| Benefits & Administration | Nearly half of working professionals think their
employer does not invest enough in their health and wellness, a survey says. A
survey by One Medical Group, a primary care system, indicates that better
health benefits can be used to attract and retain employees.Read more > | Changing Jobs Hard on Millennial Retirement Savings | Millennials change jobs more frequently, giving
them more opportunities to cash out of their 401(k) plans and cut into future
retirement savings, says Spencer Williams of Retirement Clearinghouse. At the
same time, the steadily increasing adoption of auto enrollment in 401(k) plans
means that by the time they are 30, they might have been auto-enrolled in three
accounts. “Three small account balances is not a good thing,” Williams tells
PLANSPONSOR. The problem is that each small account (on average, the balance is
$3,000) is like waving free money in front of the Millennial plan participant,
he contends.Read more > | Apps may get a lot of attention, but
mobile-optimized sites with transaction capabilities are what plan sponsors and
participants really want, according to Corporate Insight research. A new
analysis from Corporate Insight, “Mobile App Alternative: Reviewing
Mobile-Optimized Websites,” takes a look at mobile-optimized sites available to
retirement plan participants.Read more > | | Products, Deals & People | The Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA)
re-launched its online ERISA Fiduciary Training Program. “The course has been
updated to reflect the latest legislative, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and
Department of Labor (DOL) changes since the program was first made available in
2011,” says PSCA Executive Director Robert Benish.Read more > | Firm Offers Financial Wellness via Investment Menu | Now available on more than 20 retirement plan
platforms, the Edge Collective Fund Series brings financial wellness services
to plan participants directly through the investment menu. The series consists
of three separate funds similar to asset allocation funds—conservative,
moderate and growth, Edge 401k Funds co-founder Tom Ruggie tells PLANSPONSOR. Participants
allocating to the Edge funds inside their 401(k) will be proactively contacted
by qualified customer relationship managers from Edge 401k Funds three times a
year, who will then schedule time for those participants to speak with a
financial coach regarding their overall financial wellness needs.Read more > |
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NFP, a broker and consultant, announced the
expansion of NFP Marketplace, its private exchange for workplace health care
benefits. Through new partnerships with GetInsured and HealthPlanOne, NFP
Marketplace enables employers to offer affordable health insurance options to
retirees, COBRA-eligible individuals, and employees who do not qualify for
sponsored plans.Read more > | | Industry Voices | Industry Voices: Why the Correct Compensation Matters | We’ve all been in a “don’t shoot the
messenger” situation where you have to be the bearer of bad news even if
you did nothing to cause the problem. That’s precisely the situation that our
client, Nancy, found herself in when she took over as director of Human
Resources and Employee Benefits at a prominent local company. We sat across
from her at her new stately desk as she explained how her predecessor failed to
check a box in the payroll system that withheld employee elective 401(k)
deferrals from bonuses and how that little unchecked box was going to
potentially cost her new boss big bucks. Now, Nancy found herself in the
unenviable position of explaining how this happened in the first place.Read more > | | Economic Events | The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index,
which had rebounded in October, declined in November. The Index now stands at
88.7 (1985=100), down from 94.1 in October. The Present Situation Index
declined from 94.4 to 91.3, while the Expectations Index decreased sharply to
87.0 from 93.8 in October. | | Market Mirror | Tuesday, the
Dow slipped 2.96 points (0.02%) to 17,814.94, the NASDAQ ticked up 3.36 points
(0.07%) to 4758.25, and the S&P 500 closed 2.38 points (0.12%) lower at
2,067.03. The Russell 2000 decreased by 0.61 (0.05%) to 1,186.33, and the
Wilshire 5000 was down 17.87 points (0.08%) at 21,761.12.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares traded, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues.
On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for
decliners.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 15/32,
with its yield down to 2.255%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased
1 5/32, decreasing its yield to 2.961%.
| | Compliance | IRS Amends Safe Harbor Rollover Explanations | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has amended
the two safe harbor explanations that can be used to satisfy the requirement
that certain information be provided to recipients of eligible retirement plan
rollover distributions. The amendments and model notices are issued following
the IRS’ new guidance for allocating pre-tax and after-tax amounts among
distributions that are made to multiple destinations from a qualified plan. They
also address in-plan Roth rollovers.Read more > | | From the Magazine | A Message from Our Editor-in-Chief | Thanksgiving has always been near and dear to me
because it revolves around two of my favorite things: family and food. Also, it
isn’t a day to get more “stuff,” but instead encourages us to take the time to
appreciate what we already have. With that in mind, I thought this issue would
be an appropriate time to share one of my family’s nightly traditions and
describe what I am grateful for—here, in the retirement plan industry.Read more > | | Small Talk | ON
THIS DATE: In 1922,
in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord
Carnarvon became the first souls to enter King Tutankhamen’s tomb in more than
3,000 years. In 1941, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday
in November as Thanksgiving Day. In 1942,
“Casablanca,” a World War II-era dramatic film starring Humphrey Bogart and
Ingrid Bergman, premiered in New York City.
WEDNESDAY
WISDOM: “Reflect
upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past
misfortunes, of which all men have some.”—Charles Dickens,
novelist
We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! We are off
Friday, so NewsDash will be back in your inbox Monday morning. | 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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2014.
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