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401K - DC Consultant
USI Consulting Group
in CT

Client Service Team Manager
Charles Schwab
in AZ

Product Manager
Charles Schwab
in AZ, TX

Retirement Technology Sr. Specialist
Charles Schwab
in NC

Retirement Technology Specialist
Charles Schwab
in NC

Retirement Business Services - Product Development Manager
Charles Schwab
in AZ

Sales Consultant-401(k) & Defined Benefit Administration
Farmer & Betts
in FL, IN, MN, MO, NC, TN, TX

401(k) Plan Administrator
CecilCo
in TX

Relationship Manager, Team Lead
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
in ANY STATE, CT, NJ, NY

Retirement Implementation Manager
Cuna Mutual Group
in WI

Compliance Manager
Cuna Mutual Group
in WI

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Affordable Care Act: Employer Shared Responsibility and Information Reporting
May 21, 2015 WEBCAST
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program and Abandoned Plan Workshop
May 21, 2015 in OH
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Information Risk Management Essentials
May 28, 2015 WEBCAST
(Clearwater Compliance)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Fiduciaries: If You Don't Have Time to Do It Right, When Will You Have Time to Do It Over?
"[C]ommon questions and misconceptions regarding time, as it relates to investment matters ... tend to fall into one of three categories. The first relates to the time it takes to properly evaluate an investment (e.g., due diligence prior to selection, evaluation and monitoring following acquisition and issues that arise when a decision to redeem or replace an investment arises). The second surrounds the frequency in which the review or evaluation of investments should occur, and finally, the third relates to the additional time requirements that can arise from various contracts and structures associated with running a retirement plan." (Al Otto and Heath Miller, via LinkedIn)  

[Advert.]

2015 SPARK National Conference -- June 7-9, Washington DC

The retirement services industry's leading event for top marketing, sales, administration and record keeping professionals. Comprehensive agenda is designed to meet the needs of 401(k) Plan Providers, Financial Advisors and Third Party Administrators.

For Advisors: The Essence of the Fiduciary Proposal
"[A]lmost every person who makes an investment recommendation to a plan, a participant or an IRA owner will be considered a fiduciary. For 'pure' level-fee advisors (which are typically RIAs), there won't be any change for their services to plans, participants or IRAs -- with one exception. The exception is 'capturing' rollovers." (FredReish.com)  

Five Fast Facts Regarding the New DOL Proposed Fiduciary Rule
"[1] There appears to be no need to take any immediate action ... [2] It appears that the proposed rule will NOT affect non-ERISA plans ... [3] Conversely, IRAs appear to be significantly affected by the rules ... [4] The proposed rule primarily affects service providers as opposed to plan sponsors ... [5] There are a lot of unknowns, at least at present." (Cammack Retirement Group)  

Investor Confusion About Fiduciary Duty Not Likely to Be Resolved by Proposed DOL Rule
"Investors remain confused about whether their financial advisers are fiduciaries and about the fees they pay for advice ... [A new report] shows that more than four out of five investors believe that their adviser is a fiduciary or acts in their best interests. Yet most investors use a full service broker -- who must sell investments that are suitable for their clients but not necessarily the lowest cost or commission -- and a much smaller percentage use investment advisers, who already must meet the best-interests standard." (Investment News)  

New Compliance Questions on Form 5500 Filing
"The additional information gathered will be used by the IRS to monitor tax compliance, encourage plan sponsor development and use of internal controls, compile data to use for future Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) projects, and check plans for potential disqualification errors. The additional compliance questions may be answered on either the Form 5500 or 5500-SF or may be answered via the submission of a new paper-only Form 5500-SUP." (Retirement Management Services)  

401(k) Plan Fees: Three Fundamental Questions Every Advisor Should Be Prepared to Answer
"Why should I keep my plan with you when another firm is offering a 'no-cost' solution? ... Where do revenue share expenses go? ... What is a 'level-compensation' or 'revenue neutral' fee structure?" (fi360)  

Financial Services Group Targets Employers in 401(k) Push
"With its new Save 10 program, the Financial Services Roundtable hopes to show individuals the value of saving money for retirement -- and employers the value of adding a 401(k) program if they don't already offer one.... The group's approach is partly defined by its research, which found that many people fail to save for retirement if their company does not offer an 'auto-save' program. Companies that automatically enroll employees in retirement plans increase those saving for retirement from 64 percent to 82 percent." (Associations Now)  

Five Key Risks to Your Retirement Nest Egg
"[U]nless your action plan includes strategies to address Five Key Risks, that nest egg you're working so hard to build up may not be enough.... Inflation... Overconcentration... Volatility... Medical Expenses... Longevity." (Pension Consultants, Inc.)  

2015 Oregon Small Business Owner Work and Save Survey
"Many small businesses in Oregon (those with 1-100 employees) see the value in saving for retirement. Three in four have a personal retirement savings plan, but many face challenges to providing a retirement savings plan to their employees. Three in five do not provide access to workplace retirement savings, with cost cited as the top reason for not providing a retirement plan. More than half support a state retirement savings plan that would help Oregon residents build their own private retirement savings." (AARP)  

Pension Finance Watch: Pension Index Moves Up in April
"April results included increases in long bond yields and positive equity returns. These factors combined to push the Towers Watson Pension Index up 2.9%, to 73.2. The index is now also up slightly for the year." (Towers Watson)  

[Opinion]

The Hidden Provision in the DOL's Proposed Fiduciary Rule
"The DOL believes advisors who recommend portfolios consisting of low-management-fee index funds, passively managed funds or exchange-traded funds presumptively could be deemed to be acting in a manner consistent with their fiduciary obligation, since these investment options 'present minimal risk of abuse.' The DOL justifies this position by noting it is 'consistent with the prevailing (though by no means universal) view in the academic literature that posits that the optimal investment strategy is often to buy and hold a diversified portfolio of assets calibrated to track the overall performance of financial markets.' " (U.S. News & World Report)  

[Opinion]

Preserving Multiemployer Pensions: Promises Made Should Be Promises Kept (PDF)
"MPRA was an important advance in addressing the challenges facing Taft-Hartley plans and the PBGC multiemployer insurance program. But much work remains to be done. [1] In all likelihood, the multiemployer insurance program eventually will require direct federal government financial assistance. The time to recognize this challenge is now, before there is a crisis.... [2] The current multiemployer plan guaranties are being degraded and need to be increased ... [3] Give transparency a chance." (Kraw Law Group, via Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Daily)  

[Opinion]

It's Time to Raise IRA Contribution Limits
"One straightforward solution would be to adopt a uniform annual maximum contribution to tax-advantaged retirement plans. From the perspective of the government, it is more important that people save an adequate amount for retirement, rather than that they save in a particular type of tax-favored vehicle." (Morningstar)  

[Opinion]

Could Personally Owned Retirement Programs Replace Social Security?
"In 1981-2, three Texas counties (Galveston, Matagorda and Brazoria) opted out of Social Security and created an alternative, personally owned retirement program that mirrored all three of Social Security's primary functions -- only the benefits are better. It's known as the Alternate Plan (AP).... [D]isabled people are much better off under the Alternate Plan. But so is the country because private sector companies would be monitoring those receiving benefits to ensure [1] they actually are disabled and [2] whether they have improved and can return to work -- both sources of significant potential fraud." (National Center for Policy Analysis [NCPA])  

Dorsey Adds Experienced Employee Benefits Lawyer Elizabeth Deckman in Seattle
Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SOA CPD Tracker
Society of Actuaries

Power Kunkle Benefits Consulting Is the Latest Partner Firm to Join United Benefit Advisors
United Benefit Advisors

Labor Department Sues Alabama’s Law Partners LLC for Improper Use of Employee Retirement Contributions
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

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