State-Sponsored Private Sector Plans First Step Towards Nationalized Retirement?
|
Newsletter Sponsor 401k Averages Book 15th Edition - Fee Benchmarking Book 15th Edition of the 401k Averages Book. All 401k fee charts and tables updated for 2015. Use the 401k Averages Book to better understand investment, recordkeeping, revenue sharing expenses for 401k plans. The 401k Averages Book is the only resource book available for non-biased, comparative 401k fee information. It is designed to provide professionals with essential fee information to help their clients determine if their plan costs are above or below average. Click here for more information. In This Issue
General Items State-Sponsored Private Sector Plans First Step Towards Nationalized Retirement? Summary: According to the author, "the movement towards what amounts to the first step towards nationalizing America's retirement system is based on a well-publicized series of talking points repeated echoed, very often without rebuttal or counter examples, through various media outlets over the past several years." Source: Fiduciarynews.com It's Time to Promote Retirement Savings Summary: Author writes, "I read several articles recently about MyRA and State sponsored programs written by retirement industry professionals and organizations where their words seemed to take on a cynical tone instead of one of encouragement to the reader to look further into the programs. My belief is that their words can discourage Advisors and others to explore, understand and bring information to all individuals and employers to promote retirement savings." Source: 401khelpcenter.com Bringing DC Participant Personas Into Focus Summary: Investment knowledge and engagement levels are declining among many defined contribution plan participants. But more targeted outreach may help connect different "investor personas" to the guidance and confidence they need. Article identifies three distinct investor personas. Source: Abglobal.com
403(b) Plans The 403(b) Lifetime Income Lesson for 401k Plans Summary: Longer lives are reason to celebrate, but also reason for workers to ask: "Can I afford to be retired for 30 years or more?" Many defined contribution plans in the not-for-profit sector -- educational institutions, charities, hospitals, churches and the like -- have an answer to this question. Source: Pionline.com
Fiduciary and Plan Governance Material Empowering Participants -- Plan Distributions and the Plan Sponsor Summary: Plan sponsors must understand both governmental regulations and their fiduciary responsibilities in order to help participants leaving employment or retiring who need to make decisions about their retirement plans, according to this white paper. Source: Dcprovider.com The Fiduciary Model and Your Company's Retirement Plan Summary: In this open letter, Scott Simon of Prudent Investment Advisors, makes the case that one cannot lump together the caveat emptor setting in which a business operates with the setting in which the 401k plan sponsored by the company must operate -- because ERISA will not allow it. Source: Morningstar.com
Insight: Studies, Research and White Papers Re-Enrollment: An Easy Button for DC Plans Summary: Close your eyes and imagine that there was a button plan sponsors could press that would turn participant inertia into an asset, and help improve sub-optimal asset allocations while simultaneously putting the plan sponsor on more solid fiduciary footing. Luckily there is, it's called re-enrollment. Source: Manning-Napier.com Summary: A plan re-enrollment is a process by which participants are notified that their existing assets and future contributions will be invested in the plan's qualified default investment alternative, unless they make a new investment election during a specified time period. This paper explains the concept of re-enrollment and outlines potential benefits to participants and plan sponsors. Source: Jpmorganfunds.com The Next Evolution of 401k Plans Summary: Advances in technology now enable employers to provide a retirement savings road map for each participant by leveraging managed accounts as the QDIA with the help of their plan adviser. Source: Plansponsor.com Summary of Key Findings About the Employee Benefits America's Workers Value Most Summary: This 13-page research report explores the disconnect between the value employees place on their employer-provided benefits and other aspects of their lives, and to understand employees' perceptions of their benefits. Source: Massmutual.com
Court and Legal Class Action 401k Claims Rejected By the Supreme Court Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a class action accusing Embarq Corp. and other companies of improperly changing employees' retirement benefits, rejecting an argument from retired employees that a Tenth Circuit ruling in the case presented an important question about when retirement benefits can be interpreted as irrevocable. Source: 401kspecialistmag.com
Compliance and Regulatory EBSA Restored $700 Million to Retirement Plans, Participants During FY 2015 Summary: The DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration announced that during fiscal year 2015, enforcement actions that it brought to enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act resulted in the recovery of $696.3 million for direct payment to plans, participants and beneficiaries. Source: Thinkadvisor.com DOL Proposal on State Plans Raises Concerns From Providers Summary: Proposed rules from the DOL that give the green light to states to consider creating retirement savings programs for some private-sector workers are raising concerns among service providers, from recordkeepers to asset managers. Source: Pionline.com Borzi Contemplates Regional Open MEPs Summary: Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi says that some New England states have approached the DOL for guidance about creating a regional MEP, "And we told them we'd be happy to work with them as they try to design it, but I don't see any theoretical problem with doing that," Borzi said. Source: Napa-net.org DOL Fee Disclosure Rules Make ERISA 404(c) Compliance Simple Summary: While the 404a-5 notice is primarily intended to benefit participants, it can also benefit 401k plan sponsors by making it easier for the plan to meet ERISA section 404(c) compliance requirements. Source: Employeefiduciary.com Form 5500 for 2015 Plan Year Released, Including New IRS Compliance Questions Summary: The DOL has released the 2015 Form 5500 and the IRS has released a draft of the 2015 Form 5500-EZ. Only minor changes have been made to the main Form 5500, none of them significant. For retirement plan reporting, however, the IRS has added a series of "IRS Compliance Questions" to Schedule R, Form 5500-SF, and draft Form 5500-EZ. Source: Ebia.com
Marketplace News ERISA Attorney Barry Salkin Joins the Wagner Law Group CBIZ Acquires Kansas Pension Plan Consultant NTSA Elite Advisor Award Finalists Named Wells Fargo Offers 401k Participants Personalized Investment Option Ascensus Opens Cranbury, New Jersey Office
This eNewsletter is a digest of information published by a variety of web-based sources on 401k and related issues and is published as a service to our users. 401khelpcenter.com, LLC is not the author of the material unless specifically noted. Articles are copyrighted to their publishers. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact the source site immediately. All links were tested before this eNewsletter was e-mailed to you to ensure that they are still functional, but publishers do move or delete articles. Therefore, we can't guarantee that the links provided will remain operational. 401khelpcenter.com, LLC does not endorse and disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, or reliability of the material linked to in this newsletter. Reliance on this material should only be undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. Opinions expressed are those of the author of the article and do not necessarily reflect the positions of 401khelpcenter.com. THIS NEWSLETTER IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE INVESTMENT, TAX, ACCOUNTING OR LEGAL ADVICE. Copyright © 2015 by 401khelpcenter.com, LLC. All rights reserved. No reproductions without prior authorization, but you are free to email this copy (in its entirety) along to colleagues or clients. This newsletter may not be posted to any website. 401khelpcenter.com, LLC
|
