| Plan Sponsor of the Year Finalists | Plan Sponsor of the Year Finalists: 401(k) <$50M | Each year, the editors of PLANSPONSOR
magazine—the industry’s leading resource for retirement-benefits related
news—recognize plan sponsors that demonstrate leadership in providing a more
secure retirement for workers. We are pleased to announce the 2015 finalists
for our annual Plan Sponsor of the Year award in the Corporate 401(k) < $50
Million category.Read more > | | Benefits & Administration | Timken Transfers Some DB Liability to Prudential | The
Timken Company announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase a group
annuity from The Prudential Insurance Company of America to pay future pension
benefits for approximately 5,000 of its U.S. retirees. Prudential will begin
paying benefits to certain retirees and surviving beneficiaries in April,
starting with those who are currently receiving benefit payments from Timken’s
U.S. retirement plan.Read more > | A group of current and former West Virginia
public school employees has filed a lawsuit against a provider to the state’s
defined contribution (DC) retirement plan. The lawsuit claims VALIC, a part of
AIG, allegedly misled thousands of participants to invest heavily or entirely
in its low-interest-rate annuities in the early 1990s, the Charleston Gazette
reports. VALIC’s attorneys argue the company guaranteed only a 4.5% annual
return, but some employees allege they were led to believe they would receive
returns of 8% or higher.Read more > | Giving Millennials a Push to Save | A study from LearnVest, a financial wellness
program provider, suggests a look into the future could convince younger
employees to save more now. “When we look at those under 25, it may be that
we’re looking at a case of false confidence—with few current responsibilities
and without a clear notion of what’s on the horizon,” the company notes in the
study report.Read more > | | Products, Deals & People | Annette Guarisco Fildes has been appointed CEO
of the ERISA Industry Committee, succeeding interim CEO Scott Macey.Read more > |
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| Economic Events | Despite low inventory conditions,
existing-home sales bounced back in December and climbed above an annual pace
of 5 million sales for the sixth time in seven months, according to the
National Association of Realtors. Total existing-home sales, which are
completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums
and co-ops, rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in
December from a downwardly-revised 4.92 million in November. From a year ago,
December sales were higher by 3.5% and are now above year-over-year levels for
the third straight month.
THE
ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Tomorrow, the Census Bureau will report about
durable goods orders for December, and the Conference Board will release its
Consumer Confidence Index for January. Thursday, the Labor Department will
issue its initial claims report.
| | Market Mirror | Major U.S.
stock indices ended lower Friday, as U.S. companies turned in mixed results for
the fourth quarter. The Dow fell 141.38 points (0.79%) to 17,672.60, the NASDAQ
ticked up 7.48 points (0.16%) to 4,757.88, and the S&P 500 lost 11.32
points (0.55%) to finish at 2,051.83. The Russell 2000 decreased by 1.44
(0.12%) to 1,188.93, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 97.02 points (0.45%) lower at
21,588.01.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares traded, with a slight lead for decliners. On the NASDAQ, 2.8
billion shares changed hands, with 1.2 declining issues for every advancing
issue.
The price of
the 10-year Treasury note was up 19/32, decreasing its yield to 1.800%. The
price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 1 17/32, bringing its yield down
to 2.374%.
WEEK’S
WORTH: For the week ending January 23, the Dow was up
0.92%, the NASDAQ climbed 2.66%, and the S&P 500 closed 1.58% higher. The
Russell 2000 increased 1.04%, and the Wilshire 5000 gained 1.62%.
| | From the Magazine | Plan Design Ideas for 2015 | Plan sponsors are “choice architects” in that
they must structure their plan so that it determines what elections
participants can make, says adviser Joseph DeNoyior, managing partner at
Washington Financial Group in McLean, Virginia. “The plan sponsor is helping
the participants make the right decisions. And framing the choice is probably
the most impactful thing a plan sponsor can do.” In the past few years, most
plan changes have been centered around automated plan solutions, such as
automatically enrolling new employees and providing for automated deferral
increases. But, there are other plan design changes to consider.Read more > | | Small Talk | ON THIS DATE: In
1837, Michigan became the 26th state
to join the United States. In 1838,
the first Prohibition law in the history of the United States was passed in
Tennessee, making it a misdemeanor to sell alcoholic beverages in taverns and
stores. The bill stated that all persons convicted of retailing
“spirituous liq.uors” would be fined at the “discretion of the
court” and that the fines would be used in support of public schools. In 1875, George F. Green patented the
electric dental drill for sawing, filing, dressing and polishing teeth. In 1934, the Apollo Theatre opened in New
York City. In 1961, President John
F. Kennedy appointed Janet Travell as his personal physician, making her the
first woman in history to hold the post. In 1979, “The Dukes of Hazzard” comedy television series
debuted on CBS. In 2005, President
George W. Bush appointed Condoleezza Rice to the post of Secretary of State,
making her the highest ranking African-American woman ever to serve in a
presidential cabinet. | SURVEY SAYS: Participant Access to Mobile Apps | Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Does your
company, through its retirement plan provider, offer plan participants access
to mobile applications?” Forty-five percent of respondents reported their firms
do not offer plan participants access to plan-related mobile applications.
However, 15% offer mobile apps for enrollment, and 55% offer apps that allow
participants to view their account information. One-quarter offer mobile apps
that allow participants to make retirement plan transactions such as deferral
rate changes, investment changes, distribution requests, etc. One-third (33.3%)
of respondents do not know how many participants use the mobile apps to which
they have access, while the majority (58.3%) said less than 10% of participants
use them. Among those whose company does not offer access to mobile
applications, two-thirds (66.7%) chose “other” reasons, including that their
retirement plan provider does not offer mobile apps or they don’t know if the
provider does. In verbatim responses, some respondents indicated they will be
looking into offering access to mobile apps, and one commenter lamented about
how technology has evolved. Editor’s
Choice goes to the reader who said: “Pulled the cover off the bulky lump
stashed on a cart in the corner of my office and showed my ‘still wet behind the
ears’ new employee my once state-of-the-art IBM-Selectric II typewriter. She
said, ‘Oh wow, I’ve never seen a real one. How do you run it?’ For all I’ve
learned and done in the many years I’ve been in this business, seems I’ve still
a long way to go. Makes me wonder, though, if her path will be as pioneering
and what relic of her journey will find its corner shrine. Hmm, maybe it’s time
to pull the plug.” A big thank you to all who responded to the survey!Read more > | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your
friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > | News from PLANSPONSOR.com
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