Newsdash Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy from PLANSPONSOR
November 1st, 2017

Time Is Running Out to Make Plan Sponsor of the Year Nominations

The deadline for the Plan Sponsor of the Year awards nominations is November 6. Nominations may be made by providers, advisers, consultants, actuaries, attorneys, third-party administrators, employees and colleagues, or, you can even nominate yourself. The award is given in many categories to recognize all plan types, so any plan sponsor can be eligible.Read more >
Benefits & Administration
Health Care Employers Increasing Focus on Financial Wellness
Financial wellness programs are a growing offering among all employers, but a Cammack Retirement Group study of such programs at health care organizations in the U.S. found an especially high adoption rate. For those health care organizations providing a financial wellness program, there are many topics currently offered or being contemplated. Social Security has been receiving the most attention, with 89% of respondents providing education about it. Only 21% of responding health care organizations offer seminars or other programs to assist employees affected by student loan debt, but 44% consider offering a program where employee contributions to student debt will be matched.Read more >
American Academy of Actuaries Joins Advocacy for In-Plan Lifetime Income Options
The retirement security of millions of Americans participating in employer-sponsored defined contribution (DC) plans would be improved by providing more options supporting secure lifetime income within those plans, the American Academy of Actuaries said in a position statement. The Academy is using the release of the position statement to kick off a campaign to educate public policymakers, employer organizations and other stakeholders in the retirement policy space about the benefits of establishing retirement income options within DC plans. The Government Accountability Office and the Treasury Department also advocate for in-plan income options.Read more >
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2024 Plan Sponsor of the Year
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Products
The 3-Letter Plan Type You Haven’t Heard of
Economic Events

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved marginally in September (an upward revision), increased again in October. The Index now stands at 125.9 (1985=100), up from 120.6 in September. The Present Situation Index increased from 146.9 to 151.1, while the Expectations Index rose from 103.0 last month to 109.1.

Market Mirror

Tuesday, the Dow increased 28.50 points (0.12%) to 23,377.24, the NASDAQ gained 28.71 points (0.43%) to finish at 6,727.67, and the S&P 500 was up 2.43 points (0.09%) at 2,575.26. The Russell 2000 climbed 11.97 points (0.80%) to 1,502.87, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 57.22 points (0.21%) higher at 26.760.19.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 2/32, increasing its yield to 2.377%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was up 5/32, decreasing its yield to 2.874%.

Sponsored message from Vanguard
Target-Date Funds: Built to Weather Volatility

Uncertainty is often the cause of knee-jerk reactions by investors. Many DC plan sponsors select target-date funds (TDFs) as their plan’s qualified default investment alternative to curb emotional investing.Read more >
Compliance
IRS Opens Door for Auto Enrollment in Governmental 457 Plans
A recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) private letter ruling (PLR) could broadly expand the use of automatic enrollment in 457(b) retirement plans sponsored by public-sector employers.Read more >
Ask the Experts
A Special Halloween Edition
“Do the Experts have any Treats for us this Halloween, or only Tricks?”Read more >
Small Talk
Only one in 10 chief financial officers (CFOs) surveyed by Accountemps said they are OK with tardiness only if productivity doesn’t suffer. A separate survey of office workers found 58% said they are occasionally late to work, and 7% admitted they are tardy every day. Employee excuses for being late can sound incredible.Read more >

ON THIS DATE: In 1512, Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were first exhibited to the public. In 1765, the British Parliament enacted The Stamp Act in the American colonies. In 1800, U.S. President John Adams became the first president to live in the White House. In 1848, the first medical school for women, founded by Samuel Gregory, opened in Boston. The Boston Female Medical School later merged with Boston University School of Medicine. In 1861, General George B. McClellan was made the general-in-chief of the American Union armies. In 1864, the U.S. Post Office started selling money orders. In 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations using 24 locations that provided reports via telegraph. In 1879, Thomas Edison executed his first patent application for a high-resistance carbon filament (U.S. Pat. 223,898). In 1894, “Billboard Advertising” was published for the first time. It later became known as “Billboard.” In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to assassinate U.S. President Harry Truman. One of the men was killed when they tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington, D.C. In 1952, the U.S. exploded the first hydrogen bomb on Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. In 1968, the movie rating system of G, M, R, X went into effect. In 1994, the Amazon.com domain name was registered. In 1998, Iridium inaugurated the first handheld, global satellite phone and paging system.


WEDNESDAY WISDOM:
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”—Douglas Adams, English writer

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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com

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