| | Research | | Since the passage of Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) rules in 2007, many 403(b) plans have evolved to look more like their
401(k) counterparts. Still, differences and distinctions remain, and providers
that are knowledgeable about those variables and can supply appropriate
services and guidance are valuable to the 403(b) marketplace.Read more > | | PLANSPONSOR’s 2014 403(b) Buyer’s Guide | | PLANSPONSOR’s 2014 403(b) Buyer’s Guide provides
a listing of various types of providers to 403(b) plans, including the services
each one provides as well as information on which 403(b) market segment(s) each
one serves.Read more > | | | Benefits & Administration | | The estimated aggregate funding level of pension
plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies stayed at 84% as a drop in rates
offset gains from strong equity returns for the month. Decreases in interest
rates used to calculate corporate pension plan liabilities offset rising equity
markets, keeping funded status constant. The collective estimated deficit of
$367 billion as of October 31, 2014 is up modestly by $15 billion from the
estimated deficit of $352 billion as of September 30, 2014.Read more > | | Recordkeeping Data Shows Commitment to Saving | | Defined contribution (DC) plan recordkeeping
data shows U.S. participants are strongly committed to their workplace
retirement savings programs, according to the Investment Company Institute
(ICI). ICI says its latest study of retirement plan participant behavior,
“Defined Contribution Plan Participants’ Activities, First Half 2014,” shows the
vast majority of DC plan participants continued contributing to their plans in
the first half of 2014. Only 2.1% of DC plan participants stopped. Additionally,
DC plan withdrawals in the first half of 2014 remained low and were in line
with the prior year’s activity.Read more > | | The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate
pension plan fell 0.4 percentage points to 89.5% in October, according to the
BNY Mellon Investment Strategy and Solutions Group (ISSG). For the typical
corporate plan in October, assets increased 1.5%, trailing the 1.9% increase in
liabilities, the BNY Mellon Institutional Scorecard shows. This funded status is now down 5.7% from the
December 2013 high of 95.2%.Read more > | | | Products, Deals & People | | Buck Launches Incentive-Based Financial Wellness Program | | Buck Consultants at Xerox announced the launch
of SavIncent, a financial wellness program designed to improve employees’
financial health and retirement readiness. The program uses monetary incentives
to reward workers’ financial improvement activities. Employees who complete
various elements of the program are rewarded with employer contributions to
their savings plan.Read more > | | | Economic Events | | In the week ending November 1, the
advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment
insurance was 278,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised
level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 287,000 to 288,000.
The four-week moving average was 279,000, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous
week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since April
29, 2000 when it was 273,000. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250
from 281,000 to 281,250.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage is 4.02%, up from 3.98% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The
average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.21%, up from
3.13%.
| | | Market Mirror | | Thursday, the
Dow was up 69.94 points (0.40%) at 17,554.47, the NASDAQ increased 17.75 points
(0.38%) to 4,638.47, and the S&P 500 closed 7.63 points (0.38%) higher at
2,031.20. The Russell 2000 gained 4.79 points (0.41%) to finish at 1,171.86,
and the Wilshire 5000 rose 90.09 points (0.42%) to 21,359.81.
On the NYSE,
3.3 billion shares traded, and on the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares changed hands,
with 1.3 advancing issues for every declining issue on both exchanges.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased
11/32, increasing its yield to 2.384%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond
fell 24/32, bringing its yield up to 3.100%.
| | | Compliance | | Court Opens Door for Disclosure of Investment Guidelines | | An appeals court has opened the door for the
requirement that an ERISA plan’s investment guidelines be disclosed to participants
upon request. In
its recent ruling in Murphy v. Verizon
Communications, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made important
clarifying statements about plan document disclosure requirements under the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In short, the 5th Circuit confirmed that ERISA Section
404(a)(1)’s fiduciary requirements may obligate at least responsive disclosures
of relevant plan materials upon a specific request by a plan member, even if
the documents are not indispensable operational instruments under which the
plan is established.Read more > | | Requirement to Obtain Health Plan Identifier Delayed | | The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) has delayed the requirement for health plans to obtain a health plan
identifier and use it for certain transactions. Effective October 31, the rules
for obtaining a health plan identifier (HPID) and using them in any Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standard transactions that
the health plan conducts or that a business associate conducts on behalf of the
health plan are delayed until further notice. The CMS says this applies to all
HIPAA-covered entities, including healthcare providers, health plans, and
healthcare clearinghouses.Read more > | | | Investing | | Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worldwide collected
$7.8 billion in net new flows, 70% lower than the prior month, according to
Strategic Insight, an Asset International company. Equity ETFs raised $12
billion (more than $16 billion from the U.S. offset by outflows in Asia and Europe),
while Bond and ‘Other’ ETFs saw $0.5 billion and $3.5 billion in net
redemptions, respectively. At the category level, Equity U.S.-Large Cap ETFs
led with $12 billion.Read more > | | | Small Talk | | ON
THIS DATE: In 1874,
the Republican party of the U.S. was first symbolized as an elephant in a
cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly. In 1876, the cigarette manufacturing machine was patented by Albert H.
Hook. In 1893, the state of Colorado
granted its women the right to vote. In 1916,
Montana suffragist Jeannette Rankin was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives. She was the first woman in the history of the nation to win a
seat in the federal Congress. In 1944,
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented fourth term
in office. In 1963, Elston Howard,
of the New York Yankees, became the first black player to be named the American
League’s Most Valuable Player. In 1965,
the “Pillsbury Dough Boy” debuted in television commercials. In 1980, the actor Steve McQueen, one of
Hollywood’s leading men of the 1960s and 1970s and the star of such action
thrillers as “Bullitt” and “The Towering Inferno,” died at the age of 50 in
Mexico, where he was undergoing an experimental treatment for cancer. In 1989, in New York, former Manhattan
borough president David Dinkins, a Democrat, was elected New York City’s first
African American mayor, while in Virginia, Lieutenant Governor Douglas Wilder,
also a Democrat, became the first elected African American state governor in
American history. In 1991,
basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson stunned the world by
announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers, after testing
positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!
| | A fish’s revenge.Read more > | | In Greenwich,
Connecticut, a 40-year-old man was pulled over for speeding. An officer
suspected the man had been drinking, so he arrested the man and took him to state
police barracks, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard. The officer performed
a breathalyzer on the man, but as the report was printing out, the man snatched
it and tried to eat it. In addition to a charge of driving while into.xicated,
the man has been charged with obstructing governmental administration and
criminal tampering. | | Jim Carrey’s take on the Matthew McConaughey
Lincoln ads.Read more > | | In Newman,
Australia, locals were surprised to see a wingless Beechcraft two-seater
aircraft chugging down the main drag of the town. The owner of the light plane
pulled the aircraft up to a pub and went in to have a be.er. Many residents
thought it was amusing, but police say it was dangerous. However, they haven’t
found an offense to charge the man with since the plane did not leave the
ground or cause any traffic accidents, and the man passed a breath-test at the
scene. “I need to look at what the appropriate offense would be as it’s a
bit of an unusual one,” said a police officer, according to the AFP. | | What your handwriting says about you.Read more > | | In Hueytown,
Alabama, a citizen saw the surveillance video of the robbery of a Subway on
Facebook, recognized the suspect shopping in the Hueytown Walmart, and called
police. The police noticed he was wearing the same clothes and shoes as the
robbery suspect. They believe he is also responsible for Subway robberies in
Birmingham, Midfield and Adamsville. The man was taken into custody and
admitted to the robbery in Hueytown. He told police he did it out of anger
because the “Jared diet” didn’t work for him.
Have a great weekend,
everyone!
| | 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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