| A Few Years Makes a Big Difference in Retirement Savings | While only a few years separate working
Americans ages 55 to 59 from those in their 60s, there are sharp differences in
the savings they have amassed and steps they have taken to prepare for
retirement, according to the Wells Fargo & Company annual Retirement Study
released during National Save for Retirement Week. Joe Ready, head of Wells
Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, tells PLANSPONSOR one of the findings
of the study that surprised him is that those ages 55 to 59 have three times
more saved, on average, than those in their 60s. The median savings of working
Americans age 60 or older is $50,000 against a retirement savings goal of
$300,000, while working Americans ages 55 to 59 have saved $150,000 toward a
retirement savings goal of $500,000. The study reveals retirement savings
strategies that work and those that do not.Read more > | Nearly half of large defined benefit (DB) plan
sponsors (45%) have taken proactive steps to prepare for an eventual pension
risk transfer, according to MetLife’s 2015 Pension Risk Transfer Poll. But,
Wayne Daniel, senior vice president and head of U.S. Pensions at MetLife, tells
PLANSPONSOR MetLife expects risk transfer to be a growing and continuing trend.
“We see interest in derisking across DB plans of all sizes,” he says. The poll
revealed top catalysts for risk transfer action.Read more > | | Sponsored message from BlackRock | A New Framework for DC: Getting participants’ future in focus A new holistic framework for understanding risk across an entire DC plan.Read more > | | Barry’s Pickings | Barry’s Pickings Online: The Problem with ESG Investing | A favorite PLANSPONSOR magazine columnist is
sharing his views online. In this article, he discusses the recent guidance
from the Department of Labor about social investing, and what he sees as a
problem.Read more > | | Products, Deals and People | Retirement Industry People Moves | Northern Trust Asset Management announces new
hire, SageView Advisory expands presence in Hawaii and Alliance Benefit Group
North Central States sells recordkeeping business.Read more > | | Economic Events | THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Today, the
Census Bureau will report about new home sales for September, and tomorrow it will report about durable
goods for September, while the Conference Board reveals its Consumer Confidence
Index for October. Thursday, the
Labor Department will issue its initial claims report. | | Market Mirror | Tech stocks
led a rally of U.S. stocks Friday, according to the Associated Press. The Dow
was up 157.54 points (0.90%) at 17,646.70, the NASDAQ climbed 111.81 points
(2.27%) to 5,031.86, and the S&P 500 gained 22.65 points (1.10%) to finish
at 2,075.16. The Russell 2000 increased 11.53 points (1.00%) to 1,166.05, and
the Wilshire 5000 closed 219.53 points (1.03%) higher at 21,614.06.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares changed hands, with 1.4 advancing issues for every declining
issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares traded with a 2 to 1 lead for
advancers.
The price of
the 10-year Treasury note decreased 16/32, bringing its yield up to 2.085%. The
price of the 30-year Treasury bond fell 22/32, increasing its yield to 2.899%.
WEEK’S
WORTH: For the week ending October 23, the Dow gained
2.50%, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 each climbed 2.97%, the Russell 2000
increased 0.32%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 1.57% higher.
| | Compliance | A Peek at a Pre-Approved Cash Balance Plan Submission | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has expanded
its pre-approved plans program to include defined benefit plans with cash
balance plan features, and it is currently accepting prototype document
submissions. James E. Turpin, president of The Turpin Consulting Group, said he
has seen one of the submitted prototype documents, and he has one concern.Read more > | The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that
plan fiduciaries, including the owner of the plan sponsor company, have been
ordered by a district court to restore employee contributions withheld but
never forwarded to the plan. In August, the DOL’s Employee Benefit Security
Administration (EBSA) filed a lawsuit against Oxford Holdings, a former
construction company, and its president and 401(k) plan trustee, Steven J.
Watkins, alleging that plan contributions withheld from employee paychecks were
kept by the company.Read more > | | PLANSPONSOR Research | The six providers included in the 2015
PLANSPONSOR Managed Account Buyer’s Guide have added nearly 30,000 new
plans/clients since 2012, a growth rate nearly double that seen in total
defined contribution plans during the same period—28% vs. 15%. To differentiate
their products from target-date funds, managed account providers are making
services more personalized, relevant and engaging to plan participants. Common
areas of improvement included new or enhanced processes/tools to assist with
retirement income planning and additions to the online experience—i.e., mobile
support, expanded content, etc. Many now also offer “retail” versions of their
products so that participants may continue their relationship should they leave
the plan.Read more > | | Investing | Recent Cerulli data shows robust ETF asset
growth across various retail and distribution channels, except in one area:
private defined contribution (DC) plans, according to the October issue of “The
Cerulli Edge – U.S. Monthly Product Trends Edition.” Why is this so?Read more > | | Small Talk | ON THIS DATE: In
1774, the First Continental Congress
of the U.S. adjourned in Philadelphia. In 1825,
the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York. The 363-mile canal connected Lake
Erie and the Hudson River at a cost of $7,602,000. In 1858, H.E. Smith patented the rotary-motion washing machine. In 1881, the “Gunfight at the OK
Corral” took place in Tombstone, Arizona. The fight was between Wyatt
Earp, his two brothers and Doc Holiday and the Ike Clanton Gang. In 1949, U.S. President Harry Truman
raised the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents an hour. In 1962, the Soviet Union made an offer to
end the Cuban Missile Crisis by taking their missile bases out of Cuba if the
U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba and remove Jupiter missiles in Turkey. In 1970, “Doonesbury,” the comic
strip by Gary Trudeau, premiered in 28 newspapers across the U.S. In 1984, “Baby Fae” was given
the heart of baboon after being born with a severe heart defect. She lived for
21 days with the animal heart. In 1990,
Wayne Gretzky became the first NHL player to reach 2,000 points. | SURVEY SAYS RESULTS: As Halloween is
approaching, last week I asked NewsDash readers to select their favorite scary
movie. This year, responding readers bumped “Psycho” out of the top spot. Eight
movies on the list received no votes. Among the top picks, Psycho fell from the
top spot to tie for fourth place with Jaws and Wait Until Dark. Tied for third
place were Halloween, Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist. The Birds came in
No. 2. Several readers expressed distaste for scary movies and there was
discussion of how the definition of “scary” seems to have changed with
filmmakers. Editor’s Choice goes to
the reader who said: “I think the Presidential Debates are scarier.” Thank
you so much to all who participated in the survey!Read more > | 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 > |
|