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| Benefits & Administration |
| Health Care Keeps U.S. Down in Global Retirement Index |
| Where does the United States rank on the list of
the top global retirement systems? Not as high up as industry practitioners
might expect given the nation’s overall wealth and global influence. Natixis
says health care significantly impacts the Global Retirement Index results. The
quality of a nation’s health care and the physical wellbeing of its population
are key contributors to widespread retirement readiness.Read more > |
| U.S. Pensions Show Greatest Home Bias in Equities |
| There is a clear sign of reduced home bias in
equities, as the weight of domestic equities in pension portfolios fell, on
average, from 65% in 1998 to 43% in 2014, according to Towers Watson’s Global
Pensions Asset Study 2015. However, during the past 10 years, U.S. pension
plans have maintained the highest bias to domestic equities (67% in 2014),
having also increased domestic equity bias during the past three years.Read more > |
| How Pensions Impact Corporate Financial Distress |
| A team of academic researchers published a new
paper, “Corporate Pensions and Financial Distress,” finding greater
underfunding of corporate pension plans is not a significant determinant of the
outcome of corporate financial distress. In other words, corporations with
large unfunded pension obligations appear no more likely than their
counterparts with healthier pension plans to enter bankruptcy rather than
achieve an out-of-court restructuring when the going gets tough.Read more > |
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| Products, Deals & People |
| New Fund Series Helps Sponsors with TDF Selection |
| Greenspring Wealth Management launched the
Target Date (k)larity fund series to help defined contribution plan fiduciaries
engage in a prudent process to choose the most appropriate target-date fund
(TDF) strategy for their participants. “Target Date (k)larity is a
comprehensive three-phase, seven-step target date evaluation process that
aligns closely with Department of Labor guidance from 2013,” the firm explains.Read more > |
