"[T]he suit ... alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties by ... '[1] authorizing the Plan to pay unreasonably high fees for recordkeeping and administration; [2] authorizing the Plan to pay unreasonably high fees for managed account services; and [3] engaging in self-dealing with regard to administration of the Plan.' " [Guyes et al. v. Nestle USA Inc., No. (E.D. Wis. complaint filed Oct. 9, 2020)]
Hall Benefits Law
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"Nearly 60% of respondents took a withdrawal or loan from their retirement accounts in 2020. However, even as the stock market was touching new highs, investment mixes reported in the poll were very conservative. Stocks accounted for just 36% of the average allocation, and cash made up a whopping 24% of portfolios."
Kiplinger
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"One concern when reporting Monte Carlo results to a client framed around 'probability of success' is that anything less than 100% can sound scary.... [T]his metric alone actually tells us nothing about how severe 'failure' is.... Moreover, adjustments can often save a 'failing' plan, so simply shifting a 50% probability of success framing to a 50% probability of adjustment can take a lot of sting out of that result.... [A] 50% probability of success means adjustment at any point in time in the future, and not necessarily even an adjustment in the near future."
Nerd's Eye View
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"December gave us one more turn of the screw from extraordinary 2020 stock markets, pushing pension sponsors into the black for the year. Both model plans ... gained ground last month, with Plan A adding 3% and Plan B gaining 1% during the month. Plan A ended the year with close to a 2% gain, while Plan B managed a 1% gain during 2020[.]"
October Three Consulting
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[Opinion]
"Retiree spending of pension benefits in 2018 generated $1.3 trillion in total economic output, supporting nearly seven million jobs across the nation. Pension spending also added nearly $192 billion to government coffers at the federal, state and local levels.... Each dollar paid out in pension benefits supported $2.19 in total economic output nationally. Each taxpayer dollar contributed to state and local pensions supported $8.80 in total output nationally."
National Institute on Retirement Security [NIRS]
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Benefits in General
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"By any measure, 2020 was a record-setting year for litigation under [ERISA]. The U.S. Supreme Court issued four ERISA decisions, more than it has issued in a single year in the 45-year history of the statute.... As 2021 begins, this trend shows no sign of slowing down, with important developing issues related to fee and performance litigation for smaller retirement plans, COBRA notices, arbitration clauses and class action waivers, actuarial assumptions, cyber theft, and employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs -- among others."
Groom Law Group
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"Say an ESOP plan that was individually designed (weren't they all until relatively recently?) applied for and received a determination letter in 2014. Didn't Rev. Proc. 2016-37 eliminate the 5-year cycle, and isn't it true that one generally cannot file for a determination letter currently (except for initial qualification, plan termination, etc.)?"
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"Wondering if anyone is aware of functionality that allows the plan's advisor to view participant-level transactions and, if permitted, execute transactions or act on behalf of the participant?"
BenefitsLink Message Boards
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"Client wants to NOT allow prepayment on participant loans. Not seeing anything in 1.72(p) or 2550.408(b)-1 specifically prohibiting this, but it seems wrong on so many levels that I've got to assume this has been addressed somehow before."
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