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PLANSPONSOR NEWSDASH LOGO October 21st, 2022
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
Benefits
Plan Sponsors Are Grappling with Economy, Considering Benefits’ Spend
Plan Sponsors Are Grappling with Economy, Considering Benefits’ Spend
Despite recession fears and sluggish markets that have affected employers, few plan sponsors are planning to cut retirement benefits this open enrollment season.  
Deals and People
DCIIA Announces Lisa Massena as New COO
Massena, the founder of Massena Associates, brings experience on state-sponsored private-sector plans and a focus on innovations and best practices to increase retirement coverage.
Most Read
Compliance
IRS Proposes Regulations for Changes to SECURE 2.0 RMDs
Opinions
Encouraging Trends in 401(k) Plan Design
Compliance
What Increased Health Plan-Related Scrutiny Means for Plan Sponsors
ECONOMIC EVENTS
In the week ending October 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 214,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Labor Department reported. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 228,000 to 226,000. The four-week moving average was 212,250, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 211,500 to 211,000.

Interest on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.94% for the week ending October 20, up from last week when it averaged 6.92%, Freddie Mac reported. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.09%. Interest on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.23%, up from last week when it averaged 6.09% A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.33%.

Existing home sales in September sagged for the eighth consecutive month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.71 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales slipped 1.5% from August and 23.8% from the previous year. The median existing-home sales price increased to $384,800, up 8.4% from one year ago. The inventory of unsold existing homes declined for the second straight month to 1.25 million by the end of September, or the equivalent of 3.2 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.
MARKET MIRROR
Thursday, the Dow lost 90.22 points (0.30%) to close at 30,333.59, the Nasdaq decreased 65.66 points (0.61%) to finish trading at 10,614.84 and the S&P 500 lost 29.38 points (0.80%) to close at 3,665.78.  The Russell 2000 lost 21.36 points (1.24%) to close at 1,704.39 and the Wilshire 5000 dropped 292.74 points (0.79%) to close at 36,589.83.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 8/32 bringing the yield up to 4.239%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 1 6/32 bringing the yield up to 4.238%.
Administration
Annuities Gain Steam as Part of Target-Date Funds
Cerulli retirement research shows consultants favor TDFs with guaranteed income for plan sponsors’ lifetime income options.
PRODUCTS
Investment Product and Service Launches
Transamerica introduces workplace universal life insurance; Milliman launches enhanced retirement security projection tool; T. Rowe Price introduces emergency savings app; and more.
EVENTS
Exploring ESG Investing Conference
Join us Thursday, November 10, for a virtual conference to learn about regulations for environmental, social and governance investing in retirement plans; the debate over whether ESG factors are financial/performance factors; and what allocators, plan sponsors and advisers should consider when deciding whether and how to use ESG investments.
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
ON THIS DATE: In 1520, explorer Ferdinand Magellan and three Spanish ships entered the strait later named for him—a voyage that eventually circumnavigated the earth—sailing between the mainland tip of South America and the island of Tierra del Fuego toward the Pacific Ocean. In 1797, one of the first frigates built for the U.S. Navy, the Constitution—nicknamed Old Ironsides—was launched in Boston. In 1805, at the Battle of Trafalgar fought off the coast of Spain, a British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet. In 1833, Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and other powerful explosives and who also founded the Nobel Prizes, was born in Stockholm. In 1927, in New York City, construction began on the George Washington Bridge. In 1959, the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City. In 1980, the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series. In 2018, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who starred in such sitcoms as Seinfeld and Veep, was awarded the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the highest award in comedy.
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