Vice President & Senior Counsel
Marriott International, Inc.
in MD

Retirement Plan Administrator (Part-time, Contract)
Pango Financial
in DE

Defined Contribution - Client Service Associate
Milliman
in CO

Compensation and Benefits Consulting Professional
Compensation & Benefit Solutions, LLC
in TX

Pension Outsourcing Project Manager
Towers Watson
in ANY STATE

Benefits Service Center Supervisor
Milliman
in TX

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ERISA Fiduciary Developments
June 2, 2015 in MA
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of New England)

Federal Enforcement of the Employer Mandate: What to Expect and How to Prepare
June 3, 2015 in IL
(Seyfarth Shaw LLP)

Navigating Paid Sick Leave Laws: Challenges, Practical Implications, and Best Practices
June 10, 2015 in NY
(Seyfarth Shaw LLP)

Affordable Care Act Compliance Assistance
June 10, 2015 WEBCAST
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Current Retirement Plan Topics
June 18, 2015 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Dallas/Fort Worth)

Certificate in Health and Welfare Plans
July 20, 2015 in IL
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Workshop
July 28, 2015 in CA
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Employers and Telemedicine
August 12, 2015 in IL
(Midwest Business Group on Health)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

The Impact of the DOL's Fiduciary Proposal on Independent Registered Investment Advisers
"The [Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE)] conditions are so difficult to satisfy in the context of distribution recommendations that [the authors] believe most RIAs will provide distribution education, rather than recommendations.... If the RIA is providing advice at the plan level but not to participants, this may be impractical. But for RIAs that are providing advice to participants, they could avoid engaging in a prohibited transaction by maintaining the same fee in the IRA as they charged in the plan." (Bruce Ashton and Fred Reish, of Drinker Biddle)  

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[Guidance Overview]

DOL's Proposal to Expand Fiduciary Definition Would Bring Many Service Providers Into Scope
10 pages. "The reproposed definition of 'fiduciary' is intended to expand the scope of activities that will result in fiduciary status and application of the prohibited transaction rules, particularly covering many services that broker-dealers and other financial advisers provide to plans, plan participants, and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) owners. The DOL has provided exceptions for certain activities that, in its view, should not result in fiduciary status. The reproposal leaves open questions about what types of investment-related activities or communications may still be viewed as nonfiduciary even though they do not fall within one of the six carve-outs." (Morgan Lewis)  

PBGC Launches Pilot Program for Smaller Asset Managers
"Earlier this month, PBGC published a pre-solicitation notice for smaller asset managers to invest in a U.S. fixed income portfolio with allocations ranging from $50 million to $250 million. This program creates new opportunities for smaller asset managers by reducing the required amounts of the assets they manage and their mandates. Before the pilot program, these contracts were out of reach to the firms because the minimum amounts of the investments, often in the billions, were too large for the firms to accommodate." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

Best Practices for 401(k) Fees: 10 Steps to Reduce Risk and Increase the Value of Your Plan (PDF)
"[1] Identify plan fiduciaries.... [2] Select and monitor plan fiduciaries to avoid conflicts of interest ... [3] Establish a process to periodically evaluate fees and fee disclosure ... [4] Evaluate fees in the context of value for services received ... [5] Benchmark ... [6] Don't ignore the advice of advisers ... [7] If adopted, follow the fee policy statement ... [8] Document, document, document.... [9] Provide education to improve the financial literacy of plan participants.... [10] Consider fiduciary liability insurance." (Poyner Spruill LLP, via Business NC Magazine)  

Institutionally Priced Retirement Income Solutions Deliver More Income (PDF)
"Plan sponsors can use their bargaining power, scale, ability to standardize, and distribution efficiency to improve the retirement security of plan participants by offering their retiring plan participants a limited selection of retirement income generators (RIGs) that take advantage of institutional pricing rather than retail pricing.... This article examines three RIGs that can be offered in employer-sponsored DC plans: systematic withdrawals, immediate annuities, and guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (GLWB, which are also known as guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits, or GMWB).... [The authors] compare how each RIG performs assuming institutional pricing typically available within a DC plan relative to retail pricing typically available outside a DC plan." (Institutional Retirement Income Council [IRIC])  

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What's in an Expense Ratio?
"The Audited Net is the audited fee charged during the previous fiscal year for the fund. It can be considered a 'backward-looking' number. The Prospectus Net is a 'forward-looking' number and is the anticipated expense the fund company plans to charge for the upcoming fiscal year. If the numbers are different, a comparison of the two can be conducted to see if the fund company anticipates an increase or decrease in fees charged. Both numbers include the 12b-1 fee and other management fee or administrative costs for the fund. They do not include any sales or transaction charges." (fi360)  

As Church Plan Debate Hits Next Level, Third Circuit Receives Competing Amicus Briefs (PDF)
"[T]he groups supporting Saint Peter's Healthcare System -- which lost at the district court level -- have encouraged the Third Circuit not to overlook the unique organizational structure employed by the Roman Catholic Church or the critical role that health care plays in the church's ministry. Groups supporting the hospital workers have argued for a narrow church plan exemption that wouldn't apply to large hospitals, saying that a broader exemption would violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by extending special benefits to religious groups and burdening third parties such as hospital workers in the process." [(Kaplan v. Saint Peter's Healthcare Sys., No. 13-2941 (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2014; interloc. appeal to 3d Cir. granted Sept. 19, 2014)] (Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter, via Pension Rights Center)  

As Pension Recoupment Grows, Advocates for Retirees Offer Advice to Agencies (PDF)
"[S]uggestions that the DOL or Treasury can use to develop guidance [include]: ... [1] Either the DOL or Treasury should state that plans must follow the usual claims and appeals process.... [2] Many plans impose a statute of limitations on participants, stating, for example, that claims must be brought within three years, or even as little as one year. But plans impose no such limitations on themselves. [3] Limit recoupment to a percentage of monthly benefit.... [4] Prohibition on interest.... [5] The DOL should also develop guidance as to what constitutes a hardship, such as exists with the OPM and Social Security." (Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter, via Pension Rights Center)  

Washington State OKs Retirement Plan Marketplace
"A new marketplace director will work with the private sector to establish a program to connect eligible employers with qualifying plans. Employers are free to choose from an array of voluntary private retirement plan options, including life insurance plans designed for retirement purposes. The program will offer at least two kinds of savings plan: a plan modeled on the SIMPLE IRA that takes employer contributions, and a plan similar to an individual retirement account funded through payroll deductions, which doesn't take employer contributions." (PLANSPONSOR)  

26 Senators Ask Obama to Remove Barriers to State-Based Retirement Savings Programs
"More than a quarter of the U.S Senate -- including the ranking members of the Senate HELP and Finance Committees -- have asked the Obama administration to act quickly to remove 'any potential uncertainty' regarding the legality of various state-based retirement programs. The letter, addressed directly to President Obama, requests that the Department of Labor and Treasury ... ensure that ... the 'Secure Choice Retirement Savings' programs in California and Illinois, as well 'similar IRA-based programs enacted in the future,' are not preempted by ERISA[.]" (National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA])  

The Necessity of Self-Employment Towards Retirement
"This paper investigates whether individuals at the end of working life choose self-employment out of necessity and to what degree job search requirements for unemployment benefits induce people to become self-employed.... [At] the end of the career individuals with a weak labor market position have a relatively high probability to become self-employed, e.g. to end or avoid a period of unemployment or inactivity (necessity driven self-employment). Contrasting some earlier work, the results do not suggest that self-employment is used as a gradual retirement route for employees. A difference-in-differences analysis shows that job search requirements among unemployed older workers increased the outflow from unemployment and decreased the inflow into unemployment, but did not increase self-employment out of necessity or opportunity." (Jim Been and Marike Knoef, via SSRN)  

Largest U.S. Pension Funds Divided on Use of Shareholder Activism
"Decades ago, Calpers became one of the first U.S. pensions willing to publicly challenge companies' policies and performance while Calstrs had little presence in the activist world. Those roles flipped in recent years amid a new wave of investor activism. Calpers kept its disagreements with companies mostly behind closed doors while Calstrs publicly called for breakups, sales and other operational changes sought by activist funds -- and in some cases invested side-by-side with them." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

[Opinion]

Did We Get the 'Old-Age Dependency' of Aging Countries All Wrong?
"Over the coming decades, many countries in the developed and developing world alike will significantly age.... Are we then doomed to be overwhelmed by old folks who are after the young folks' money? Will every future worker not only have to work for himself, but also support half (or more) of the income of a retired person? Are we looking at a new society that will be dominated by people dependent on other people's work and income? ... The old-age dependency ratio has a fundamental weakness: its current definition still makes us believe that after 65 you become an 'old-age dependent.' Yet this will simply not be true in the future." (The Brookings Institution)  

[Opinion]

Can 401(k) Plans Be Improved?
"[F]lexibility is often framed as a feature of these plans, allowing people to mitigate current pain at the expense of future security. But would fewer options actually mean better financial health? That's the case in a handful of countries abroad, where although they have similar 'defined-contribution' accounts to help people save for retirement, tapping into funds early is much harder[.]" (The Atlantic)  

Tips for Preparing for Your Employee Benefit Plan Audit
"Start by understanding the provisions in your plan documents and adoption agreements.... Schedule a meeting with all of your service providers... Ask your auditors for a planning letter specifying what information and in what format they will need for the audit.... Delegate a gate-keeper to keep track of all audit information... Understand what the auditors will be testing.... Compare your Form 5500 to your financial statement so that you can identify and resolve any discrepancies prior to the audit." (DiCicco, Gulman & Company LLP)  

Fiduciary Restores More than $10K to SGH Communications, Inc. SIMPLE Plan in Lakeville, Minnesota
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

ACLI Supports Washington Retirement Marketplace Initiative
American Council of Life Insurers

AIG Acquires Controlling Stake in ING Employee Benefits Global Network; Renames to AIG Global Benefits Network
American International Group, Inc. [AIG]

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