BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter
Employee Benefits Jobs
Senior Benefits Specialist - Retirement - Phoenix, AZ-1104305
for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold in AZ
Institutional Trust Sales Representative (New York, NY)
for BMO Harris Bank in CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT
New Business Specialist
for BeneTrends, Inc. in PA
401K/Pension Clerk
for Benefit & Risk Management Services in CA
Disability Claims Examiner
for Prudential in AZ
Senior Business Analyst
for Tegrit Technologies in MI
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Webcasts and Conferences
"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Boston in Massachusetts on November 3, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius
"ERISA Workshop 2011" - New Orleans in Louisiana on November 3, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius
"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Syracuse in New York on November 4, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius
Are You Aware that Patient Centered Medical Home Can Lower Overall Health Care Costs? Webcast Nationwide on October 27, 2011 presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Capitol Hill Briefing: Important New Research Findings Indicate a "Rising Tide" of Contributions Facing Defined Benefit Pensions in District of Columbia on October 11, 2011 presented by American Academy of Actuaries
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"[Judge Frank Easterbrook of the] U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has issued another important decision in favor of plans and plan administrators in a case involving allegations of excessive fees and expenses." (Williams Mullen)
The biggest event of the year! [Advert.]
70+ interactive sessions on hot topics shaping the industry, up to 25 ASPPA CPE credits/23 ERPA and JBEA CPE credits, 80+ displays in the exhibit hall. Register now for best pricing.
The presentation provides an overview of 404(c) fiduciary relief, and covers the following: Basic requirements to obtain relief; Mapping relief; Default Investment Options/'QDIA' safe harbors; Participant fee disclosure regulations; Scope of relief; and, Case law developments and implications. (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
"Probably the most significant concern regarding the participant fee disclosure regulations is the cost associated with implementing and delivering the disclosures. Many plans are looking to reduce the cost of the new regulations by adding some of the disclosures to statements that it already is providing. Plans also intend to use electronic delivery ('e-delivery') methods to reduce costs." (SunGard Relius)
"Significant problems arose in connection with alternative method elections for the 2009 plan year, when IRS issued guidance impacting the interest rate that could be used under the alternative method just before the deadline for making the election . . . . [F]or post 2009 plan years, the PBGC stated that it 'is providing relief similar to, but more expansive, than the relief provided in Technical Update 10 2.' [Click on the link under 'Items of Interest' on the target page.]" (ASPPA via Keightley & Ashner LLP)
"PBGC will contact pension plans entitled to penalty relief. Pension plans that already paid the late payment penalty will receive a credit that can be used to offset future premiums. Pension plans that have yet to amend their 2008 or 2009 filings to recognize the additional premium liability will receive the waiver if the filing is amended and the additional premium paid within 30 days of the date PBGC notifies the plan that it is entitled to relief." (McDermott Will & Emery)
Looking at Proposed Changes to Reduce Current-Law Tax Limits for Savings in Retirement Plans
"There are several proposals on the table, including reports from the Fiscal Commission and Bipartisan Policy Center, recommending a return to pre-1986 caps on both the amount and percentage of total employer and employee contributions to a qualified defined-contribution plan at $20,000, or 20 percent of compensation, whichever is lower." (Human Resource Executive Online)
Survey Findings: Gauging Attitudes about Target-Date Funds
"Drawing on the opinions of those responsible for the design and oversight of defined contribution plans, this publication—Six key survey findings: Gauging attitudes about target-date funds from plan sponsors and consultants -- uses a survey-based framework for examining the key issues surrounding target-date funds today . . . ." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)
Optimal Financial Literacy and Saving for Retirement
"We show that the fraction of the population which is rationally 'financially ignorant' depends on the level of labor income uncertainty as well as the generosity of the retirement system." (Pension Research Council; free registration required to download papers)
How Have Public Sector Pensions Responded to the Financial Crisis?
"On average, the standard deviation of target portfolio returns increased slightly and 14 of the 29 plans surveyed increased risk by more than 0.3 percentage points and 8 increased risk by more than one percentage point. Few plans seem to have retreated from risk-taking, while a small number appears to have embraced more risk than before." (Pension Research Council; free registration required to download papers)
Public Pensions Rebounding, According to Census Data
"The value of assets held by the country's largest retirement systems are at their highest level in three years, according to newly released second-quarter figures." (Governing)
Do Low-Income Workers Benefit from 401(k) Plans?
"This paper explores the hypothesis that employer contributions to defined contribution (DC) plans may affect total compensation differently for low and high-income workers." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Changing Landscape of Employment-Based Retirement Benefits
"This brief review of sources of retirement income will focus on employment-based retirement plans, with an eye toward changes in the types of plans available and changes in how these plans are structured." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Comparing Private and Public Pensions in South Florida
"Private sector retirement plans based on 401(k) savings and Social Security and, for a few, company pension plans, aren't indulging many middle class retirees with $100,000-plus annual incomes. Or lump-sum DROP payments that approach a mil.lion dollars. Or checks for accrued sick leave and vacation pay that cover the cost of a vacation home." (The Miami Herald)
Questioning the Standard Piece of Investment Advice Known As Dollar-Cost Averaging
"[A new study] raises questions about another standard piece of investing advice—investing money regularly over a period of time. This is the type of investing, known as dollar-cost averaging, behind 401(k) plans. The idea is that regular purchases reduce the risk of investing a large amount in a single investment at the wrong time." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Book Review: 'That Used To Be Us'—Describes Conditions of the Present Day and Prescribes a Way Forward
"[The book] unsparingly describes the causes and likely consequences of the recklessly unsustainable pension and entitlement promises that are among the gravest fiscal problems we now face." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems, 2011 Second Quarter
"[This is] a quarterly survey that provides national summary data on the revenues, expenditures, and composition of assets of the largest state and local government employee retirement systems. This survey currently consists of a panel of 100 retirement systems, which comprise 89.4 percent of financial activity among such entities, based on the 2007 Census of Governments." (U.S. Bureau of the Census)
"The new proposed regulations almost certainly will have detractors. However, if made less restrictive and less broad than the previous set, this version may prove harder to fight thus perhaps making the recent withdrawal a pyrrhic victory." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)
"ASPPA recommends that the Program be improved by adding a formal self-correction component for the late deposit of deferrals." (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
"Notice 2008–113 . . . sets forth the IRS's program for correcting inadvertent operational (but not documentary) failures with reduced penalties. An employer correcting failures under 2008-113 will reduce penalties to zero in some cases, or a reduced penalty amount in others." (Ivins, Phillips & Barker)
"[A former executive] alleges Ricoh violated numerous provisions of California's labor code by failing to pay for expenses incurred on the job over a course of at least four years, including the cost of using personal vehicles for company business, parking expenses, and the use of personal mobile phones for business purposes . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)
"The updated disclosures will be required for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2011 for 'public entities' (publicly held companies) and for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012 for 'non-public entities' (privately held companies). Early adoption is permitted." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Documents for Company Plans that May Be Subject to ERISA Should Have Claims Procedures
"In Quigley v. Citigroup Supplemental Plan, 51 EBC 1065 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), the court held that 47 former employees must exhaust their administrative remedies before they can pursue their action/litigation alleging that their employer had short-paid their benefits under a supplemental executive retirement plan." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
Employee Benefits Developments, September 2011
Various rulings, opinions, and cases are summarized. (Hodgson Russ LLP)
Accounting for the Cost of a Public Sector Worker in New Jersey (PDF)
"Much of the debate over the growing size of pensions relative to budgets has focused on whether public sector compensation costs are fair either in comparison to other municipalities or to the private sector. But this fairness debate, while important, obscures a more technical and far more fundamental question: why does the bill for public employee benefits appear to be a surprise to governments, beneficiaries, and taxpayers?" (Mercatus Center, George Mason University)
Press Releases
ASPPA Recommends Self-Correction Component To Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA))
Mercer Workplace Survey Reveals Sharply Lower Economic Outlook Yet Greater Commitment to Retirement (Mercer)
Census Bureau News: Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems: 2nd Quarter 2011 (U.S. Census Bureau)
Sanjay Gupte Joins Tegrit Technologies (Tegrit)
Tegrit Group Acquires Advisors Pension Services (Tegrit)
Employee Assistance Research Foundation Issues Call for Grant Proposals; Deadline is November 30 (Employee Assistance Research Foundation)
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