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| Voya Identifies Role Models for Retirement Readiness | |
| The Voya Retire Ready Index shows Americans are generally behind in their retirement readiness. Workers surveyed by Voya averaged an overall score of 4.1 out of 10, while retirees averaged a 5.5 score. However, the highest-scoring workers—identified by Voya as role models—received a combined average score of 7.0. The findings show that this group was more likely to own a wide range of products and view their employer-sponsored savings plan as a major source of income in retirement.Read more > | |
| Sponsored message from ERISApedia.com | |
| A REVOLUTIONARY RESOURCE: ERISApedia.com – Instant Access to Answers Quickly find answers to your ERISA questions with ERISApedia.com. Our revolutionary platform combines outstanding search tools and an intuitive interface. Sign-up for a free trial.Read more > | |
| PLANSPONSOR Research | |
| Executive Benefit Program Usage Dipped in 2014 | |
| Companies report a slight 3% drop in plan participation rates from 2013 to 2014, according to the MullinTBG/PLANSPONSOR Executive Benefits Survey. Survey respondents ranked quality plan education and communication as the most important feature when deciding to enroll in a non-qualified program. “Clear communication of plan features and education about the benefits of deferring compensation to meet financial planning goals are key drivers of plan participation and satisfaction for both participants and plan sponsors,” says James McInnes, senior vice president for total retirement solutions at Prudential Retirement.Read more > | |
| Market Mirror | |
U.S. stock indexes closed higher following encouraging news on consumer spending and home sales, according to the Associated Press. The Dow climbed 263.65 points (1.49%) to 17,976.31, the NASDAQ was up 56.22 points (1.15%) at 4,947.44, and the S&P 500 increased 25.22 points (1.22%) to 2,086.24. The Russell 2000 gained 17.39 points (1.40%) to finish at 1,257.80, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 267.77 points (1.23%) higher at 22,114.56. On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues nearly 3 to 1. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed hands, with a 2 to 1 lead for advancers. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 2/32, bringing its yield down to 1.956%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 11/32, increasing its yield to 2.554%. | |
| Compliance | |
| New Interpretation of Plan Provisions Violates ERISA | |
| The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a pension plan administrator may not apply amended plan terms to participants whose benefits vested under pre-amendment plan documents. According to the appellate court’s opinion, John Cottillion worked at United Refining Company for 29 years, from 1960 until 1989, and his benefits had vested under “the 1980 Plan,” which is the version of United’s Pension Plan for Salaried Employees that applies to people whose benefits vested after 1980 but before 1987. United amended the plan in 2002, backdated to January 1, 1995, to state that the benefits of terminated, vested participants who begin receiving plan payments before age 65 would be “actuarially reduced to reflect the earlier starting date.” The court determined that if the administrator applied the plan amendment to Cottillion it would be a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA’s) anti-cutback rule, which prohibits employers from amending a retirement plan in a way that reduces benefits already accrued under the plan.Read more > | |
| Investing | |
| Growth in CIT Use Driven by Familiar Market Factors | |
| Despite a 75-year track record as an investment vehicle, some plan sponsors lack awareness of collective investment trusts and their reputation for low fees. As explained by Gary Kleinschmidt, head of DCIO sales at Legg Mason, collective investment trusts are an increasingly popular investment vehicle available to institutional investors—namely defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans. He tells PLANSPONSOR there is relatively little user-facing difference between a mutual fund and a collective investment trust (CIT), especially from the ground-level perspective of the plan participant. Today the CIT structure is increasingly deployed in defined contribution plans with a target-date fund (TDF) overlay—often in an open-architecture approach giving plan sponsors a means of creating custom glide paths for their participant population at an affordable price.Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
ON THIS DATE: In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s designer. In 1917, the U.S. purchased the Danish West Indies for $25 million and renamed them the Virgin Islands. In 1943, “Oklahoma!” debuted on Broadway. In 1965, the U.S. ordered the first combat troops to Vietnam.
TUESDAY TRIVIA: The lowest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. was -62C (-80F) in Prospect Creek, Alaska, on January 23, 1971. | |
| TRIVIAL PURSUITS: Some of you have experienced some late snowfalls recently where you live. But, this is by far not the latest date snowfall was ever recorded in the U.S. Do you know when the latest snowfall ever recorded occurred?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
Copyright © Asset International, Inc., 2015. All rights reserved. No reproduction without prior authorization. |
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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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