Client Relationship Manager
kPlans/Pensionmark
in CA

DC / DB Combo Plans Account Manager
Nova 401(k) Associates
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Arizona’s Paid Sick Leave Law: New Regulations, Insights, and Implementation Tips
June 7, 2017 WEBCAST
Ogletree Deakins

Annual Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Summit - Critical Issues For 2017 and Beyond
June 15, 2017 WEBCAST
Littler Mendelson

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[Guidance Overview]

ERISA's Fiduciary Rule Not Dead Yet, Not Dead ... Ever?
"In situations in which there is sufficient concern that a provider is making a recommendation, it may be appropriate to consider whether it can satisfy the conditions of an applicable exception.... For those providers that are dealing with the investment of the assets of non-ERISA IRAs, and who take the position that they are not providing covered recommendations, it should be understood, in analyzing the applicable risks, that the IRA (and its owner) will have no claim against the provider under the Fiduciary Rule[.]"
Dechert

[Advert.]

EPCRS: Correct Plan Errors and Minimize Penalties

May 31 webinar will discuss common retirement plan errors and pre-approved methods of correction, as well as tips and practices that can help avoid future problems. Presented by Blake C. MacKay, of Alston & Bird LLP. BenefitsLink discount

[Guidance Overview]

Are You Computing Your Maximum Participant Loan Amount Correctly (or in the Best Interest of Your Plan Participants)?
"The reason for adjusting the maximum by the repayment amount is to prevent an employee from effectively maintaining a permanent outstanding $50,000 loan balance. The question is how to compute the amount of the highest outstanding balance within one year of the request for a new loan.... Until the recent IRS Memorandum, the answer was not clear."
Jackson Lewis P.C.

401(k) Loan Program: How to Make Yours State-of-the-Art
"Using hardship criteria to qualify loan applications helps employers manage the application process.... [P]ermit only one outstanding participant loan at a time.... [R]efer potential borrowers to [an] Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for financial counseling before they are allowed to apply for a loan.... [L]imit 401k loans to participant contribution accounts and the earnings in those accounts.... Higher loan fees tend to dissuade participants from taking a loan and often reduce the average loan amount requested.... Make sure your recordkeeper has a pop-up screen that displays a warning message when participants reduce their 401k contributions below the maximum matching contribution level."
Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants

Wells Fargo Scores Rare Win in 401(k) Fee Litigation Series
"The allegations of high fees and poor performance failed, a federal judge ruled ... because the investors didn't provide a meaningful benchmark for comparing the Wells Fargo funds. The investors pointed to lower-fee funds offered by Vanguard, but the judge rejected this comparison after finding that the Vanguard funds had a different investment strategy than the Wells Fargo target-date funds. The judge also said Wells Fargo can't be held liable for 'failing to choose the cheapest fund.' " [Meiners v. Wells Fargo & Co., No. 16-3981 (D. Minn. May 25, 2017]
Bloomberg BNA

The Investor Revolution: A 'Best Interests' Checklist for Investors and Fiduciaries
"[In] too many cases financial advisers are not meeting their 'best interests' obligations to their customers, both individual investors and pension plan sponsors.... An example using two of the mutual funds in [one 401(k)] plan will hopefully point out the challenges investors and plan sponsors face in assessing the prudence of an actively managed mutual fund."
The Prudent Investment Adviser Rules

[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 -- administrators, consultants, attorneys, accountants, investment managers, communications experts and benefits managers. Join today.

Managers of Defined Contribution Benefits Regain Steam in 2016
"Defined contribution money managers posted record assets under management last year of $5.95 trillion, up 8.6% from 2015 ... DC plan assets managed internally by the managers rose to $5.25 trillion, an increase of 9.5%.... [M]oney managers that gained the most did so thanks to their arsenals of passively managed funds, which have become attractive to sponsors in search of lower-cost alternatives to actively managed investments. Target-date funds also boosted AUM among money managers."
Pensions & Investments

State Pension Depletion Dates: Kansas Stands Alone
"Of the 50 systems there is only one (Kansas) with positive cash flow. Of the others all are projected to go bust."
Burypensions

[Opinion]

The Pension Prescription: Good Governance and a Willingness by Plan Sponsors to Share the Risk
"There is a misconception that allocating to external private equity and hedge fund managers is a waste of time and money and that these pensions can improve their funded status by removing these funds from their asset mix ... Sure, in some cases, it makes sense to cut external managers ... But cutting all allocations to private equity isn't wise, nor in the best interests of pension plan beneficiaries. These programs have added significant added value to most US public pensions, net of all fees."
Pension Pulse

[Opinion]

Normal Retirement Ages Simply Must Rise as We All Live Longer
"The tensions between 30 or 40 year working lives and 30 or 40 year retirements mean that we simply cannot in fact do that. Well, not unless we're going to all be very much poorer than we can or should be. Note that this is nothing at all to do with how a pension is funded. This is true of government pensions and private ones. Increasing lifespans really do mean that the pension age should be rising."
Tim Worstall, in Forbes

[Opinion]

Who Killed Retirement Security? If You Look Closely, It Wasn't the 401(k)
"In 1947, total savings in employer-sponsored retirement plans equaled 27 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). By 1975, when participation in traditional pension plans peaked, savings had risen to 57 percent of GDP. But in the four decades since 401(k)s were introduced, total retirement savings nearly tripled to 157 percent of GDP."
Andrew G. Biggs, in The Hill

Democrats Introduce Bill to Test Benefits for Gig Workers
"The Portable Benefits Pilot Program Act would create a $20 million Labor Department grant program for states, local governments, and nonprofits to experiment with portable benefits for gig workers.... The federal legislation comes as lawmakers in states including Washington, New York, and New Jersey are considering measures to provide benefits for gig economy workers. It also comes amid calls for the federal government to tweak employment tax and worker classification laws."
Bloomberg BNA

Sovereign Investment Advisors, LLC is Certified for Fiduciary Excellence
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

eHealth Partners With Union Plus to Provide a Medicare Insurance Exchange and Distribute Medicare Insurance Products to America’s Unions
eHealth

NFP Acquires Bigbie, Hensley & Janway Insurance Agency
NFP Corp.

Lockton Again Wins Workplace Award from SHRM
Lockton

USI Expands Benefits Presence in MidAtlantic Region with Acquisition of the Employee Benefits Business from The Hartman Group
USI

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