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October 5th, 2022
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
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| ECONOMIC EVENTS |
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New orders for manufactured durable goods in August, down two consecutive months, decreased $0.5 billion or 0.2% to $272.7 billion, unchanged from the previously published decrease. This followed a 0.1% July decrease. Transportation equipment, also down two consecutive months, drove the decrease, $1.0 billion or 1.1% to $92.0 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $0.5 billion or 0.2% to $275.7 billion.
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| MARKET MIRROR |
Tuesday, the Dow increased 825.43 points (2.80%) to close at 30,316.32, the Nasdaq gained 360.97 points (3.34%) to finish trading at 11,176.406 and the S&P 500 increased 112.50 points (3.06%) to close at 3,790.93. The Russell 2000 gained 66.90 points (3.91%) to close at 1,775.77 and the Wilshire 5000 increased 1,201.13 points (3.27%) to close at 37,945.72.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged and the yield decreased to 3.638%. The price of the 30-year Treasury note decreased 4/32 and the yield increased to 3.704%.
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ASK THE EXPERTS
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When Can an Employee in a 457(b) Plan Use A Three-Year Catch-Up Election?
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We are a private university who sponsors, among other plans, a 457(b) plan for our select management and highly compensated employees. The plan contains the three-year catch-up election for employees who are within three years of the normal retirement age of the plan (which in our case is 65). Our question is, can the employee actually use the election in the year in which he/she turns age 65 if he/she qualifies? We have an employee who turns age 65 in 2022 requesting that she use the election, but we think it might be too late for her to use the election, as she would have had to use it in the years that she turned ages 62, 63, and/or 64 if eligible. Are we correct?” 
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EVENTS
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Your HSA Questions Answered
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Summary 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.
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SURVEYS
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DC Survey Now Open
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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.
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ON THIS DATE: General George Washington wrote to the president of the Continental Congress, John Hancock, to inform him that a letter from Dr. Benjamin Church, surgeon general of the Continental Army, to Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Gage, British commander in chief for North America, had been intercepted. In 1921, the World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time. The game was between the New York Giants and the New York Yankees. In 1947, Harry Truman delivered the first-ever presidential speech on TV. In 1959, Maya Lin, an artist and the architect of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. and other public sculptures, was born. In 1970, PBS began broadcasting on U.S. television, and it has become known for various programs, notably the children’s shows Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (starring Fred Rogers). In 2001, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants broke Mark McGwire’s single-season home-run record when he hit his 71st and 72nd home runs of the season and finished the season with 73. In 2011, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., died at age 56 of complications from pancreatic cancer. In 2017, The New York Times published a detailed investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against film producer Harvey Weinstein. The bombshell report led to Weinstein’s eventual arrest and conviction on charges of rape and other sexual misconduct.
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| Industry Intel Roundup—Featured Webinars | | PLANSPONSOR is pleased to present the next edition of our Industry Intelligence roundup. This week, we are featuring webinars sponsored by experienced providers in the industry. The content was created to educate, inform and offer ideas for plan sponsors regarding plan design, investing, administration and compliance. |  | | SPONSORED BY: ACI | December 16, 2025 | | Retirement Realities – What Sponsors May Be Missing | | What do plan sponsors believe about retirement readiness, and how does that compare to what participants actually feel? During this webinar, Glenn Dial, Senior Retirement Strategist at American Century Investments, will unpack the findings from the firm’s 12th Annual Retirement Survey. He’ll explore where sponsor and participant perspectives align – and where they diverge – on key issues like savings confidence, market risk, and retirement income expectations. Glenn will also touch on the evolving role of target date funds (TDFs) and how guaranteed income is being viewed in today’s defined contribution landscape. This session is designed to help retirement professionals better understand the sentiment gaps and take action to close them.
What You’ll Learn:
Fresh insights from the 2025 Retirement Survey.
Key disconnects between plan sponsors and participants.
Perspectives on market risk, TDFs, and retirement income.
Strategic considerations for plan design and communication
Whether you're a plan sponsor, advisor, or industry stakeholder, this webinar will help you rethink how retirement plans can better serve the people they're built for. |
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|  | | January 28, 2026 | | Benchmarking Your Plan | | In this webinar, we’ll review findings from the annual PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution Survey. Speakers will discuss ways to benchmark a DC plan to ensure it’s an important workforce attraction and retention tool. They will also address incorporating key plan design features that can improve employee retirement outcomes. |
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| | | August 18, 2026 | | DB Plan Administration | | Besides findings from PLANSPONSOR’s annual Defined Benefit Administration Survey, our panel will discuss trends in the defined benefit plan sector. Speakers will also talk about ongoing management of DB plans—whether closed, frozen or active—and benchmarking DB plan providers. With many corporate DB plans now overfunded, the panel will also discuss ways that sponsoring companies can use their plan’s surplus. |
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| | | November 18, 2026 | | Understanding Participant Behavior | | The PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey examines the attitudes and behaviors of American workers participating—or not—in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. We’ll explore findings about respondents’ participation and saving decisions, retirement expectations and most-valued benefits. Speakers will suggest what the findings mean for retirement plan design, benefit offerings and participant engagement. |
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|  | | SPONSORED BY: Alight | December 3, 2025 | | The Vital Role of HSAs—Beyond a Spending Account | | This webinar will explore the multifaceted value of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for both employers and employees, positioning them as more than just tools for healthcare spending. It highlights the unique triple tax advantage of HSAs which makes them a powerful and cost-effective benefit for organizations aiming to enhance employee financial wellness without increasing costs.
We will also emphasize immediate employee benefits such as tax savings, flexibility in covering a wide range of medical expenses, portability, and the absence of a “use it or lose it” rule.
Finally, we will address the importance of minimizing fees, as even small differences can significantly impact long-term savings. It encourages plan sponsors to evaluate HSA providers with the same rigor as 401(k) vendors and to focus on low-cost investment options. |
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