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| GAO Request | |
| The U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) is seeking respondents for a survey on defined contribution plans’ use of eligibility and vesting requirements. Building savings in a defined contribution plan is a key step to achieving income security in retirement for millions of Americans. That savings may be affected by the eligibility and vesting requirements that are used by many plans. This survey examines why plan sponsors use certain eligibility and vesting requirements, how they may have changed the requirements, and how they communicate them to employees and participants.Read more > | |
| Economic Events | |
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1% in April after increasing 0.2% in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3% in April after rising 0.2% in March. Real average hourly earnings were unchanged in April, seasonally adjusted. Average hourly earnings increased 0.1% and the CPI-U increased 0.1%. Real average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month. THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Today, the Census Bureau will report about durable goods orders for April and new home sales for April. The Conference Board will release its Consumer Confidence Index for May. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report. | |
| Market Mirror | |
Friday, the Dow fell 53.72 points (0.29%) to 18,232.02, the NASDAQ was down 1.43 points (0.03%) at 5,089.36, and the S&P 500 closed 4.76 points (0.22%) lower at 2,126.06. The Russell 2000 lost 4.51 points (0.36%) to finish at 1,252.22, and the Wilshire 5000 decreased 45.72 points (0.20%) to 22,449.83. On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded, with 1.7 declining issues for every advancing issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed hands, with a 1.3 to 1 ratio of decliners to advancers. The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 6/32, increasing its yield to 2.211%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was up 2/32, bringing its yield down to 2.985%. WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending May 22, the Dow finished 0.22% lower, the NASDAQ climbed 0.81%, and the S&P 500 was up 0.16%. The Russell 2000 gained 0.66%, and the Wilshire 5000 increased 0.21%. | |
| Compliance | |
| When Experts Are Needed to Meet Fiduciary Duties | |
| Fiduciary basics may overwhelm retirement plan sponsors, but experts say most duties are not that complex, and help is available. To simplify fiduciary responsibilities for plan sponsors, Jania Stout, practice leader with Fiduciary Plan Advisors at HighTower, focuses on four pillars under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Adhering to the terms of the plan document is the first pillar, Stout says, followed by the duty to act as a prudent expert or hire one, in order to do due diligence on investment choice and fund monitoring. The third pillar, loyalty, is critical, she says. “Every decision made around the plan, whether it’s choice of providers or plan or investment options, has to be made for the sole focus of benefiting the plan’s participants,” she tells PLANSPONSOR.Read more > | |
| Increased Litigation Not Necessarily the Result of Tibble | |
| Some have taken the Supreme Court’s decision in Tibble vs. Edison as paving the way for increased litigation based on the “duty to monitor,” but this is not necessarily the case, according to Russell Hirschhorn, a senior counsel in the ERISA Practice Center and the Labor & Employment Law Department of Proskauer.Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1868, at the end of a two-month trial, the U.S. Senate narrowly failed to convict President Andrew Johnson of the impeachment charges levied against him by the House of Representatives three months earlier. In 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average appeared for the first time in the “Wall Street Journal.” In 1897, the first copies of the classic vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appeared in London bookshops. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed into law the Comprehensive Immigration Act, the most stringent immigration policy up to that time in the nation’s history. In 1927, Henry Ford and his son Edsel drove the 15 millionth Model T Ford out of their factory, marking the famous automobile’s official last day of production. In 1972, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) was signed by the U.S. and USSR. The short-term agreement put a freeze on the testing and deployment of intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles for a 5-year period. In 1975, American stuntman Evel Knievel suffered severe spinal injuries in Britain when he crashed while attempting to jump 13 buses in his car. | |
| SURVEY SAYS: Tooth Fairy Inflation | |
| Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Did you partake in the tooth fairy or other tooth-loss tradition when you were a child, and if so, how much did you get? If you have children, do they get more than you did?” Ninety-six percent of responding readers said they did partake in a tooth fairy or similar tradition. All of those who did reported that they received $1.00 or less per tooth. Among respondents who have children, 95% indicated they do/did partake in a tooth-fairy or similar exchange for teeth, and 5% do/did not. Those who participate(d) in a tooth exchange recognized inflation and were more generous than their “tooth fairies.” In comments submitted, there were tips— “I like the idea of encouraging good dental hygiene by planting the seed in the mind of the child that the tooth fairy pays more for teeth in good condition”— and funny stories—“My son tried to catch the tooth fairy recently. He put his tooth in a baggie and tied a bell to the baggie so it would wake him when it was removed from under his pillow.” Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said, “Must be it’s more [now] than in my day. I left my upper plate out and my grandson said I’d be getting rich.” Thank you to all who participated in 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 > | |
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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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