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National Save for Retirement Week Kicks Off Oct. 21

Excerpt: National Save for Retirement Week kicks off Oct. 21-27 this year. For the second year, ICMA-RC will spearhead a national campaign effort to get employers and workers across the U.S. more actively involved in saving for their future.

DOL Releases Proposed Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbor

"While governmental pension plans are largely exempt from ERISA notice and disclosure requirements, rules applicable to private sector retirement plans often serve as a 'best practice.' "

Tax Reform Legislation's Potential Impact on Public Sector Retirement Plans

"Aggregation of 457(b) elective deferrals with 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals.... Inclusion of 457(b) contributions in defined contribution plan 415(c) limits.... Elimination of special 457(b) catch-up contributions.... Lower age for access to section 457(b) plan in-service distributions.... Hardship distributions: expansion of available assets.... Hardship distributions: elimination of loan requirement.... Hardship distributions: elimination of six-month waiting period to re-start contributions.... Extension of time for terminated employees to repay offset loans."

Cypen & Cypen Newsletter for October 18, 2012

Covers employee benefit developments with an emphasis on governmental plans. Topics in this issue include: Eliminating "Double-dipping" Would Be Costly; Individual Account Retirement Plans -- an Analysis of the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances; ICMA-RC/Center for State and Local Government Excellence Brief Identifies Public Sector Retirement Plan Changes; the Guardian Workplace Benefits Study; Federal Agencies Should Collect Data and Coordinate Oversight of Multiple Employer Plans.

One-Third of Public Sector HR Executives Report Making Changes to Retirement Plans Within Past Year (PDF)

"As of March 2011, 89 percent of local government workers had access to some form of retirement benefit, with 95 percent of those with access participating.... Eighty-six percent (86 percent) of local government employees had access to health care as of March 2011.... In 2009, 21 percent of local government human resource executives surveyed reported that their government had made changes to employee retirement benefits since the beginning of the recessionx; 53 percent reported having made changes to health care benefits. In 2012, 33 percent of local government human resource executives reported changes to retirement plans within the past year, and 59 percent reported making health care changes."

The Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act Introduced in House and Senate

This legislation would permit the reimbursement of medical expenses of non-spouse, non-dependent beneficiaries from health reimbursement arrangements[.]

Hearing Conducted on Transparency and Funding of State/Local Government DB Plans

A speaker who did not take a position on the bill noted that government pension assets and liabilities are factors used by Moody's in its credit analyses of government-issued bonds, and said that the bill will increase both access to plan data and the complexity of the information disclosed.

Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure Reviewed

Excerpt: The Ways and Means Committee held its first hearing on fee disclosure on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007. Although there have been other hearings to date on fee disclosure, this is the first hearing in the committee that has jurisdiction over governmental 457 plans .... Three themes emerged in the testimony[.]

Second Bill on Mutual Fund Fee Disclosure Introduced in House of Representatives

Excerpt: A second bill, The Mutual Fund Fee Reform Act, aimed at mutual fund fee disclosure rules has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-DL), would direct the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise regulations to require more detailed 12b-1 fee disclosure to fund investors.

Senate Approves National Save for Retirement Week Oct. 21-27, 2007

Excerpt: With passage of a Senate Resolution S. 240 on July 11, 2007, October 21-27, 2007 has been officially designated National Save for Retirement Week (NSFRW). Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) co-sponsored the Senate resolution. The Senate's action follows passage of H.R. 513 by the House of Representatives in June.