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T R Paul Inc.
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PlanTech, LLP
in AL, FL, GA, MS

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The Newport Group
in FL, NC

Senior Client Manager
Pension Advisors
in OH

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Helping Beneficiaries Understand Their Options: Retirement Accounts and IRAs
May 12, 2015 WEBCAST
(National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA])

The Broad Impacts of Protected Health Information: Addressing the Demands of Customers and Regulators
May 28, 2015 WEBCAST
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)

Davidson v. Henkel — What's Going On With Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans and FICA
June 1, 2015 WEBCAST
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB])

New HIPAA Rules - Meeting Requirements for New Patient Rights and New Restrictions on Disclosures
June 2, 2015 WEBCAST
(MentorHealth)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2015 - Kansas City
June 9, 2015 in KS
(SunGard Relius)

Form 5500 Workshop 2015 - Kansas City
June 10, 2015 in KS
(SunGard Relius)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

PBGC Announces Updates to My PAA Online Premium Filing Web Pages, Instructions and Demos
"The My Plan Administration Account (My PAA) premium filing screens have been updated to reflect a more modern look and feel.... In addition, the instructions for paying via Electronic Funds Transfer outside of My PAA (ACH or Fedwire) have changed. Please see the New Demos that reflect the updated screens and What's New in My PAA for details." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

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[Guidance Overview]

DOL Proposes Expanded Definition of Fiduciary
"One area that plan sponsors will need to review is investment education which is provided to participants, ensure that the materials used and topics covered do not go beyond that which is permitted under the regulations, thus inadvertently making an 'educator' a fiduciary. The greater impact of the 2015 Proposal will fall on those persons (e.g., broker-dealers) who provide direct investment advisory services to plan participants and IRA holders; or who try to market to participants who are considering taking distributions from plans and rolling over these distributions to IRAs." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)  

ERISA Advisory Council to Meet May 27-29, 2015
"The purpose of the open meeting is for Advisory Council members to hear testimony from invited witnesses and to receive an update from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). The EBSA update is scheduled for the morning of May 29, subject to change. The Advisory Council will study the following issues: [1] Model Notices and Plan Sponsor Education on Lifetime Plan Participation, on May 27 and [2] Model Notices and Disclosures for Pension Risk Transfers, on May 28." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

Strategies to Help Defined Contribution Plan Participants Improve Financial Wellness and Achieve a Secure Retirement (PDF)
"The time has come to adopt and implement proven features and solutions to help defined contribution plan participants achieve improved financial wellness and enjoy greater financial security in their retirement years. These include automatic plan features as well as a strategy the authors call The Four Ms -- milestones, measurement, monitoring and management -- that aptly treats saving for retirement more like a marathon than a sprint. The final strategy the authors discuss is connecting the dots -- helping participants make the connection between saving levels and annual retirement income." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

Survey: Actions Being Taken by Employers Having Company Stock in Defined Contribution Plans
"74% have reviewed or plan to review their investment policy statement. 26% have initiated or are considering initiating procedures to eliminate their plan's company stock." (Towers Watson)  

[Advert.]

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Retirement Throughout the Ages: Expectations and Preparations of American Workers
"The 16th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey finds American workers are continuing to recover from the Great Recession and its aftereffects. While the economy is recovering, the U.S. retirement landscape is also continuing to evolve, with increases in life expectancies, the need for Social Security reform, and an even greater need for individuals and families to plan and save for their future financial security.... This study examines workers in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and sixties and older to compare and contrast their retirement preparations and shed light on how they can navigate the future and improve their retirement outlook." (Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies)  

Traditional Retirement Possibly Becoming a Thing of the Past
"Across all ages, many workers worry that they will be unable to save enough to last their lifetime. Outliving investments and savings was the top retirement concern for 44% of all respondents. And one-third of all workers believe their standard of living will diminish once they stop working." (USA TODAY)  

The U.S. Retirement Crisis and Financial Services Firms
"[F]inancial advisors were almost unanimous in suggesting that consumers do indeed face significant challenges getting started and staying on track with retirement planning. In particular, they felt that a lack of holistic planning, lack of familiarity with retirement products, and the do-it-yourself mentality were the most significant barriers. Poor communication and trust were also seen as quite significant[.]" (Deloitte University Press)  

2015 Investment Company Fact Book (PDF)
312 pages. "[A]fter nearly a decade of strong inflows to bond funds, some regulators, researchers, and commentators are once again raising concerns about how fund investors will react when interest rates begin to rise and bond funds report losses ... [O]utflows from bond funds, even at the height of a market downturn, amount to only 1 or 2 percent of bond fund assets in a month. And even when bond funds have net outflows, investors do not all move for the exits. As some investors sell shares in bond funds, others continue to buy; a substantial portion of individual funds have net inflows; and fund managers are both buyers and sellers of securities. All of this means that funds continue to operate on both sides of the markets, rather than engaging in the one-sided trading that is often predicted." (Investment Company Institute [ICI])  

Latest Trends in Target Date Funds
"In the past year, we've seen greats shifts in the Target Date Fund markets, including strong asset growth due to a strong equity market, fees continuing to shrink, and the industry overall moving away from a broken distribution model. Most importantly, we've witnessed an ongoing acknowledgment by plan sponsors and advisors that defined contribution participants prefer to have their retirement accounts professionally managed, and TDFs continue to be the vehicle of choice to meet this need." (BrightScope)  

Fiduciary Rule to Affect Fixed Annuities, Credit Suisse Says
"The proposal does not require FIAs to undergo the same compliance procedures and the fiduciary contract that VAs do, but they would both be subjected to the new 'Impartial Conduct Standards' in the rule. These standards specify that advisors must [1] provide advice that is in the client's best interest and [2] not recommend assets that pay advisors what the DOL called 'unreasonable compensation.' " (InsuranceNewsNet.com)  

Report on Life and Annuity Living Benefit Riders: Considerations for Insurers and Reinsurers (PDF)
74 pages. "The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Product Development Section and Reinsurance Section, along with the Committee on Life Insurance Research, have sponsored this research paper to investigate life and annuity living benefit riders and their implications from both a direct writer and a reinsurer perspective.... The scope of the research includes the following products: [1] Accelerated Death Benefits (ADB) for Chronic Illness; [2] ADB for Terminal Illness; [3] ADB for Critical Illness [4] Life/Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) Accelerated Benefits; [5] Life/LTCI Linked-Benefit Plans; [6] Annuity/LTCI Linked-Benefit Plans; and [7] Annuity Enhanced Payout Benefits triggered by a qualifying health condition." (Society of Actuaries)  

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

Pension Finance Update as of April 30, 2015 (PDF)
"April brought some good news for pension sponsors in the form of higher interest rates, which pushed pension liabilities down and improved funding ratios for both model plans we track [1] Plan A enjoyed a 2% improvement last month, while Plan B gained 1%, and both plans are now even on the year through the first four months[.]" (October Three Consulting)  

Lufthansa Points at Pension Costs Marring Earnings
"Pension provisions surged 41 percent to 10.2 billion euros ($11.3 billion) in the three months ended March 31, pushing the equity ratio down to 7.5 percent, the company said in an earnings report Tuesday.... Lufthansa pilots have staged six days of walkouts this year in a conflict over retirement benefits expected to cost the company 100 million euros in direct expenses and lost bookings." (Bloomberg)  

Massachusetts Governor Signs Bill Encouraging Early Retirement of State Workers
"Republican Gov. Charlie Baker ... signed into law a bill offering incentives to thousands of state employees to take early retirement, cutting the state's payroll by an estimated $172 million in the next fiscal year.... [C]ompromise language ... caps at 5,000 the number of executive branch workers who can opt for early retirement and allows the administration to designate certain critical positions that would be exempt from the program.... Employees must be at least 55 years old and have 20 years of service in state government to apply for early retirement. They can boost their pensions by adding five years to their ages or to their lengths of service." (Boston Herald)  

PBGC to Pay $5.5 Million to Retired U.S. Airways Pilots
"The latest decision approved, on April 30, the final issue over what length of delay would be reasonable, and how much interest should be charged. The $5.5 million settlement was calculated on a 45-day administrative payment delay at 6% interest, plus attorneys' fees and costs. Payments will be made after 60 days." (Pensions & Investments)  

[Opinion]

ERISA and Mom
"By implementing the requirement of a spousal survivor annuity [under the Retirement Equity Act of 1984], a whole class of non-working spouses received protection which was desperately needed. So in that speech to my friend's administrative staff, I asked them to take a broader view -- if just for a moment -- of the important task they were being asked to implement. It was valuable social policy with real, human effect which they were responsible for pulling off, and they should take a measure of pride in the work they were doing.... Congress sometimes gets it right, and there is very valuable social benefit often hidden in the day to day 'grunge' of administering what often seems to be silly rules." (Business of Benefits)  

[Opinion]

What Does Retirement Plan 'Best Interests' Really Mean for the 401(k) and IRA Fiduciary?
"For all the talk ... the DOL never really defined exactly what 'best interest' means. Indeed, according to the formal release, there is an expectation the term will be defined through class action law suits, which the DOL explicitly encourages. This offers little in the way of help to both 401k plan sponsors as well as the financial service providers that serve them. Are 'best interests' in the eye of the beholder, or is there a standard definition to this new standard?" (Fiduciary News)  

Church Plans: Litigation Update (PDF)
"In contrast to retirement plan cases where participants have argued against the church plan exemption to obtain ERISA protections, participants in welfare benefit plans have argued for the applicability of the church plan exemption so they could litigate their state -- law based claims in state court.... Ignoring the battle that rages on in the courts, the IRS continues to confirm the church plan status of church-related tax exempt entities operating with a church-controlled administrator.... Officials from the PBGC continue to state that they will defer to IRS private letter rulings on a plan's eligibility for the church plan exemption unless (and until) contrary court decisions emerge." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

Executive Pay Resurfaces: The SEC Proposes New Pay-for-Performance Rules (PDF)
"[A]pplying the same metric to all companies imposes a 'one-size-fits-all' standard of calculating a company's performance that may not fairly present the link between performance and compensation for all companies.... [C]ompanies who may already use performance share programs but do not use [total shareholder return (TSR)] as a metric may be swayed to change their metrics to include TSR for ease of disclosure." (Squire Patton Boggs)  

TRA Regional Sales Consultant Tricia Morandini Named Volunteer of the Year at Matrix Human Services Awards Ceremony in Detroit, MI
The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

Benefitfocus Announces Reseller Agreement with SAP
Benefitfocus

PCORI Awards $14 Million to Determine Best Aspirin Dose to Protect Patients with Heart Disease
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

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