Account Manager
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

Compliance Analyst
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

ESOP Administrator
Blue Ridge ESOP Associates
in ANY STATE

Retirement Plan Consulting & Administration
Retirement Plan Administration, Consulting and Design Firm
in CT, NJ, NY

Executive Director
Sheet Metal Benefit Plans Administrative Corporation
in CA

Regional Vice President - Sales
Ascensus
in CA

Actuarial Analyst
Hooker & Holcombe, Inc.
in CT

Retirement Service Account Executive
Insurance Brokerage - Westchester Area
in NY

Reviewing Actuary
Hooker & Holcombe, Inc.
in CT

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Executive Compensation: Strategy, Design, and Implementation
June 18, 2015 in NY
(American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education Group [ALI CLE])

Certificate Series
June 20, 2015 in IL
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])

IRA Required Minimum Distributions
June 23, 2015 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

IRA Distributions
September 3, 2015 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Employee Benefit Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers: Featuring Practical Solutions
September 10, 2015 in DC
(American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education Group [ALI CLE])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Rev. Proc 2015-32: Penalty Relief Program -- Late Annual Reporting for Non-Title I Retirement Plans ('One-Participant Plans' and Certain Foreign Plans) (PDF)
9 pages. "This revenue procedure establishes a permanent program to provide administrative relief from the penalties imposed ... for a failure to timely comply with the annual reporting requirements ... [F]ilers may not seek relief for reasonable cause as part of their submission under this program. The permanent program generally follows the requirements of the pilot program, but some changes have been made to reflect the comments received as well as to reflect the addition of a payment requirement." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Advert.]

Join the elite group of ERPAs who represent their clients before the IRS.

An Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA) has demonstrated competence in qualified retirement plan matters, allowing that individual to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Become an ERPA, increase your employability.

Supreme Court Declines to Review Decision That Service Provider Was Not a Fiduciary in Setting Investment Fees
"The Third Circuit joins the Seventh in holding that service providers, under current DOL regulations, do not act as fiduciaries when plan fiduciaries have ultimate authority in selecting the plan's investment funds." [Santomenno v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., No. 13-3467 (3d Cir. Sept. 26, 2014; cert. denied Apr. 20, 2015)] (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2015
"With people now expecting to live well beyond the age of 80 in many countries, our survey participants say they expect to live an average 20 years in retirement. The expectation is that retirement will now last longer than childhood ... However while people may recognize that time spent in retirement is growing lengthier, it is not reflected in their long-term planning. Key Findings: [1] Making habitual saving a global trend is a shared responsibility. [2] Employers make a major contribution toward improving the financial well-being of their employees in retirement. [3] Governments can significantly help by encouraging individuals to work longer and save more. [4] Active retirement: promoting greater health and vitality in retirement." (Aegon)  

Cash Balance Plans: Design and Investing (PDF)
"[T]he three primary attributes of a successful cash balance investment strategy are.... Earn at least the crediting (hurdle) rate with little excess; Low volatility; [and] Liquidity ... A superior approach may be a tactically risk-managed strategy specifically managed for the cash balance hurdles." (L. Gregg Johnson and Jacob T. Linney, in Investments & Wealth Monitor)  

The Danger in Debalancing
"[A group of funds with net inflows in 2014 (popular funds) outperformed the group with net outflows in 2014 (unpopular funds'] ... Comparing average flow-weighted returns... the popular funds' return in 2014 was over 12 times greater than the return of the unpopular funds.... The popular fund, on average, has far more exposure to U.S. equities than its unpopular counterpart ... By abandoning the unpopular strategies for the popular ones, investors are unconsciously shifting their risk posture, concentrating their portfolios in the sectors and securities that have recently outperformed." (Research Affiliates)  

[Advert.]

PSCA's 68th Annual National Conference, Oct. 14-16, Chicago, IL

Your DC plan is the first step in helping employees be prepared for retirement. Attend PSCA's National Conference and learn how to get your employees to financial wellness using the plan's design, investments, compliance and education. Register NOW!

A Wrinkle in Timing: Getting Tactical with Target Date Funds
"[In] an environment that will likely offer lower returns it's only human nature to feel like we have to do something.... [T]actical strategies infrequently work.... [G]etting the timing right is essential for a tactical strategy to pay off.... [It's] an active strategy that is difficult to execute because it requires accurate timing, keeping costs low, and consistent implementation to work." (Vanguard)  

Target Date Funds: Look Under the Hood
"Managers [of target date funds] chose 'an abnormal number of funds which have been in existence for a short period of time,' [researchers] found. When one of the options was a fund that had existed for three months or less, [managers] chose it more than twice as often as they would have if it had been a random selection, and those young funds underperformed similar funds on average over the following three years[.]" (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

DOL Wants More Control Over Plan Audits
"In addition to increased outreach to CPAs and enforcement of audit standards by the EBSA, the report ... recommends that [Congress] [1] amend the [ERISA] definition of 'qualified public accountant' to include additional requirements and qualifications necessary to ensure the quality of plan audits.... [2] repeal the ERISA limited-scope audit exemption and give the [DOL] the authority to define when a limited scope audit would be an acceptable substitute for a full audit.... [3] give the [DOL] authority to establish accounting principles and audit standards to protect the integrity of employee benefit plans and the benefit security of participants and beneficiaries." (PLANSPONSOR)  

Change in Average 401(k) Account Balances from January 1, 2014 Through June 1, 2015 (PDF) (PDF)
This report shows the change in average 401(k) account balances, grouped by age and tenure, from January 1, 2014 through June 1, 2015, counting only those participants who had an account balance at the end of 2013. (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

CalPERS Looks at Long-Term Contribution Rate Hike to Cut Risk
"CalPERS is considering small increases in employer and employee rates over decades to reduce the risk of big investment losses, a policy that also would lower [the 7.5%] earnings forecast [which] critics say is too optimistic. The proposal is a response to the 'maturing' of a CalPERS system that soon will have more retirees than active workers. From two active workers for each retiree in 2002, the ratio fell to 1.45 to one by 2012 and is expected to be 0.8 to 0.6 to one in the next decades." (Calpensions)  

Pension Fund Investment Transparency Now Required in Rhode Island
"[General Treasurer Seth Magaziner said,] 'Rhode Island will only invest with fund managers that agree to public disclosure of performance, fees, expenses and liquidity.' Other initiatives include the creation of a website for public access, the signing of an 'Investor Code of Conduct Pledge' by every investment manager and the debut of 'full governance reviews of the State Investment Commission and the Retirement Board' by late 2015.' " (Good Risk Governance Pays)  

Home in Retirement: More Freedom, New Choices (PDF)
"The Study uncovers: ... [1] how retirement can be a gateway to unprecedented freedom when choosing where to live.... [2] why many retirees don't opt for a smaller home. [3] Today's 'Retirement HotSpots,' and where tomorrow's retirees want to live. [4] How retirees often choose not to move, but instead are making their current home the best home of their lives. [5] The home and health challenges of later retirement and how retirees are increasingly empowered to age in place independent." (Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management)  

[Opinion]

President Obama, the Senate, and State Private-Sector Retirement Laws
"Hopefully, the senators' letter to President Obama will contribute to an important national debate about a serious problem -- namely, the failure of low-income Americans to save for their retirements. The California and Illinois laws represent one possible approach to mandate private sector retirement savings with a state-run plan as the default option.... But these are not the only options that exist for federal and state lawmakers.... Justice Louis Brandeis famously said that the states are laboratories for experimentation. The subject of private sector retirement savings is well-suited to such experimentation." (Prof. Edward Zelinsky, OUPblog)  

[Opinion]

American Academy of Actuaries Comments on Proposed ASOP on Assessment and Disclosure of Risk Associated with Measuring Pension Obligations and Determining Pension Plan Contributions (PDF)
"Rather than prescribe a detailed risk assessment process, the ASOP should clarify that the actuary should be able to focus on a few representative risks. For such representative risks, possibly in combination, the actuary might illustrate the volatility of future contributions, and possible trends in plan solvency levels. Actuarial judgment (which includes the actuary's assessment of the Principal's needs) should be used to determine whether the risk assessment should be made by assuming these events occur at the valuation date or whether longer periods of time should be use." (American Academy of Actuaries)  

[Opinion]

American Academy of Actuaries Comment Letter to Actuarial Standards Board on Proposed ASOP: Assessment and Disclosure of Risk (PDF)
"[We] believe it is appropriate to raise the minimum requirements to include assessments and disclosures of risks related to the funding of pension plan ... [T]he proposed standard specifically does not require the actuary to evaluate the ability of the plan sponsor to make contributions when due. As actuaries, we do not have the necessary expertise to make such an evaluation, so we fully support the current position of the standard. Yet, we must also recognize that the health of the pension plan cannot be completely separated from the health of the plan sponsor and the health of the plan sponsor is a key risk to the plan." (American Academy of Actuaries)  

American Pension Services, LLC Celebrates 15 Year Anniversary This Month
American Pension Services, LLC

Robert E. Rice, Former Chief Counsel to SEC Chair, Joins Ropes & Gray in New York
Ropes & Gray

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