ERISA / Employee Benefits Attorney
Reid and Riege, P.C.
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TPA Internal Plan Admin Sales
Cetera Retirement Plan Specialists
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Nightmare on TPA Street - Real Life EPCRS Case Studies You Just Can?t Make Up!
March 16, 2018 in CA
Western Pension & Benefits Council - San Diego Chapter

2018 Spring Conference
May 10, 2018 in AZ
Western Pension & Benefits Council - Phoenix Chapter

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Defined Contribution Plans Have Come a Long Way! (PDF)
"DB funds outperformed DC plans by 0.46% from 2007-2016, a substantial narrowing of the gap from the 1.80% net return difference from 1998-2005.... 8-year (1998-2005) average holdings of cash, stable value and company stock [for DC plans were] 41% compared to the corresponding 8-year average of 1% for DB plans.... In 1998, these assets represented on average 44% of the holdings in the DC plans. In 2016, they represent 25%, a sizable reduction."
CEM Benchmarking

Don't Let Plan Distributions Throw you For a Loop!

John Griffin, J.D., LL.M., will provide an in-depth discussion and clarifying points that will make RMDs and plan distributions easier for you and your clients. Learn more!

Georgetown Sued for Allegedly Violating Fiduciary Duties in Its 403(b) Plans
"Participants in two Georgetown University defined contribution plans ... who are seeking class-action status, complained that the two 403(b) plans should have reduced the number of record keepers to one from three, 'failed adequately to evaluate and monitor expenses,' and paid 'unreasonable and excessive fees' for investments and plan administration, according to the lawsuit."
Pensions & Investments

Veil of Complexity Clouds Fiduciary Committee Review of Investment Service Providers
"With the combination of complicated laws, technical terminology, and the complex analyses of various investment plans on behalf of their workforce and donor groups, executives and investment committees often willingly give up control of these decisions to a team of 'trusted' investment partners ... The complicated nature of vendors' service offerings and pricing models, as well as the disproportionate emphasis they place on projected returns, dilutes the executive team's ability to examine the traits that really count ... A periodic comprehensive risk assessment is the solution."
Roland|Criss

Reduce Market Volatility with LDI
"Expectation of rising interest rates is often cited as a reason to postpone implementing an LDI strategy.... Hesitancy to exit a one-directional bull market is another. These are certainly valid thoughts, particularly for underfunded plans. But if the correction indeed signals the dawn of a new era, one of rising rates and increased equity volatility, LDI may be worth another look."
The Principal Blog

$20 Billion Club's Record-Breaking Year
"The 20 members of the $20 billion club, representing 40% of the global DB liabilities among US-listed corporations, didn't just add on to 2016 contribution totals, they doubled them. They nearly tripled 2015 contributions. Combined with their highest recorded investment earnings, pension assets increased by around $85 billion for this group and offset a 45 bps drop in discount rates. This led to an average 5% improvement in funded ratio and $32 billion reduction in the funding deficit."
Russell Investments

Spotlighting Self-Directed IRAs

Retirement Industry Trust Association (RITA) -- the voice of the Self-Directed IRA Industry -- conference in DC, March 26-28. Get the latest regulatory and legislative updates from experts and newsmakers vital to the industry. Learn more and sign-up

Single Premium Pension Buy-Out Sales Nearly Double in the Fourth Consecutive Quarter
"U.S. single premium pension buy-out product sales were $11.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 96 percent increase compared with fourth quarter 2016 results. This is first time that fourth quarter buy-out sales have surpassed $10 billion in the last 5 years and the 11th consecutive quarter of sales over $1 billion ... In 2017, single premium buy-out product sales were $23 billion, 68 percent higher than 2016."
LIMRA

How to Prepare Employees to Be Ready to Retire
"A pivotal factor in helping employees improve their retirement readiness is opening the channels of communication and customizing the messages. To have a meaningful impact, plan-related communication must be actionable and personalized.... Communication should also be easy to understand and delivered on a regular basis, beginning well before retirement age.... [T]he impact of the communication must be measurable, so the results can be monitored."
Sibson Consulting

West Virginia Bill Would Criminalize Failure to Make Public Pension System Contributions
"Under the proposed legislation, any employer or public official who willfully fails to make contributions to public pension plans can face a sentence as low as a $100 fine or as high as 10 years in prison."
PLANSPONSOR

Puerto Rico Workers Raise Red Flags on Public Employee 401(k)-Style Plan
"Four national unions ... point to investment losses the workers may have suffered from July 2017 to February 2018, when the market increased 11.4 percent.... The government hasn't set up the individual accounts or segregated the individual contributions to the unions' knowledge ... The government has also failed to create the retirement board, which was set to serve as the plan fiduciary[.]"
Bloomberg BNA

Save More for Retirement? Nah, I'll Just Work Longer
"[I]ncreasing your savings ... lowers your current spending budget and gives you a smaller spending target to replace in retirement.... The years just prior to your desired retirement will, in many cases, be your best opportunity to save.... You (or your spouse) may not be able (or want) to continue to work at a job that will pay you the same level of earnings (or more) as you age."
Ken Steiner, FSA Retired

There Is Finally a Pension Bill in Kentucky, and It's Bad
"The most dramatic change proposed in SB1 is switching future teachers from a defined benefit pension to a cash balance hybrid plan ... similar to the one many other public employees in Kentucky were forced into by legislation passed in 2013 ... This switch would represent a substantial loss of retirement security for Kentucky's teachers."
National Public Pension Coalition

IRS Guidance Regarding Section 409A and Pre-2009 Section 457A Deferrals
"Although a nonqualified entity had the opportunity to amend its nonqualified deferred compensation [NQDC] plan pursuant to the transitional relief granted under the 2009 Notice, the applicability of section 457A to an entity could have changed after December 31, 2011.... [ Notice 2017-75 ] and forthcoming regulations offer flexibility to [NQDCs] and taxpayers who may otherwise be adversely affected by the inclusion of Pre-2009 Deferrals in gross income without the corresponding liquidity to pay Federal, state, local, and foreign income taxes owed."
Plan Sponsor Council of America [PSCA]

What Is the Cut-Off Time to Assign a Day's Mutual Fund Prices?
In my experience (with plans, recordkeepers, and SEC-registered investment companies), a participant's investment direction received by the plan's recordkeeper before 4:00 New York (Eastern) Time is treated as timely received to get the open-end mutual fund prices later determined for that day. Are there any circumstances in which a recordkeeper could allow a later cut-off time? If so, does anyone allow a later cut-off time? Or do all recordkeepers set 4:00 p.m. as the time for all funds?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Only Remaining Asset Is Unsold Real Estate: How to Terminate the Plan?
A dentist has maintained a profit sharing plan for himself and one other employee for years. The assets in the plan, at the moment, consist of only a single real estate property. He has retired, stopped his practice and wants to terminate the plan. He can't find a buyer for the property and there aren't any other plan assets to pay out the other participant. He doesn't have the money to deposit into the plan or to pay out the other participant directly. Does he have to maintain the plan until a buyer is found so he can turn this asset into cash? Is this true and, if not, what are his alternatives?
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SEC Charges Ameriprise With Overcharging Retirement Account Customers for Mutual Fund Shares Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC]

Principal Appoints New Head of Full Service Retirement Principal Financial Group

Northeast Business Group on Health Appoints Candice Sherman As Permanent Chief Executive Officer Northeast Business Group on Health [NEBGH]

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