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Retirement Plan Implementation / Conversion Project Manager
Great West Financial
in MA

Relationship Manager - Retirement Plans
John Hancock
in NC

Senior Conversion & Documents Analyst
BlueStar Retirement Services
in FL

Pension Administrator
Norton Retirement Services, Inc.
in AZ

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What’s Next for Health Care Reform?
December 15, 2015 in DC
(Urban Institute)

IRA Beneficiary Distributions - Part 1
January 7, 2016 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

IRA Beneficiary Distributions - Part 2
January 14, 2016 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

2016 Employee Benefits Summit
January 14, 2016 in CA
(Littler Mendelson)

Dodd-Frank Act: Pay-Ratio Rule; Clawback and Pay-Versus-Performance Proposals
January 28, 2016 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

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Today's Discussions on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

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[Guidance Overview]

Notes from Meeting of Actuaries Intersector Group with IRS/Treasury, September 30, 2015 (PDF)
8 pages. Topics include: [1] New final funding rules under [Code] section 430; [2] Hybrid plan transition rules -- timing and effective date for final regulations; [3] Mortality tables; [4] Changes in funding method; [5] Notice 2015-49 on Risk Transfers; [6] Change in role of IRS actuaries; [7] Hybrid plans -- outlook for additional guidance; [8] Combined effect of curtailing determination letter program and limiting other informal guidance; [9] Plan termination issues; [10] Timing of final version of proposed and temporary regulations under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA), reaction to comments submitted and public hearing; and [11] MPRA and amortization extensions under Code section 431(d). (American Academy of Actuaries)  

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[Guidance Overview]

Notes from Meeting of Actuaries Intersector Group with PBGC, September 30, 2015 (PDF)
4 pages. Topics include: [1] Final reportable events regulations; [2] Update on PBGC's review of actuarial assumptions and potential timing of any changes; [3] Timing of final regulations under ERISA section 4010; [4] Difficulty finding suitable annuity carriers when small-to mid-sized plans terminate; [5] Issues related to Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA); [6] The e-4010 website; and [7] The 2015 PBGC projections report. (American Academy of Actuaries)  

[Guidance Overview]

Many Relieved as Form 5500 Compliance Questions Made Optional for 2015 (PDF)
"Many of those within the retirement industry -- including consultants, administrators, recordkeepers, and other providers -- actively lobbied for a reversal, or at least a delay, in implementing these Form 5500 changes. In the end these efforts succeeded....The IRS FAQs respond to industry comments that had pointed out ambiguities or potential conflicts that employers and preparers might encounter.... The IRS indicates that there will be further clarifications with issuance of the 2016 plan year forms." (Ascensus)  

District Court Opinion: DB Plan Maintained by Catholic Health Care System Qualifies for Church Plan Exemption from ERISA
"[T]here is nothing self-evident in plaintiff's tacit assumption that church status is impaired or destroyed simply because the church operates on a business model.... Likewise, the unremarkable fact that CHI and CHFC are separate legal entities does nothing to bolster plaintiff's arguments.... [P]laintiff's hyperbolic suggestion that the Subcommittee is a 'sham' because it does not operate independently of CHI, if true, actually contains the seeds of its own undoing.... Crediting plaintiff's suggestion that CHI essentially controls the Subcommittee, CHI's obvious affinities with the Catholic Church recited above necessarily flow downward to and animate the Subcommittee as well, a point driven home explicitly in the Plan document, which requires the Subcommittee to be guided by the same mission and principles as CHI." [Medina v. Catholic Health Initiatives, No. 13-cv-01249-REB-KLM (D. Colo. Dec. 8, 2015)] (U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado)  

2015 403(b) Snapshot Survey: Fiduciary Responsibilities in 403(b) Plans
19 pages. "60 percent of respondents indicated that they are reviewing the investment funds... Thirty percent state that their plan provider is reviewing the funds, and 8.7 percent state that no one is reviewing the funds.... 70 percent of plans indicate that they are reviewing fees themselves, with 20.6 percent indicating that their plan provider is responsible for reviewing their own fees. 9.2 percent indicate that no one is reviewing ... About half of all plan sponsors have created an investment policy ... 40 percent of plans conduct periodic RFPs to ensure fees are reasonable, and 40 percent of plans do not." (Plan Sponsor Council of America [PSCA])  

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PBGC Study: Risk Transfer Activity Significant; Over One Million People Affected
"PBGC actuaries completed a study of risk transfer events (RTEs) in pension plans.... The study looked at about 3,600 larger plans. Of those plans, over 500 had RTEs during the five year period.... [M]ore than one million participants left the plans as a result of the events. Almost 400 of the events involved lump sum payments; the remaining involved annuity purchases to replace the company pension." [Detailed results are in 27 presentation slides (PDF).] (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation [PBGC])  

Funding Relief + Higher PBGC Premiums: A Lethal Mix
"Many view the extension of funding relief as a good thing since it gives companies more flexibility to fund their plan at their own pace.... [T]he ticking time bomb is the PBGC variable rate premiums.... The longer a company waits to fund up their plan, the more premiums the PBGC collects, to the point where as much as 25-30% of cumulative contributions are paid to cover PBGC premiums rather than to fund the plan ... There is now even more incentive for sponsors to fund up their plans earlier to avoid this cost, using either cash or by borrowing." (Russell Investments)  

Exceptional Service Delivery for Pension Risk Transfers, Part 1: Consultation and Commitment (PDF)
20 pages. "[This paper] closely examines the important role partnership, collaboration and dedication play in a pension risk transfer transaction, and explores the immeasurable value of providing plan sponsors and their retirees with the consultative service and support they need." (Prudential)  

Exceptional Service Delivery for Pension Risk Transfers, Part 2: Transaction and Transition (PDF)
28 pages. "[This paper] closely examines the important role the transaction and transition play in a successful pension risk transfer agreement, and explores the immeasurable value of providing plan sponsors and their retirees with the information and support they need to make prudent decisions." (Prudential)  

Exceptional Service Delivery for Pension Risk Transfers, Part 3: Retiree Communication and Education (PDF)
20 pages. "[This paper] closely examines the important role communication and education play in a pension risk transfer transition, and explores the value of providing plan sponsors and their retirees with the information and support they need to make sound decisions and ultimately create peace of mind for both." (Prudential)  

State of the Insured Retirement Industry: 2015 Review and 2016 Outlook (PDF)
26 pages. "Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIA) and Investment-Oriented Variable Annuities (IOVA) are growing rapidly.... Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) offerings are expanding.... Look for insurers to continue to innovate by placing lifetime income options in workplace plans, where the bulk of investable retirement assets reside ... Expect insurers to continue to focus on FIA and IOVA product development as they continue to diversify product lines and position products to meet varying consumer needs.... Rising prices for services will square off against the disinflationary effect of falling commodities prices to frame the outlook for continued rate increases in 2016." (Insured Retirement Institute [IRI])  

Institutionalizing DC Plans Can Add Fiduciary Protection
"Institutionalization incorporates more diversified investment products, lower-cost products and, often, customized products tailored to the demographics of the company. It also means better risk controls; adopting DC best practices for plan design such as automatic enrollment at 6% or higher and annual escalations of 1% or more; as well as financial wellness programs ... Ultimately, all of this translates not just to better results for participants but to better fiduciary protections for the sponsor." (PLANSPONSOR)  

Survey of Multiemployer Plans' Zone Status, Fall 2015 (PDF)
"Nearly two-thirds of plans are in the green zone. About one-half of all participants are in plans in the red zone and nearly one-half of these red-zone participants are also in plans that are considered to be 'critical and declining,' based on filings between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015.... The average PPA'06 funded percentage is 85 percent for plans with zone certifications filed in July, August and September of this year; and 87 percent for plans with zone certification filing deadlines between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015." (Segal Consulting)  

Retirement Plan Wellness Scorecard (PDF)
"[R]esults for the first half of 2015 show momentum is leading to higher participation and contribution rates.... Streamlining the enrollment process encourages positive employee behavior.... Convenient tools and accessibility make financial decisions easier for employees.... Employees welcome opportunities to engage directly with someone who can help them, making on-site meetings and consultations more popular than ever." (Bank of America Merrill Lynch)  

How Couples Deplete Retirement Savings
"For couples in both income groups, wealth remains much the same so long as both spouses are alive. For the higher-income couples, wealth declines by about $60,000 during the year of the first spouse's death, with the largest outlays going toward medical and nursing home care. The wealth of lower-income couples also drops sharply if the husband is the first to die -- but, interestingly, wealth changes very little if the wife passes away first.... The researchers suggest that a 'significant fraction of all assets held in retirement are used to self-insure against the risk of high medical and death expenses.' " (SquaredAway Blog, by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

Connecticut at Forefront of Pension Innovation
"As a result of significant underfunding, the majority of pension costs for the State going forward is due to the unfunded liability.... While the proposal to pay retirees on a pay-as-you-go basis has created a political firestorm and the details need to be worked out, the approach makes enormous sense and could be very useful to other states that started the funding game with a large unfunded liability." (Alicia H. Munnell, in MarketWatch)  

[Opinion]

Pension Rights Center Comment Letter to Treasury on Central States Application for Benefits Suspension (PDF)
13 pages. "[1] The application fails to demonstrate that the plan took all reasonable steps to avoid insolvency; [2] The actuarial assumptions, particularly the projection on future investment returns, are unrealistic and will not result in the plan remaining solvent in the long term; [3] The benefit distributions are not equitable and the plan misconstrued a critical component of the statute in assigning benefit cuts; and [4] The application violated explicit and implicit statutory requirements designed to ensure fairness and transparency. For these reasons we believe that MPRA requires that the Department of the Treasury reject the application." (Pension Rights Center)  

[Opinion]

The Economic Efficiency of Pensions
"When West Virginia decided to reopen its defined benefit pension plan for teachers, it did so partly because a study showed that it could deliver equivalent retirement benefits at a lower cost with a pension rather than a 401(k)-style plan. When Wall Street interests attack pensions for working families, it's not because 401(k)s are cheaper or more efficient -- they aren't -- but because Wall Street profits off managing 401(k) investments." (National Public Pension Coalition)  

Delaying Today's Compensation Could Pay Off in the Future
"Nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans have been around since the legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson signed a deal with the International Boxing Club of New York in 1957. And yet this popular compensation planning tool is still misunderstood.... [This article includes] four case studies where an NQDC plan benefited both a company and its employees. These cases illustrate the flexibility and value of this unique benefit." (Forbes)  

Charitable Donations of Company Shares: Initiative by Facebook Founder Puts Stock Donations in the Spotlight
"For year-end donations, be sure the stock transfer is completed by December 31 to make it count for the current tax year. For electronic transfers from your brokerage account, the donation is recorded on the day it is received by the charity/foundation (not when you approve the transfer).... For a charitable donation of company stock acquired from equity compensation, the tax treatment is the same as it is for donations of any stock to a qualified charity." (myStockOptions.com)  

Year-End Content At myStockOptions.com Helps Employees With Stock Compensation Understand The Ongoing Impact Of Tax Changes
myStockOptions.com

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