ASPPA

Health & Welfare Consultant
for Milliman in TX

Employee Benefits Attorney
for Harter Secrest & Emery LLP in NY

401k Administration Consultant
for Pension Plan Services, Inc. in IA

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Wellness Programs: Reaping the Benefits--Avoiding the Pitfalls (NY CLE Program) in New York on January 19, 2012 presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network ), New York Chapter

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Get answers to your toughest questions at NIPA?s 2012BMC [Advert.]

There is no better way to get answers than to join TPA owners at NIPA?s 2012 Business Management Conference. Held Jan. 14-16, NIPA's 2012BMC addresses the unique needs of TPA owners by providing top-notch education and networking with peers.

Public Workers Pay to Add Work Time, Increasing Costs of State Pensions
"In 21 states, certain public employees can increase their pensions by buying credit for extra years, even though they did not work in those years." (USA TODAY)

States Try to Fix Their Miscalculations Over 'Air Time'
"[States] are finding that air time can be costly even when they set a price that is expected to cover the higher pension benefits. That's because when workers . . . buy 'air time' — credit for work they never did — states make an educated guess about how much to charge. The guess is based on projections about when a worker will retire and die, what her pension will be and how successfully a retirement fund will invest its money. Any of those can turn out wrong." (USA TODAY)

401(k) Loan Defaults: Who Is at Risk and Why?
"Based on a large dataset from Vanguard, this study is the first of its kind to quantify how many people take out loans and, of those, how many default. It proposes changes in retirement policy to reduce the financial risk posed by these loans, particularly for vulnerable groups." (RAND)

State Taxation of Former New York State Residents' Retirement Income (PDF)
"Recently, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an Advisory Opinion . . . regarding whether New York State may impose income tax on distributions from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan made to a former resident. The opinion, consistent with federal law, concluded that New York State may not impose income tax on these retirement payments. Similar reasoning should apply to other states. Plan sponsors and former New York State residents that participate in nonqualified deferred compensation plans should be aware of the tax implications of this law." (Bryan Cave LLP)

Review of California Pension Reform's Alternative Hybrid Pension Proposal That Mirrors Plan Backed by Gov. Jerry Brown
"This measure would result in the following major fiscal effects for state and local governments: Over the next two or three decades, either increased annual costs or annual savings in state and local government personnel costs, depending on how this measure is interpreted and administered. In the long run (several decades from now), depending on how the Legislature designs the required hybrid retirement plan, potential annual savings in state and local government personnel costs of billions of dollars per year (in current dollars), offset to some extent by increases in other employee compensation costs." (State of California, Legislative Analyst's Office)

Pension Remains Contentious Issue for Automakers
"Three years after the bailout of two of Detroit's three automakers was set in motion, pensions for thousands of former employees throughout the domestic auto industry remain a contentious issue." (The Oakland Press)

Retirement Plan Changes Coming in 2012
"The year 2012 should largely be about enhanced disclosure . . . . For instance, retirement-plan sponsors will have to disclose to 401(k) participants the fees and expenses associated with the funds in their retirement plan. That includes new annual notices, quarterly statements, enrollment workbooks and education about fees." (MarketWatch, Inc.)

On the Roth Feature in 401(k) Plans
"Simply put, the Roth versus pre-tax decision can be thought of as the second step in a retirement planning discussion, says Maria Bruno, a Roth expert at Vanguard. 'It's part of the implementation — the where and how,' she says. The first step employees must take is deciding whether to participate in their work-sponsored plan. Once that decision is made, the next logical step is to decide whether they want a Roth or traditional plan." (planadviser; free registration required)

Quarterly Summary of the Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems (PDF)
"For the 100 largest public-employee retirement systems in the country, total holdings and investments were down in the third quarter of 2011 following four consecutive quarterly increases." (U.S. Census Bureau)

Three Pitfalls To Avoid When Retirement Planning
"For those who would like to plan ahead, there are multiple ways to help set yourself up for a secure retirement later. There are also traps that many fall into: Here are three of them to avoid." (Seeking Alpha)

2011 Year-End Employee Benefits Report
"The closing of each year has always been a time for employers to revisit new legislation, regulations and other legal developments affecting their retirement plans and other employee benefit programs, and to otherwise begin preparing for the next plan year. Toward that end, [this article summarizes] a few of the key recent employee benefit developments in order to ensure that they are not inadvertently overlooked." (Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt)

Results from the NCEO Private Company Equity Compensation Survey
In this featured article from the Employee Ownership Report (available through mid-February 2012, when it will be replaced by another excerpt), the NCEO discusses the results of its private company equity compensation survey. (National Center for Employee Ownership)