NewsDash – October 12, 2022

October 12th, 2022
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday

Data and Research

Rising Employer Health Care Costs May Boost Self-Insured Plans

A new WTW survey shows that half of employers are concerned about the increasing costs of providing group health plan coverage for retirees

Data and Research

New Survey Shows Inflation and Inequality Are Negatively Affecting Seniors’ Retirement

The survey demonstrated the degree to which black and Hispanic retirees tend to have less saved for retirement than white retirees, as well as those who are unmarried or have low financial knowledge.

Most Read

Benefits
Social Security COLA Increase to Add About $50 per Month in 2025

Administration
Many Taxpayers Dodged Penalty Tax for Early Retirement Withdrawals

Administration
Bills to Ban Arbitration Clauses Reappear in House, Senate

MARKET MIRROR

Tuesday, the Dow gained 36.31 points (0.12%) to finish at 29,239.19, the Nasdaq decreased 115.91 points (1.10%) to close at 10,426.191 and the S&P 500 lost 23.55 points (0.65%) to close at 3,588.84. The Russell 2000 gained 1.00 point (0.06%) to close at 1,692.92 and the Wilshire 5000 lost 214.57 points (0.59%) to close at 35,911.76.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 3/32, bringing the yield up to 3.935%. The price of the 30-year Treasury note decreased 32/32 bringing the yield up to 3.911%.

ASK THE EXPERTS

How Important Are Proper Termination Dates for Retirement Plan Compliance?

“We are a large, complex health care system that sponsors a 403(b) plan for all the 501(c)(3) members of our controlled group, of which there are many. We have some issues with recording the proper dates of termination of employment for retirement plan purposes. One problem is that the process of reporting termination dates is a manual one, and some of our managers are simply more efficient at it than others. In addition, since it is not a payroll item, termination dates are not fed to our recordkeeper each payroll as part of our remittance feeds, but instead as a separate, less-frequent feed from our HRIS system. Finally, we have a lot of rehires, as well as employees who transfer between employer in our controlled group. This has resulted in our recordkeeper failing to capture some termination dates.

We know we need to fix this, but how important are proper termination dates for retirement plan compliance purposes? As I’m sure the Experts can understand, there are a lot of competing benefits projects here, so I want to prioritize this project accordingly.”

PROVIDER RELATIONSHIPS | VOLUNTARY MEETINGS

Connecting One-on-One

How to prompt employees to engage with the plan.

EVENTS

Webinar: Your HSA Questions Answered

Join PLANSPONSOR and industry experts for a webinar October 13 during which you will increase your understanding of health savings accounts by comparing features to those of defined contribution plans, learn how to position HSAs on your menu of benefits, and hear tips for increasing employee engagement with HSAs. Register today.

SURVEYS

DC Survey Now Open

For more than 20 years, PLANSPONSOR’s annual Defined Contribution Survey has provided benchmarking data for nearly 50 industries/business sectors and for 401(k), 403(b), and other DC plans, as well as nonqualified plans. Represent your industry and plan type by participating, and you’ll receive a free benchmarking report.

SMALL TALK

In 1810, the first Oktoberfest was celebrated in Munich, in the form of a horse race held in honor of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria. In 1870, General Robert Edward Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, died at his home in Lexington, Virginia, at 63 years old. In 1908, Ann Petry, a reporter for African American newspapers in the 1930s, was born. She wrote “The Street,” the first novel by an African American author to sell more than 1 million copies. In 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1 into orbit around Earth, with three cosmonauts aboard: it was the first spacecraft to carry a multi-person crew and the two-day mission was also the first flight performed without space suits. In 1998, college student Matthew Shepard died in Fort Collins, Colorado, several days after being beaten by two men and left in the cold in Laramie, Wyoming; Shepard’s homosexuality was believed to have motivated the attack, and his death contributed to the expansion of federal hate-crime legislation. In 2000, while preparing to refuel in the Yemeni port of Aden, the USS Cole, a U.S. naval destroyer, was attacked by suicide bombers associated with al-Qaeda; 17 sailors were killed and 39 wounded. In 2006, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced above 11,900 for the first time. In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to increase public knowledge about man-made climate change.

Industry Intel Roundup—Thought Leadership

PLANSPONSOR is pleased to present the next edition of our Industry Intelligence roundup. This week, we are featuring content from thought leadership authorities. The content was created to educate, inform and offer ideas for plan sponsors regarding plan design, investing, administration and compliance.