able to take note of this connection: If state pension funds were good at picking local companies to invest in, they were really good at picking companies headquartered in counties where the political contributions tilted toward the winning gubernatorial candidate." (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)  

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SEC Will Develop Fiduciary Rule for Advisors
"The SEC should 'implement a uniform fiduciary duty for broker-dealers and investment advisors where the standard is to act in the best interest of the investor,' [SEC Chair Mary Jo White] said ... White called for SEC staff to develop a 'principles-based standard' rooted in that of investment advisors.... 'Getting the balance right is absolutely essential,' White said. 'At the end of the day, if all we succeed in doing is depriving investors of reliable, reasonably-priced advice, we will have failed in that effort.' " (Financial Planning)  

Rhode Island, Unions Reach New Deal to Settle Pension Suit
"A version of the state's final offer circulating among state employees showed the new settlement would largely mirror the one that was rejected last year ... The board of AFSCME Council 94, the largest state employee union, voted unanimously Tuesday to endorse the proposed settlement... Council 94 President J. Michael Downey confirmed that the proposal would alter the retirement age and COLA provisions of the failed 2014 settlement." (WPRI.com)  

Stock Ownership Guidelines and Retention Policies: Creating Stronger Links Between Executives and Shareholders
7 pages. "92% of Fortune 500 companies ... have either ownership guidelines or a retention policy.... This represents a steady increase from 43% of large U.S. companies that had guidelines in place in 2004 and the 75% reported in 2007... Almost half (47%) of Fortune 500 companies have retention guidelines in place, up from 24% ... in 2007. The majority of retention policies (69%) require executives to retain shares only until stock ownership guidelines are met.... An additional 10% of companies use a layered approach that requires executives to hold some percentage of stock proceeds until ownership guidelines are met and then hold additional shares for some longer duration." (Towers Watson)  

UBS Wealth Management Americas Re-Brands Retirement Plan Consulting Business and Reaffirms Its Commitment to Help Plan Sponsors Navigate Today’s Challenging Environment
UBS

PlanSource Acquires ClearBenefits from BENU
PlanSource

ERISApedia.com to Publish Guide to ERISA Fiduciary Responsibilities
Burrmont Compliance Labs LLC

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