Jobs
Retirement & Institutional Services Plan Analyst
BB&T
in NC, SC
Sr. Product Specialist, Wellness and Disease Management Programs
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association [NRECA]
in VA
Client Relationship Manager
Planning Solutions Group
in MD
Webcasts, Conferences
New Year, New Rules The Impact of the New Tax Law on Employee Benefits
RECORDED
Hall Benefits Law
Cybersecurity ? Retirement is not an Option: A Primer on Cybersecurity and Compliance
February 20, 2018 in CA
Western Pension & Benefits Council - San Diego Chapter
Compensation & Employee Benefits After Tax Reform
March 13, 2018 WEBCAST
Strafford
Employee Benefit Relief in Times of National Disasters and Other Catastrophic Events
March 20, 2018 WEBCAST
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]
Second Quarter 2018 Washington Update
May 17, 2018 WEBCAST
ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries]
IRA Institute
June 18, 2018 in MN
Ascensus
3rd Annual Ascend Education Conference
October 8, 2018 in IL
Ascensus
Discussions
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PBGC's Missing Participants Program Now Available to Defined Contribution Plans (PDF)
"The pilot program's success at reuniting missing participants with their money also has led the DOL to conduct more audits of a plan fiduciary's duty to make reasonable attempts to locate missing participants, examining the efforts of a plan sponsor or administrator to follow the guidance in [ FAB 2014-01
].... PBGC's final rule might be useful in the plan termination context, but concerns remain for ongoing plans with missing participants."
Milliman
ERISApedia.com ? Who is Answering Your ERISA Questions?
Noted author and speaker S. Derrin Watson, J.D. is now answering questions in our Ask the Author service. Get your answers from Derrin in four business hours or less. Contact us at sales@ERISApedia.com or 612-605-2266.
Little-Known Pension De-Risking Spinoff/Termination Approach Can Lower PBGC Premiums
"The special de-risking strategy ... allows the plan sponsor to reap the benefit of lower PBGC premiums in the same year the de-risking strategy is implemented.... The strategy is to: [1] Identify the group of participants to include in a de-risking strategy ... [2] Spin off all the other participants into a new plan. The original plan will then be terminated ... This spin-off and then termination of the original plan will, if done properly, reduce the PBGC premium in the current plan year."
Findley Davies | BPS&M
Fee Benchmarking Rises, But Does It Matter?
"The number of plan sponsors that calculated their DC plan fees within the past 12 months rose to 83.1% from 78.8% in 2016 ... And while about half (45%) of those who reviewed them kept fees the same following their most recent fee review, nearly as many (40.5%) reduced fees.... [O]ne in six plan sponsors say they are not sure what percentage of the funds in the plan offer revenue sharing."
National Association of Plan Advisors [NAPA]
Federal Court Rules Against Naming Service Provider in Fiduciary Responsibility Case
"[A] terminated pension plan's attempt to shift blame to a third-party service provider it claimed was responsible for underpaying participants when settling their annuity contracts was denied by a U.S. magistrate judge. The plan had filed a motion to make the TPA a defendant in the case." [ PBGC v. Idaho Hyperbarics, Inc.
, No. 16-325 (D. Id. May 15, 2017)]
HR Daily Advisor
Tax Cut Spurs Employers to Boost 401(k) Contributions
"[An] increase in 401(k) contribution match may be more effective than a one-time bonus as it can help with retention, increase employee contribution rates and provides an ongoing tax credit for employers."
Voya
Join Your Peers at This Retirement Benefits Conference!
99% of past attendees recommend that you attend the New Orleans MidSizedConf! This executive education program, presented by UNC's Kenan Flagler Business School, addresses all your benefit plan management issues. View the schedule & register today !
Pension Funds Missing Opportunity to Influence Corporate Practices
"[T]he value of pension fund assets around the world rose 13.1 percent last year to $41.3 trillion ... Yet few pensions have taken advantage of their investments in companies to influence stewardship globally ... These large asset managers could introduce their environmental, social and governance beliefs into their investment strategies to affect positive change."
Institutional Investor
Is a Roth IRA Conversion Right for You?
"You must pay income taxes on any converted funds in the year of the conversion, but there are three scenarios in which that might be a good choice. [1] You believe your tax bracket will be higher in retirement ... [2] You're far from retirement ... [3] You want to maximize your estate for your heirs[.]"
Charles Schwab
Half of Retirees Retired Earlier Than Planned (PDF)
"[A]bout half (51%) of retirees retired earlier than planned.... [O]nly 23% retired earlier than planned because they either had enough money to retire, wanted to retire, or were tired of working. Forty-six percent of those who retired earlier than expected did so due to health problems, 30% were laid off from their jobs or offered an early retirement incentive package, and 11% left work to take care of a loved one[.]"
Prudential
Investing for Retirement: Dollar-Cost Averaging or Lump Sum Investment?
"Lump sum investment always performs better on average than dollar-cost averaging [DCA].... Maximums and minimums are more extreme for the lump sum strategy, unless you compare it with DCA over a time period of 4 years or more. Over time periods of 4 years or more, DCA has more extreme minimums than lump sum investment."
Seeking Alpha; free registration may be required
A Fundamental Economic Fact Fiduciaries Use to Fight Fear of Falling Markets
"Because of its long-term impact and the potential for counter-intuitive side effects, it's important we understand not only what causes inflation, but how it might hurt us and what strategies we might employ to reduce that possibility of getting hurt.... During inflection parts -- when inflation changes direction (like we're experiencing today) -- markets often react in knee-jerk fashion.... Once we're past the inflection point, equity prices stabilize, and we can return to standard equity valuation measures."
Fiduciary News
Executive Compensationand Nonqualified Plans
How Executive Compensation Changes Affect Employers
"As companies deal with this change, there are several issues they should consider. [1] Is grandfather relief available? ... [2] What's the administrative burden? ... [3] Could performance goals change?"
Bloomberg BNA
Press Releases
Benefit Advisors Network Admits Four New Members Benefit Advisors Network
Joseph Caruso Joins ARA as Government Affairs Counsel American Retirement Association
BPU Investment Management, Inc., Certified for Fiduciary Excellence Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]
The Retirement Advantage, Inc. Acquires Applied Plan Administrators, LLC The Retirement Advantage [TRA]
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite HWinter Park, Florida 32789
(407) 644-4146
Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587. Copyright 2018 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of those materials. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notices from copies of the content.
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