ASPPA

Retirement Plan Coordinator
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Retirement Plan Implementation Data Specialist
Alliance Benefit Group of Houston, Inc.
in TX

Relationship Manager
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
in CA

Employee Benefit Specialist
Principal Financial Group
in KY

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Affordable Care Act: Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Information Reporting Requirements for Applicable Large Employers
RECORDED
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

In the Deep End: IRS Play or Pay Reporting for Difficult Employee Groups
September 8, 2015 WEBCAST
(Cowden Associates, Inc.)

Turning Mergers & Acquisitions from M&Ayhem to M&Agnificent
September 10, 2015 in CA
(NIPA - San Diego Chapter)

Advanced Cross-Tested Plans: Adding More Tools
September 18, 2015 in NY
(SunGard Relius)

Rehired Employees
September 21, 2015 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

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[Guidance Overview]

Significantly Higher PBGC Premiums Will Be Due for 2015 (PDF)
"The premium increases are reflected in both flat-rate (per participant) and variable rate (per thousand dollars of unfunded vested benefits) ... [S]ponsors paying 2015 PBGC premiums out of general assets may want to budget ahead for the fact that premiums may be 60% larger than 2014 premiums, and more than twice as large as premiums would have been before any legislative increases. A typical well-funded plan may have premiums that approach 1% of their funding target, even if they have no contribution requirements." (Cowden Associates, Inc.)  

[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!

Important Questions to Ask Retirement Plan Service Providers
"Defined contribution plan executives must ask many questions of service providers about the scope of their cybersecurity policies and practices. The questions should be asked not only of current providers but also when issuing RFPs ... Has the company experienced any security breaches? ... Does the company carry cybersecurity insurance? ... Does the service provider conduct periodic risk assessments ... Are technology systems regularly updated? ... Is advanced authentication used by the company?" (Pensions & Investments)  

Many DC Plan Sponsors Must Notify Participants Annually (PDF)
"As the 2015 plan year is nearing its end, it is important to look ahead at the notices that may need to be provided before the start of the 2016 plan year. This publication provides a summary of the annual notice requirements for those notices, including timing, recipients, contents, and method of delivery." (Prudential)  

EPCRS Update Was Designed to Clear Overpayments Confusion
"The IRS revisited the issue of pension plan overpayments with its guidance in [Rev. Proc. 2015-27] because there was confusion as to whether plans had to try to recoup payments from employees under all circumstances, or if other options could be explored, an agency official said ... When the IRS made changes to the EPCRS earlier this year, it was the first time the agency modified the program with supplemental guidance instead of a restated revenue procedure[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

Case Study: Automatic Savings Increase Tool Is a Differentiator
"The voluntary automatic savings increase tool was not expected to have a major impact. Instead, it was considered something useful to help chip away at the lost 11.5% of annual DB benefits. It was also considered a means for those participants on a tight budget who were not automatically enrolled to increase their savings rates at their own pace.... [Instead, after] two years, over a quarter of the bank's participants have used this feature and voluntarily elected an increase schedule." (Milliman)  

Managing Retirement Plan Participants' Reactions to Volatility
"[I]nvestment managers and strategists overwhelmingly urge retirement plan sponsors to ask their advisers to counsel participants to remain invested and level-headed. They also say it is critical for sponsors to ensure their participants appreciate the benefits of buy-and-hold investing so that when fluctuations do occur, the rationale of an unyielding approach to investing has been firmly set." (PLANSPONSOR)  

Ten Investment Lessons for Trustees from Tibble v. Edison (PDF)
"Trustees should think twice before selecting or continuing retail-class shares, rather than institutional-class shares, in its investment offerings ... Fiduciaries should not do it alone.... The employer, plan providers and fiduciaries must recognize that changes in investment funds, including mapping, will or may directly affect certain required plan documents ... Be prepared: the Department of Labor has very significantly increased its attention (audit and otherwise) on investment and fiduciary processes ... Fiduciaries must properly evaluate (costs, risks, glide path, etc.) and select the target date funds (TDFs) most appropriate for that plan, just as with the other plan investments." (The ERISA Law Group)  

The Value of Managed Account Advice (PDF)
12 pages. "By using managed account advice, 6 in 10 participants increase their projected ten-year retirement wealth by an average of 30%, net of investment and advice fees.... Three in 10 participants earn value from managed accounts through a reduction in portfolio risk.... Four in 10 participants made an active savings decision at the time they adopted managed account advice." (Vanguard)  

California Governor's Aides Urge CalPERS to Speed Up Rate Hike
"Retirees are beginning to outnumber active workers. Pension payments to retirees are no longer covered by employer-employee contributions and investment income.... After a loss of $100 billion in the recent recession, the CalPERS funding level dropped from 100 percent in 2007 to 61 percent in 2009. It has not recovered ... Under the proposed 'risk mitigation' strategy CalPERS would consider lowering the earnings forecast in good years when the annual investment return is well above the current earnings target of 7.5 percent." (Calpensions)  

[Opinion]

Undoing Ill-Advised DOL Rules from 2008 Would Improve Fiduciary Standards
"In the past seven years, some institutional investors have asked the DOL to withdraw the 2008 guidance, so that ERISA fiduciaries can return to using their own professional judgment about when to exercise their rights as shareholders and when and how to take environmental, social and governance factors into account. The DOL has not yet responded to these requests. But at a time when the department is trying to show that it can apply fiduciary standards in ways that keep pace with professional practices, now might be a good time to do so." (Joshua Gotbaum, in Pensions & Investments)  

BrightScope Highlights Top Industries with the Best 401k Plans
BrightScope

DST Announces Completion of WMSI Acquisition
DST

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