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July 6th, 2022
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
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Compliance
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Hopes Are High for Lame-Duck Passage of SECURE 2.0
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One retirement industry policy expert says the conversations she is having on Capitol Hill make her optimistic that the ambitious retirement reform package could pass after the November elections. 
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| ECONOMIC EVENTS |
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New orders for manufactured durable goods in May, up seven of the last eight months, increased $2.1 billion or 0.8% to $267.5 billion, up from the previously published 0.7% increase, the Census Bureau reported. This followed a 0.4% April increase. Transportation equipment, up two consecutive months, led the increase, $0.9 billion or 1.0% to $87.8 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $6.3 billion or 2.3% to $275.9 billion.
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| MARKET MIRROR |
Tuesday, the Dow slipped 129.44 points (0.42%) to 30,967.82, the Nasdaq increased 194.39 points (1.75%) to 11,322.24 and the S&P 500 gained 6.06 points (0.16%) to close at 3,831.39. The Russell 2000 climbed 13.57 points (0.79%) to 1,741.33 and the Wilshire 5000 extended 170.11 points (0.45%) to 38,167.88.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 27/32, lowering its yield down to 2.831%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 30/32, lowering its yield down to 3.074%.
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Data and Research
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ESG Integral to Defined Benefit Plans
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According to a new Morningstar survey, institutional asset owners are in broad agreement that environmental, social and governance factors do not harm investment returns.
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ON THIS DATE: In 1775, one day after restating their fidelity to King George III and wishing him “a long and prosperous reign” in the Olive Branch Petition, the Second Continental Congress set “forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms” against British authority in the American colonies. In 1854, in Jackson, Mississippi, the Republican Party held its first convention. In 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tested a rabies vaccine. In 1907, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, noted for her intense, brilliantly colored self-portraits, was born. In 1923, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was established. In 1928, the first full-length all-talking motion picture, “Lights of New York,” premiered in New York City. In 1933, Major League Baseball’s first All-Star Game was held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. In 1957, with her defeat of Darlene Hard, American Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win the Wimbledon singles championship. In 1975, the United States Naval Academy admitted women for the first time in its history with the induction of 81 female midshipmen. In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers offering retirement annuity plans that pay smaller monthly benefits to women than to similarly situated men violated the ban against sex discrimination in employment in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002, Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus to win her first Wimbledon singles title.
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| Industry Intel Roundup—Featured Webinars | | PLANSPONSOR is pleased to present the next edition of our Industry Intelligence roundup. This week, we are featuring webinars sponsored by experienced providers in the industry. The content was created to educate, inform and offer ideas for plan sponsors regarding plan design, investing, administration and compliance. |  | | SPONSORED BY: ACI | December 16, 2025 | | Retirement Realities – What Sponsors May Be Missing | | What do plan sponsors believe about retirement readiness, and how does that compare to what participants actually feel? During this webinar, Glenn Dial, Senior Retirement Strategist at American Century Investments, will unpack the findings from the firm’s 12th Annual Retirement Survey. He’ll explore where sponsor and participant perspectives align – and where they diverge – on key issues like savings confidence, market risk, and retirement income expectations. Glenn will also touch on the evolving role of target date funds (TDFs) and how guaranteed income is being viewed in today’s defined contribution landscape. This session is designed to help retirement professionals better understand the sentiment gaps and take action to close them.
What You’ll Learn:
Fresh insights from the 2025 Retirement Survey.
Key disconnects between plan sponsors and participants.
Perspectives on market risk, TDFs, and retirement income.
Strategic considerations for plan design and communication
Whether you're a plan sponsor, advisor, or industry stakeholder, this webinar will help you rethink how retirement plans can better serve the people they're built for. |
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|  | | January 28, 2026 | | Benchmarking Your Plan | | In this webinar, we’ll review findings from the annual PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution Survey. Speakers will discuss ways to benchmark a DC plan to ensure it’s an important workforce attraction and retention tool. They will also address incorporating key plan design features that can improve employee retirement outcomes. |
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| | | August 18, 2026 | | DB Plan Administration | | Besides findings from PLANSPONSOR’s annual Defined Benefit Administration Survey, our panel will discuss trends in the defined benefit plan sector. Speakers will also talk about ongoing management of DB plans—whether closed, frozen or active—and benchmarking DB plan providers. With many corporate DB plans now overfunded, the panel will also discuss ways that sponsoring companies can use their plan’s surplus. |
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| | | November 18, 2026 | | Understanding Participant Behavior | | The PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey examines the attitudes and behaviors of American workers participating—or not—in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. We’ll explore findings about respondents’ participation and saving decisions, retirement expectations and most-valued benefits. Speakers will suggest what the findings mean for retirement plan design, benefit offerings and participant engagement. |
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|  | | SPONSORED BY: Alight | December 3, 2025 | | The Vital Role of HSAs—Beyond a Spending Account | | This webinar will explore the multifaceted value of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for both employers and employees, positioning them as more than just tools for healthcare spending. It highlights the unique triple tax advantage of HSAs which makes them a powerful and cost-effective benefit for organizations aiming to enhance employee financial wellness without increasing costs.
We will also emphasize immediate employee benefits such as tax savings, flexibility in covering a wide range of medical expenses, portability, and the absence of a “use it or lose it” rule.
Finally, we will address the importance of minimizing fees, as even small differences can significantly impact long-term savings. It encourages plan sponsors to evaluate HSA providers with the same rigor as 401(k) vendors and to focus on low-cost investment options. |
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