| Public-Sector Employees Confident in Retirement Income Prospects | Most public-sector employees do not know how much they need to save for a comfortable retirement, nor have they planned and saved specifically for medical expenses in retirement, according to TIAA’s 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey of the State and Local Government Workforce. Still, about 20% are very confident that they are saving and investing appropriately for retirement, with approximately 55% somewhat confident in their savings and investing.Read more > | Majority Use ESPPs for Debt and Retirement | Fidelity research also shows that employees in an ESPP are three times more likely to sell ESPP shares for emergency cash rather than take a loan from their 401(k).Read more > | | Sponsored message from DST Systems | A Call to Action: Improving the Rollover Experience Post-DOL Renewed opportunities to improve the outdated approach to IRA rollovers.Read more > | | Market Mirror | Yesterday, the Dow closed 39.58 points (0.20%) higher at 19,796.43, the NASDAQ closed 31.96 points (0.59%) lower at 5,412.54, and the S&P 500 was down 2.57 points (0.11%) at 2,256.96. The Russell 2000 fell 14.93 points (1.08%) to 1,373.14, and the Wilshire 5000 decreased 59.42 points (0.25%) to 23,619.34.
On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with 1.8 declining issues for every advancing issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.9 billion shares changed hands, with a more than 2 to1 lead for decliners.
The prices of the 10-year Treasury note and the 30-year Treasury bond were each down 3/32, increasing their yields to 2.479% and 3.157%, respectively. | | Compliance | Sponsor Settles with DOL After Bankruptcy | The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has resolved a lawsuit to restore $138,000 owed to the employee benefit plan of Chicago ophthalmologist Nicholas Caro. Specifically, Caro was accused of “liquidating $263,951 from the plan’s investment accounts and transferring the funds to accounts held in his own name, accounts held in the name of a former medical practice, various accounts, including some accounts held by parties in interest.”Read more > | | From the Magazine | DB Plan Q&A: Nondiscrimination Testing for Closed DBs | While there are certainly strategies for reducing the costs or managing the liabilities of an ongoing defined benefit (DB) plan, some employers—particularly those with final average pay plans—have felt uncomfortable with the adverse effect that a hard freeze would have upon long-service employees nearing retirement age. Those employers have adopted one of two general strategies. The legal difficulty with these well-intentioned actions is that, over time, they may lead to difficulties satisfying the applicable nondiscrimination tests for defined benefit plans under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).Read more > | | Small Talk | ON THIS DATE: In 1577, five ships under the command of Sir Francis Drake left Plymouth, England, to embark on Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe. The journey took almost three years. In 1636, the United States National Guard was created when militia regiments were organized by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1769, Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, received its charter. In 1862, in America, an estimated 11,000 Northern soldiers were killed or wounded when Union forces were defeated by Confederates under General Robert E. Lee, at the Battle of Fredericksburg. In 1913, in the U.S., the Federal Reserve System was established. In 1944, during World War II, the U.S. cruiser Nashville was badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze suicide attack; 138 people were killed. In 1966, the rights to the first four Super Bowls were sold to CBS and NBC for total of $9.5 million. In 1978, the Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony U.S. dollar. The coin began circulation the following July. In 2000, U.S. Vice President Al Gore conceded the 2000 Presidential election to Texas Governor George W. Bush. The Florida electoral votes were won by only 537 votes, which decided the election. The election had been contested up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which said that the Florida recount (supported by the Florida Supreme Court) was unconstitutional. | TRIVIAL PURSUITS: From where did the phrase ‘one fell swoop’ originate?Read more > | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along—and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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