Newsdash Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy from PLANSPONSOR
April 28th, 2016
Benefits & Administration
Only 7% of Plans Re-Enroll Participants
J.P. Morgan says both sponsors and participants are missing out on a great opportunity.Read more >
Communications Key to Increasing Recordkeeper Trust
Trust in a participant’s respective retirement plan recordkeeper held steady (but still low) at 26% in 2016 (28% in 2015), according to the National Association of Retirement Plan Participants (NARPP’s) 2016 Participant Trust & Engagement Study. Overall recordkeeper satisfaction scores dropped somewhat from 2015 (41%) to 2016 (36%). The key drivers of overall satisfaction were trust, education, and partnering.Read more >
MOST READ ARTICLES
Compliance
Latest 401(k) Plan Forfeiture Complaint Filed Against BMO Financial
Administration
Principal CEO: Recordkeepers Should Get Creative to Enhance Services, Go Beyond Scale
Opinions
Retirement Income Stands Out as a Rare Consensus Focus for Politicians
Products, Deals and People
AI Announces Revamped Research Library
Asset International’s research library features reports from not only its U.S. media brands, such as PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER, but from other business units as well.Read more >
Market Mirror

Major U.S. stock indices closed mostly higher Wednesday, but the gains were checked by weakness in the technology sector, the Associated Press reports. The Dow gained 51.23 points (0.28%) to finish at 18,041.55, the NASDAQ lost 25.14 points (0.51%) to finish at 4,863.14, and the S&P 500 was down 3.45 points (0.16%) at 2,095.15. The Russell 2000 increased 3.42 points (0.30%) to 1,154.14, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 53.18 points (0.25%) higher at 21,686.16.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with a more than 2 to 1 lead for advancers. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for advancing issues over declining issues.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 21/32, bringing its yield down to 1.856%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond climbed 1 1/32, decreasing its yield to 2.703%.
Compliance
ICI Asks Lawmakers to Support Bills Against Fiduciary Rule
In a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, Investment Company Institute (ICI) President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens said that Congress should continue advancing bipartisan legislation to adopt a best interest standard in law, rather than through the “cumbersome contractual regime” imposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) in its final fiduciary rule.Read more >
PBGC Aims for Reduced Late Premium Penalties
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing to cut its penalties for late premium payments amid increasing criticism that the cost of its mandatory insurance coverage stands among the chief causes driving private employers out of the defined benefit pension market.Read more >
ESOP Participants Failed to State Claim Under Fifth Third Standard
A district court found the requirement to allege an alternative action in a stock drop case applied to participants in a closely held company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).Read more >
Small Talk
ON THIS DATE: In 1686, the first volume of Isaac Newton’s “Principia Mathamatic” was published. In 1788, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the U.S. constitution. In 1789, a mutiny on the British ship Bounty took place when a rebel crew took the ship and set sail to Pitcairn Island. The mutineers left Captain W. Bligh and 18 sailors adrift. In 1914, W.H. Carrier patented the design of his air conditioner. In 1919, the League of Nations was founded. In 1932, the yellow fever vaccine for humans was announced. In 1952, the U.S. occupation of Japan officially ended when a treaty with the U.S. and 47 other countries went into effect. In 1967, Muhammad Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army and was stripped of his boxing title. He cited religious grounds for his refusal. In 1992, the U.S. Agriculture Department unveiled a pyramid-shaped recommended-diet chart. In 1997, a worldwide treaty to ban chemical weapons took effect. Russia and other countries such as Iraq and North Korea did not sign. In 2000, Jay Leno received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
SURVEY SAYS: Some retirement plan service providers provide a retirement readiness gap analysis to participants on their statements, and other retirement savers can use online tools to receive a gap analysis. This week, I’d like to know, have you obtained a retirement readiness gap analysis; how did it make you feel in terms of being prepared or on track for retirement; and did it motivate you to take certain savings actions? You may respond to this week’s survey by 6 p.m. Pacific time today.Read more >
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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com

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