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| Market Mirror | |
The stock market had its biggest gain in two months after the U.S. government reported an encouraging pickup in hiring, the Associated Press reports. The Dow climbed 267.05 points (1.49%) to 18,191.11, the NASDAQ increased 58.00 points (1.17%) to 5,003.55, and the S&P 500 gained 28.10 points (1.35%) to finish at 2,116.10. The Russell 2000 was up 9.39 points (0.77%) at 1,234.93, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 271.16 points (1.23%) higher at 22,319.28. On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares changed hands, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues 4 to 1. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares traded, with a 1.7 to 1 ratio of advancers to decliners. The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 12/32, bringing its yield down to 2.142%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was up 9/32, decreasing its yield to 2.898%. WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending May 8, the Dow gained 0.93%, the NASDAQ slipped 0.04%, and the S&P 500 increased 0.40%. The Russell 2000 finished 0.56% higher, and the Wilshire 5000 was up 0.32%. | |
| Compliance | |
| Proposed Wellness Program Rules Leave Questions | |
| “The idea [behind issuing proposed rules for employer wellness programs] was to provide clarity and consistency, and while the EEOC was conceptually in the neighborhood, it provided a little more clarity, but a lot more inconsistency,” says Michael Dermer, chief incentive officer at Welltok, a Denver-based wellness program provider. Dermer, based in New York City, notes that the proposed rules recently issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) did not address issues with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)—tying incentives to family history information—and that was the basis for one of its claims in a lawsuit against Honeywell International. He also tells PLANSPONSOR that if the proposal is passed in its current form, it will establish two sets of rules, one for outcomes-based incentives and one for participation-based incentives, particularly when it comes to smoking cessation.Read more > | |
| The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employee Plans Compliance Unit conducted a project related to 403(b) plan sponsorship eligibility for organizations that lost their 501(c)(3) exempt status due to the automatic revocation for not filing a required return for three consecutive years. Some entities were unaware that their 501(c) status affected their eligibility to sponsor a 403(b) plan. Generally, all entities exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(a) are required to file an annual return reporting their operations and activities under IRC Section 6033. Exempt entities must file an annual notice with the IRS using a Form 990 series return.Read more > | |
| IRS Sets 2016 HSA Limits | |
| The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2015-30, which provides the 2016 inflation adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) as determined under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code.Read more > | |
| From the Magazine | |
| If it were up to retirement plan advisers, the single most important goal their plan sponsor clients would set for 401(k) plans would be “outcomes”—enabling participants to retire with adequate savings. “Achieving useful and successful retirement plans for the individual is the pinnacle of what we are trying to establish,” says Dan Peluse, director of corporate plan services at Wintrust Wealth Management in Chicago.Read more > | |
| Are Your Education Initiatives Making a Difference? | |
| In a day when many plan committees let automation do the work of enrolling participants and building their retirement accounts, educational initiatives especially may need to justify their cost. How does a plan sponsor determine whether those efforts—be they a re-enrollment meeting or the overall strategy—are a success?Read more > | |
| Investing | |
| A recent report from Wintergreen Advisers argues there is a critical flaw underlying the current trend of plan sponsors pushing more and more assets into lower-fee index funds—a flaw that could be construed as a fiduciary violation. The report’s title doesn’t mince words: “How the Votes of Big Index Funds Feed CEO Greed and Put Americans’ Retirement Savings in Peril.” Neither do David Winters, CEO of Wintergreen Advisers, and Liz Cohernour, chief operating officer (COO) of Wintergreen, in discussing what they see as major failures on the part of the big index fund providers to ensure individual investors are treated fairly.Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1858, Minnesota entered the Union as the 32nd state. In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded. In 1934, a massive storm sent millions of tons of topsoil flying from across the parched Great Plains region of the United States as far east as New York, Boston and Atlanta. In 1947, the creation of the tubeless tire was announced by the B.F. Goodrich Company. In 1981, Bob Marley, the soul and international face of reggae music, died in a Miami, Florida, hospital at age 36. In 1997, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov resigned after 19 moves in a game against Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer developed by scientists at IBM. This was the sixth and final game of their match, which Kasparov lost two games to one, with three draws. | |
| In honor of Mother’s Day, last week, I asked NewsDash readers, what is your favorite childhood memory of your Mom—it could be rituals, quirks, sayings or a specific event. I was surprised by such a small number of responses, but perhaps most readers were like the one who said: “I went through many and couldn’t pick one ‘favorite’. Nice prep for Sunday!” But, among the responses received, quite a few were touching and some were funny. All responses remind us that Mom is special and there’s a reason we set a day aside to celebrate her. There’s no Editor’s Choice this week—every comment tied. A big thank you to all who shared in this week’s 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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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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