| Benefits & Administration | Employers Say Highest ACA Cost Impact Yet to Come | One-third of employers (33%) expect the greatest
cost increase from Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
implementation to take place in 2016, according to a new survey, “2015
Employer-Sponsored Health Care: ACA’s Impact,” conducted by the International
Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. More than one-quarter (27%) expect the
largest cost increase in 2018. Twenty percent state the impending excise tax,
or Cadillac tax, will be their future top cost driver, followed by general
administrative costs (19%) and costs associated with reporting, disclosure and
notification requirements (13%).Read more > | | Products, Deals & People | ICMA-RC announced and expansion of its
professional investment advisory services to retirees. ICMA-RC’s Guided
Pathways program now provides professional investment advisory services
throughout the lifetime of public sector employees—from newly hired workers
just beginning to save to retirees seeking help with making their assets last
over their life expectancy.Read more > | | Sponsored message from SageView, Vanguard and Ayco | Building a Stronger Retirement Plan for Cabot Corporation See how SageView, Vanguard, and Ayco helped their client Cabot Corporation redefine their retirement plan and push participation rates to 94%.Read more > | | Economic Events | THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Tomorrow,
the Census Bureau will report about housing starts for April. Thursday, the Labor Department will
issue its initial claims report, and the National Association of Realtors will
report about existing home sales. Friday,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics will reveal the consumer price index (CPI) for
April. |
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| Market Mirror | Friday, the
Dow inched up 20.32 points (0.11%) to 18,272.56, the NASDAQ was down 2.50
points (0.05%) at 5,048.29, and the S&P 500 increased by 1.63 points
(0.08%) to 2,122.73. The Russell 2000 decreased by 1.16 points (0.09%) to
1,243.95, and the Wilshire 5000 was up 15.12 points (0.07%) at 22,402.17.
On the NYSE,
3.2 shares changed hands, with 1.4 advancing issues for every declining issue.
On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares traded, with a slight lead for decliners.
The price of
the 10-year Treasury bond increased 25/32, bringing its yield down to 2.146%.
The price of the 30-year Treasury bond climbed 2 8/32, decreasing its yield to
2.931%.
WEEK’S
WORTH: For the week ending May 15, the Dow finished
0.45% higher, the NASDAQ climbed 0.89%, and the S&P 500 was up 0.31%. The
Russell 2000 gained 0.73%, and the Wilshire 5000 increased 0.37%.
| | Compliance | Legislation Supports Lifetime Income Disclosures | U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) and
Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) have introduced a bill they are calling the
Lifetime Income Disclosure Act, which would require 401(k) plan sponsors “to
inform participating workers of the projected monthly income they could expect
at retirement based on their current account balance.” The senators say they
have garnered significant bipartisan support for the bill, which they believe
will help average Americans ensure they do not outlive their savings in
retirement.Read more > | Church Plan Case Reaches Settlement | A federal district court judge has preliminarily
approved a settlement in one of the cases challenging a retirement plan’s church
plan status. Last May, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn of the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Michigan found the retirement plans of
Ascension Health Alliance entities qualify for “church plan” status under the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The ruling is one of three
handed down so far that say a plan need not be established by a church in order
to qualify as a church plan. So far, courts are split in their decisions about
church plan cases. The key concept of the settlement agreement is that the
participants in the plans will receive certain Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA)-like protections for the next seven and one-half years,
the agreement says.Read more > | | From the Magazine | 403(b) Plan Issues | Until January 1, 2009, Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) rules allowed 403(b) participants to choose their own plan provider. For
sponsors of 403(b) retirement plans, this has left a legacy of grappling with
how to handle information sharing among multiple providers.Read more > | | Small Talk | ON THIS DATE: In
1860, Abraham Lincoln, a one-time
U.S. representative from Illinois, was nominated for the U.S. presidency by the
Republican National Convention meeting in Chicago. In 1917, six weeks after the United States formally entered the First
World War, the U.S Congress passed the Selective Service Act, giving the U.S.
president the power to draft soldiers. In 1980,
Mt. Saint Helens erupted in Washington state; 57 people were killed and 3
billion in damage was done. In 1983,
the U.S. Senate revised immigration laws and gave millions of illegal aliens
legal status under an amnesty program. In 1998,
the U.S. federal government and 20 states filed a sweeping antitrust case against
Microsoft Corp., saying the computer software company had a “choke
hold” on competitors which denied consumer choices by controlling 90% of
the software market. | SURVEY SAYS: Moving from a DB to a DC Plan | Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Have you
ever participated in a DB plan, and how did a move from a DB to a defined
contribution (DC) affect you?” Nearly one-quarter of responding readers (24.3%)
indicated they are not now and have never been a participant in a defined
benefit (DB) pension plan. Slightly more than 10% are in plans that are still
active. Nearly 19% said they are or have been in a DB plan that is closed to
new participants, but still accruing benefits, 24.3% are or have been in a that
is now frozen, 21.6% in a plan that is now terminated. Among those in a DB plan
that is no longer active, 57.7% reported their employers added or enhanced a
defined contribution (DC) plan when it changed the DB, 23.1% said their
employers added a DC plan. As a participant, nearly half (48.1%) of responding
readers felt the move away from DB towards DC diminished their retirement
benefit. In comments, a few people left tips for plan sponsors moving from a DB
to a DC—and the top tip was to communicate well. Most readers acknowledged that
the move usually means a decrease in benefits, and one lucky reader expressed,
“I love my DB plan. I hope they keep it active for the next 8 years until I
retire!” Editor’s Choice is a tie
between, “DB plans? Yeah, right…next you’ll be telling us that elves and
dragons actually existed!” and “Please no more lime green backgrounds on these
surveys. It hurts the eyes!” 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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2015.
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