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BlueStar Retirement Services, Inc.
in FL, Telecommute

Assistant Analyst
Sunwest Pensions
in AZ

Pension Consultant
Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte CPAs, P.C.
in NY

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Connecticut to Implement Mandatory IRA Program for Private-Sector Employees in 2019

"2016 legislation established the Connecticut Retirement Security Authority (CRSA) to oversee a state-run IRA program for private-sector employees.... [B]eginning in January 2019 the program will be implemented in phases modeled on the way Oregon phased in its state-run IRA program called OregonSaves. Oregon is phasing in the program over three years, starting with the state's largest employers. Connecticut has not yet specified the details of how its phase-in will be structured." Littler

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Can States Enact Their Own Fiduciary Rules? New Jersey Is Latest to Try

"Nevada extended its rule subjecting brokers to fiduciary standards and client lawsuits in July, 2017. Massachusetts regulators continue to pursue Scottrade for failing to follow procedures implemented to comply with the Fiduciary Rule ... [T]he State of New Jersey is poised to issue its own fiduciary standards for brokers.... [The New Jersey] pre-proposal does not mention any carveout for plans covered by ERISA." Cohen & Buckmann, P.C.

Retirement Plan Fees: Small Percentages Can Have Big Impacts

"[An] employee with a 401(k) balance of $25,000, averaging a seven percent return on investment with half a percent in fees will have $227,000 in 35 years. If, however, the fees and expenses were instead one and a half percent the balance is only $163,000 after 35 years. The one percent difference in fees annually reduces the account balance by twenty-eight percent ($64,000) in retirement." Hill, Chesson & Woody

Recommending Rollovers in the Evolving Regulatory Environment, Part 3

"[R]egardless of which rule is being applied, to satisfy the best interest and loyalty standards, an advisor (of a broker-dealer or an RIA) must use and document a process of gathering and carefully and professionally considering the relevant information.... What are the relevant factors? ... [T]he two best sources are Regulatory Notice 13?45 and the DOL's Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE)." Drinker Biddle

Pension Plan Annuity Purchase Update

"Insurers are beginning to hit capacity constraints and are now being more selective with their opportunities due to the large number of cases still hitting the market. However, the addition of two new insurers -- CUNA and Great American -- late last year has increased the competitiveness of pricing, particularly on the smaller end of the market." River and Mercantile Solutions

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Access, Participation, and Take-Up Rates for Retirement Benefits

"The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) corrected the 2017 National Compensation Survey -- Benefits participation and take-up rate estimates for retirement benefits on the public database on October 18, 2018. Additionally, 2013?2016 estimates were suppressed pending evaluation of whether errors are present ... Affected news releases, bulletins, and articles will not be republished to reflect these corrections and suppressions. The corrected data will be available through the public database query tools[.]" U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]

Tracking Basis with IRS Form 8606

"While it's easier for IRA owners to track their basis, it becomes much more difficult for beneficiaries of inherited IRAs. That's because basis is carried over, but without adequate records, a beneficiary will have no clue whether a contribution was made before or after-tax." Slott Report

How Retirees Adjust Their Lives Once They Discover Their Pre-Retirement Assumptions Are Mistaken

"More important than anything else is the sometimes difficult transition from saver to spender. Retirement is, by definition, a negative cash flow event. That can be a challenge for many.... Health issues fall into two categories. The first is simply maintenance.... In retirement, purpose all comes down to two words: 'Get Involved.' " Fiduciary News

Strip-Mining Public Pensions?

"[A]ll the reforms in the world in US public pensions are worthless unless you first get the governance right and get politicians out of managing them in any way, shape or form.... They need alternatives but they need a new approach to lower overall fees via more co-investments and to do that, they need to get the governance right to attract talent to their public pensions." Pension Pulse

How a Gang of Hedge Funders Strip-Mined Kentucky's Public Pensions

"[In] Kentucky, as in most states, it's perfectly legal for hedge funds or private equity firms to employ placement agents -- so long as they aren't caught violating a fairly recent rule that bars them from giving campaign donations or financial benefits directly to public officials while those officials are in a position to send hundreds of millions of dollars to their clients." The Intercept

NLRB Approves Unilateral Benefits Changes Consistent with Past Practice

"Because the changes did not materially vary in kind or degree from prior changes, the employer was merely maintaining the status quo expressed in its past practice when the collective bargaining agreement was in effect. Accordingly, [the NLRB found that] the employer did not violate the Act by implementing changes without providing the union with advance notice and the opportunity for bargaining."
Polsinelli PC

Winning the Self-Reported Diagnosis Limitation in Disability Claims

"[A new case] highlights that the limitation still applies even when there might be some weak evidence in the medical records verifying the diagnosis. That's because the diagnosis rested 'primarily' on self-reported symptoms." [ Floerke v. SSM Health Care Plan and Unum Life Ins. Co. , No. 17-567 (W.D. Wisc. Oct. 17, 2018)]
Lane Powell PC

Amazon Ends RSU Grants to Hourly Employees, But the Benefits of Broad-Based Employee Stock Grants Live on Elsewhere

"Amazon apparently cut bonuses and RSUs to redirect expenses for the increase in hourly wages and calculates that these workers will still see an overall pay rise.... When your company's stock price has skyrocketed and is expected to remain strong, as at Amazon, that is often when employees want equity the most. That is when stock compensation can play its most powerful role in recruitment, retention, and motivation, whether in the executive suite or in the warehouses." myStockOptions.com

How to Locate Copies of Prior 5500EZ Forms?

We have been hired to file "unfiled/past" 5500EZ forms but we don't know which returns have been filed since 1996. We'd like to find a way to get copies of prior EZ returns so we know which ones haven't been filed. We've called the IRS and EBSA without much help. Any ideas? BenefitsLink Message Boards

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Press Releases

DOL Obtains Consent Order and Judgment to Distribute Assets to Participants in Chicago Hospital Retirement Plan Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

OneDigital Health and Benefits Acquires Assurance Benefits Group, LLC OneDigital Health and Benefits

Custodia Financial Announces Expansion of Retirement Loan Eraser Program to Prevent a Broader Range of 401(k) Loan Defaults and Address Retirement Plan Leakage Custodia Financial

Willis Towers Watson Joins Forces with Tandem HR Solutions to Drive Real-Time Employee Performance Management Willis Towers Watson

Corporate Synergies Names Greg Blemlek Vice President and Senior Benefits Consultant in Greater Philadelphia Corporate Synergies

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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

The Evolution of Target Date Funds: Using Alternatives to Improve Retirement Plan Outcomes (PDF) Willis Towers Watson, for Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives

Text of DOL Proposed Regs: Definition of 'Employer' Under ERISA Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

Evaluating Target Date Funds: A Fiduciary's Guide (PDF) Vanguard