| Benefit Briefs | “Our university is attempting to put together a
faculty retirement incentive plan. Are there any enhancements to our 403(b)
plan that we can make as a part of this package in order to incentivize faculty
to retire?” | Plan Sponsors See Value in Offering Managed Accounts | A greater focus on participant outcomes and their
own fiduciary responsibilities may be leading more plan sponsors to adopt
managed accounts for their retirement plans. Sangeeta Moorjani, senior vice
president of investment services at Fidelity in Boston, tells PLANSPONSOR a
couple of factors contribute to the rise in demand. Not only are plan sponsors
much more focused on making sure participants are retirement ready, they’re
also seeking help managing their fiduciary risk, and from the plan participant
perspective, employees seem to need more and more assistance. | Retirees Worried About Ongoing Benefits | Unprotected pensions, loss of retiree health
care benefits and reduced Social Security payments worry retirees. More than
half (51.3%) of retirees rank the security of their pensions and retirement
savings as the most important issue they face, according to results of an
online survey conducted by ProtectSeniors.org, in conjunction with former
Chairman of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank and former White House Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) adviser, Dr. Thomas J. Mackell, Jr. Nearly
one-third (30%) of retirees polled say they are concerned their defined pension
benefits could be transferred to an insurance annuity, resulting in loss of
ERISA and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protections. | Regulator Questioning Moves to Annual 401(k) Plan Match | The Massachusetts Securities Division is looking
into how many 401(k) plan sponsors have moved to paying deferral matching
contributions annually. According to a statement from Secretary of the
Commonwealth William F. Galvin, a letter has been sent to the 25 largest 401(k)
plan providers seeking the number of plans they administer that have shifted to
year-end lump-sum matches, the number of affected employees, and the date of
the change. It also seeks the disclosure information provided to plan
participants about the potential risks associated with the change. The
statement notes that AOL shifted from a per-pay period distribution of the
employer contribution to a year-end distribution, but in response to a negative
reaction from its employees the Internet company reversed its position. “At a
time when most Americans have much of their retirement savings in these 401(k)
plans, it is crucial that they are made aware of the risks involved when a
company shifts to a year-end distribution,” Secretary Galvin says. | | Buyer's Market | Non-profit organizations that sponsor 403(b)
plans are asked to participate in the 2014 Plan Sponsor Council of America
(PSCA) 403(b) Plan Survey. The sixth annual survey, sponsored by the Principal
Financial Group, features relevant questions about key market topics.
Non-profit organizations that participate will receive a free copy of the
survey report and an invitation to a webinar that provides an in-depth
discussion of the results. | | Economic Events | The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index,
which had increased in January, fell moderately in February. The Index now
stands at 78.1 (1985=100), down from 79.4 in January. The decline was driven by
the Expectations Index, which dropped to 75.7 from 80.8. The Present Situation
Index, by contrast, climbed from 77.3 to 81.7. | | Market Mirror | Tuesday, the Dow was down 27.48 points
(0.17%) at 16,179.66, the NASDAQ declined 5.38 points (0.13%) to 4,287.59, and
the S&P 500 lost 2.49 points (0.13%) to close at 1,845.12. The Russell 2000
declined by 0.61 (0.05%) to 1,173.95, and the Wilshire 5000 slipped 16.79
points (0.08%) to 19,795.79.
On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded,
with a slight lead for decliners. On the NASDAQ, 2.6 billion shares changed
hands, with 1.5 declining issues for every advancing issue.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 10/32,
and the price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 22/32, bringing their
yields down to 2.705% and 3.660%, respectively.
| | Financial Sense | Based on pricing research conducted in January
2014, Mercer found the UK is the most expensive location to insure retiree defined
benefit (DB) pension obligations relative to the liabilities reflected in company
accounts. According to the index, the cost of insuring £100 million worth of
retiree obligations in the UK would be around 23% more than the equivalent
accounting liabilities. This compares to 17% in Ireland, 8.5% in the United
States and just 5% in Canada. | | Rules & Regulators | Failed to Provide Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Notice? | Failed to provide the safe harbor 401(k) plan
notice to employees eligible to participate in the plan? There’s a fix for
that. In a recently updated page on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website,
the agency notes that the
appropriate correction for a late safe harbor 401(k) notice depends on the
impact on individual participants. | | Sponsored message from PLANSPONSOR | PLANSPONSOR Plan Sponsors of the Year – 403(b) Finalists include Gilman School, Moffitt Cancer Center, Texas Association of School Boards, Inc., and Washington St. Board for Community & Technical Colleges. Winners in each category will be announced in February and recognized at the Awards for Excellence dinner. View other categories. | | Small Talk | Refunds May Be a Good Thing for Some Taxpayers | Financial experts say it is better to balance tax
withholding to receive more money per paycheck rather than a refund at tax
time. In theory, this would allow taxpayers to benefit from putting their money
to work for them sooner and therefore not miss out on potential returns. This
might be true if individuals invested that extra pay, but recent research from
MoneyRates.com shows this isn’t the case. According to the survey, 69% of those
who prefer a refund save at least half of that refund, compared with 54% who
save the extra money they get each paycheck from a minimized withholding level. | ON
THIS DATE: In
1919, the Grand Canyon National Park
was established. In 1929, the Grand
Teton National Park was established. In 1949,
from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, the Lucky Lady II, a B-50
Superfortress, took off on the first nonstop round-the-world flight. In 1993, a bomb exploded in the parking
garage beneath the World Trade Center in New York City.
WEDNESDAY
WISDOM: “While we are postponing, life speeds by.”—Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman stoic philosopher
| Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your
friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy. | News from PLANSPONSOR.com
Copyright © Asset International, Inc.,
2014.
All
rights reserved. No reproduction without
prior authorization.
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| FEATURED |
| PLANSPONSOR’s 2014 Plan Sponsor of the Year Winner | Finalists for the PLANSPONSOR Plan Sponsor of
the Year Award in the Corporate 401(k) >$1B category are Eastman Chemical Company
(Kingsport, Tennessee), Google Inc. (Mountain View, California) and Microsoft
Corporation (Redmond, Washington). And the winner is… |
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