SunGard's Relius Education

Pension Consultant / Administrator
West Hartford CT TPA
in CT

Retirement Plan Administrator
PenSys, Inc.
in CA, NC

Senior Retirement Plan Administrator
Law Offices of R. David Danziger, P.C.
in PA

Retirement Strategies Associate
Loring Ward
in CA

Benefits Attorney
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
in OR

Senior Benefits Consultant
Bolton Partners, Inc.
in MD

Pension Administrator II
Lafayette Life Insurance Company, a member of Western & Southern Financial Group
in OH

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Fiduciary Talk: Auto-IRAs: Taxes and Fiduciary Liability
September 24, 2015 WEBCAST
(fi360)

Get It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities
October 22, 2015 in CA
(Western Pension & Benefits Council - San Diego Chapter)

Current Retirement Plan Topics
November 4, 2015 in TX
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Dallas/Fort Worth)

Annual Continuing Education for Trustees of Missouri Public Retirement Plans - St. Louis
November 10, 2015 in MO
(Husch Blackwell)

Annual Continuing Education for Trustees of Missouri Public Retirement Plans - Kansas City
November 12, 2015 in MO
(Husch Blackwell)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

IRS Update on Revised Forms 8950 and 8951: Sponsors May Temporarily Choose to Use Prior Versions
"[The IRS] issued revised versions of these forms/instructions in September 2015: Form 8950, Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) (Instructions) Form 8951, Compliance Fee for Application for Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) Although we prefer that plan sponsors use the revised version of the forms, we'll continue to accept the prior versions (Form 8950 (Rev. 1-2013) and Form 8951 (Rev. 8-2014)) through January 1, 2016." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Advert.]

Keep up with what's useful for your plan at DC West 2015.

October 18 – 20, San Francisco: Learn how to effectively maximize your DC plan's resources to achieve better retirement outcomes for your participants directly from your peers at the industry's leading educational and networking event.

[Official Guidance]

Text of PBGC Correction to Final Regs on Electronic Filing Requirements for Multiemployer Plans
"The [PBGC] published ... a final rule to amend its regulations to require electronic filing of certain multiemployer notices. This document corrects two inadvertent errors in the amendatory language." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

The Millennial Journey from Saving to Retirement (PDF)
16-page executive summary. "[M]illennials are often inclined to hold more cash than prior generations, are less likely to marry or own a home, and will increasingly finance their own retirements due to declining availability of defined benefit pension plans. Given rising life expectancies, their retirements may be longer than their working years ... How can median-income millennials do it? It starts with a plan to put 4%-9% of pre-tax income into retirement accounts each year, starting at age 25. For affluent millennials, the range would be 9%-14%; and for high net worth millennials, 14%-18%." [Also available: 72-page full report.] (J.P. Morgan Asset Management)  

Munnell, Center for Retirement Research Change Tune on 401(k)s
"The country-wide shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans is not resulting in less accumulation of retirement assets, according to a new paper from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. That conclusion directly contradicts the retirement think tank's long-standing thesis -- that the nation has become less prepared for retirement as more workers have been moved into 401(k) plans. The Center and its director, Alicia Munnell, have been producing data for years showing that the shift to 401(k) plans was resulting in less retirement savings. Munnell was the lead author of the most recent report." (BenefitsPro)  

Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts in Retirement Plans
"There are currently only three companies providing QLACs, and they are currently products offered for IRAs only.... Due to the strict contribution limits, the premium payment history must be kept over the lifetime of the contract. One would hope that the provider would track this, but it may end up being the responsibility of the TPA to assist the Plan Sponsor in tracking payments." (Benefit Resources, Inc.)  

[Advert.]

Now is a great time to join Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)

WEB members represent more than 25 professions and 30 areas of expertise within the pension and benefits industry-including administrators, consultants, attorneys, accountants, investment managers, communications experts and benefits managers. Join today.

It's Time for Plan Sponsors to Catch Up to a Changed Fixed-Income Landscape
"What's less obvious is how defined contribution plan sponsors should respond to a fixed-income environment that is more complicated than anything we have seen in decades. Unfortunately, 30 years of strong bond fund returns have become encoded into the structure of defined contribution plans, leaving us with fixed-income menu options that rarely stray beyond the Barclays Aggregate index. If the world has changed -- and I believe it has -- defined contribution fixed-income menus may need to change as well. The question is how." (Pensions & Investments)  

Target Date 401(k)s Get a Taste of Hedge Funds
"Some sponsors of these all-in-one funds for retirement have added hedge-fund-like 'alternative' mutual funds to their portfolios in hopes of steadying performance with assets that may not move in lock step with mainstream stocks and bonds. The trend is mainly apparent among smaller players ... that are seeking to 'differentiate themselves and find a place in a market that is dominated by just a few players,' " (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Market Volatility: How Concerned Should Retirement Plan Fiduciaries Be? (PDF)
"While a plan sponsor cannot control the external forces that affect financial markets, plan sponsors can mitigate risk for their retirement plans by: [1] Following a documented decision-making process. [2] Identifying the key internal and external players and ensuring that all parties know their responsibilities. [3] Working with investment advisers to develop a defined contribution plan fund line-up that suits the plan's participant demographics. [4] Developing a defined contribution plan investment policy ... [5] Working closely, if a defined benefit plan, with the plan's actuaries and investment advisers, to develop an investment strategy to match plan benefit liabilities with assets.... [6] Monitoring any investment decisions/policies/strategies periodically to ensure that what you expected is happening.... [7] Documenting the process and the decisions." (ERISAdiagnostics, Inc., via Thompson Pension Plan Fix-It Handbook)  

Defined Contribution Plan Volatility: Timing Is Everything
"Retirement outcomes vary widely along with financial market ups and downs, even among workers with the same saving and investing behaviors. The life-cycle approach mitigated workers' losses from the 2008 stock crash to a much greater extent than the 60/40 stock/bond approach. Some employers offer both a hybrid DB plan and a DC plan instead of a DC plan alone to enhance retirement security for their workers." (Towers Watson)  

Feds: Lock Up Greedy Pension Trustee for at Least 8 Years
"Federal prosecutors want to send a former pension trustee to prison for eight years for scamming police officers and retirees out of millions when he was supposed to be helping them.... According to a sentencing memo filed in U.S. District Court ... [the trustee's] shenanigans and greed cost the police firefighters and beneficiaries more than $47 million in losses. That's because [he] helped push bad investments through the pension board because crooked businessmen were wining and dining him in exchange for his vote on deals." (Detroit Free Press)  

[Opinion]

Comments by American Retirement Association to DOL on Best Interest Contract Exemption (PDF)
"[1] The Level-to-Level Exemption is critically necessary because the BIC exemption would be completely unavailable to a significant majority of advisers utilizing levelized compensation models since they have investment discretion over the accounts for which they provide services; and [2] The Level-to-Level Exemption specifically should contain language designed to impose a full ERISA section 404 standard on these unconflicted advisers to ensure that, even with their levelized compensation models, they are continuing to put their clients' interests first -- with the potential for enforcement action if they fail to live up to that standard." (American Retirement Association)  

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Tax Relief for Victims of Valley and Butte Fires in California
"Victims of the Valley and Butte fires that took place beginning on September 12, 2015 in parts of California may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service.... [C]ertain deadlines falling on or after Sept. 12, and on or before January 15, 2016 have been postponed to January 15, 2016. This includes the Sept. 15 estimated tax deadline, the 2014 corporate and partnership returns on extension thru Sept. 15, and the Oct. 15 deadline for those who received an extension to file their 2014 return.... This relief also includes the filing of Form 5500 series returns, in the manner described in section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2007-56." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

What Causes Workers to Retire Before They Plan?
"Workers in poor initial health and workers who experience worsening health prior to their planned retirement date are significantly more likely to retire early than others. Workers with retiree health insurance are slightly more likely to respond to health shocks by retiring early ... more research is needed to establish whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will induce workers with deteriorating health to retire earlier.... Job-to-job mobility makes workers more likely to reach their retirement plans ... Health is the most important driver of early retirement... To the extent health improves in the future, workers may be better able to realize their retirement plans, leading to later retirement dates. The ACA is unlikely to significantly increase early retirement." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

[Opinion]

ERISA Industry Committee Comment Letter to DOL on Fiduciary Hearing (PDF)
"The investment education carve-out should not prohibit references to specific plan investment options.... The regulation should make clear that discussions among co-workers should not constitute fiduciary investment advice.... The regulation should narrow the definition of the term 'recommendation'.... Employers with limited involvement in a Health Savings Account (HSA) (as under current guidance) should not be deemed fiduciaries under the rule." (The ERISA Industry Committee [ERIC])  

Buck Consultants’ Innovation Delivers Instant Monitoring of Pension Risk Levels
Buck Consultants at Xerox

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