| Benefits & Administration | Tangible Retirement Messaging Drives Better Outcomes | When it comes to workplace retirement planning
and inspiring plan participants to improve their outlook, simpler messaging is
often the most effective, says Stuart Robertson of ShareBuilder 401k. According
to Robertson, just a $500 increase in annual savings can result in an extra
$110,000 over a 40-year time horizon. Discussing the savings math with
PLANSPONSOR, Robertson noted that a $500 increase matches the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) deferral limit increase scheduled for plan year 2015.Read more > | Empower Finds Four Drivers to Lifetime Income Success | Americans are on track to replace 58% of current
income in retirement, and four factors can help increase that number
dramatically, according to Empower’s 2015 Lifetime Income Score research. The
58% replacement rate (including Social Security), found in the fifth edition of
this research, is a slight dip from last year’s reading of 61%. Although the
research covering 4,000 Americans found that lifetime income scores—the
trajectory to replace current income in retirement—are driven much more
powerfully by savings behavior than by income level, Empower’s research found
there were four factors that had the most influence on retirement preparedness.Read more > | CDHP Cost-Saving Not Just a One-Time Event | Health care cost growth among firms offering a
consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) is significantly lower in each of the
first three years after offer, according to a research paper published by the
National Bureau of Economic Research. Using data from 13 million individuals in
54 large U.S. firms, the research results suggest that—at least at large
employers—the impact of CDHPs persists and is not just a one-time reduction in
spending. However, researchers did find the decrease in spending may be smaller
in year three compared to year one post-offer.Read more > | Multiemployer Plans Need Consistent Returns to Fully Rebound | Multiemployer plans have not fully rebounded
from the 2008 financial crisis because returns have not kept pace with growth
in liabilities, according to Milliman. The overall funding shortfall for all
U.S. multiemployer plans increased by $5 billion for the year ending December
31, 2014, while the aggregate funded percentage decreased slightly, from 81% to
80%.Read more > |
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| Sponsored message from SEI | Read how leveraging an OCIO can help improve your DC plan lineup An increasing number of organizations are seeing the benefits of this approach. This paper includes results from a recent survey of DC sponsors.Read more > | | Products, Deals & People | Empower Launches Research Unit | Empower introduced the Empower Institute to
provide research and discussion about a range of critical issues and challenges
related to retirement savings, guaranteed income and investing. “The Empower
Institute will explore many aspects of the retirement savings puzzle and work
to blaze the trail on potential solutions to some of the most vexing challenges
on this front facing the American worker today,” says Edmund F. Murphy III,
president of Empower Retirement.Read more > | | Economic Events | Total existing-home sales, which are completed
transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and
co-ops, rose 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million in
February from 4.82 million in January, according to the National Association of
Realtors. Sales are 4.7% higher than a year ago and above year-over-year totals
for the fifth consecutive month. | | Market Mirror | Monday, the
Dow was down 11.61 points (0.06%) at 18,116.04, the NASDAQ lost 15.44 points
(0.31%) to finish at 5,010.97, and the S&P 500 closed 3.68 points (0.17%)
lower at 2,104.42. The Russell 2000 decreased by 1.66 (0.13%) to 1,264.71, and the
Wilshire 5000 slipped 37.87 points (0.17%) to 22,293.02.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares traded, with 1.4 advancing issues for every declining issue.
On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for
advancers.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 6/32,
decreasing its yield to 1.911%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond slipped
3/32, bringing its yield up to 2.512%.
| | Small Talk | ON THIS DATE: In
1868, Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company was formed. In 1955,
Tennessee Williams’ play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” debuted on Broadway.
In 1958, Elvis Presley was inducted
into the U.S. Army. In 1989, the
worst oil spill in U.S. territory began when the supertanker Exxon Valdez,
owned and operated by the Exxon Corporation, ran aground on a reef in Prince
William Sound in southern Alaska. In 2005,
Sandra Bullock received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. | TRIVIAL PURSUITS REWIND: In 1790, Congress passed a law allowing President
George Washington to choose the permanent site for the nation’s capital. He
selected a tract of undeveloped swampland on the Potomac River, between
Maryland and Virginia. By what name did Washington refer to the place before
the commissioners overseeing the development of the new city picked its permanent
name?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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