| | Benefit Briefs | | Evaluating Participant Benefit Security in Pension Buyouts | | Are defined benefit (DB) plan participants’
benefits more or less secure after the plan sponsor transfers its pension
obligations to an insurance company? Over the past several years, a number of
companies have purchased annuities to move the responsibility for certain
participants’ benefits to insurance companies, including big names like GM,
Verizon, and most recently, Motorola. During a recent Mercer webcast discussing
these transactions, when asked whether participants’ benefits were more or less
secure after the move to an insurer, Duane Bollert, a partner in Region Market
Development at Mercer in New York City, said participant benefit security is
one of the key things plan sponsors and fiduciaries evaluate when selecting an
insurance company.Read more > | | Survey Finds Employers Rejecting Private Exchanges | | Private health insurance exchanges have gotten
more attention recently as a potential solution for controlling health benefit
costs, but a recent survey finds the majority of employers reject private
exchanges as a cost-control option. The 2014 Inside Benefits Communication
Survey from Benz Communications, in collaboration with the National Business
Coalition on Health, found more than half (55%) of respondents say they will
“never” have employees purchase health coverage through a private exchange. The
survey also found, despite the potential impact of health care reform, status
quo is the rule—not exception—when plotting future health plan design.Read more > | | Americans Face a Diversity of Retirement Risks | | There is considerable variation in the
challenges workers face in preparing for retirement, according to the
Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), making effective employer-provided support
difficult. Professionals involved in the retirement planning industry generally
understand that workers in the U.S. need to save more of their annual earnings
to ensure successful retirement outcomes, but there is less concern about the
specific factors that prevent workers from saving more. Even the retirement
plan sponsors and advisers who make a living worrying about retirement planning
issues tend to oversimplify the particular challenges faced by workers and
retirement plan participants, BPC claims, often lumping individuals into
imprecise groups and offering less-than-optimal support.Read more > | | Starting with Short-Term Savings for Younger Workers | | Move over, retirement, younger adults ages 18 to
34 have other financial concerns to save for, according to a survey from the
nonprofit Consumer Federation of America. Young adults’ interest in
accumulating savings—and their effort to do so—tumbled between September 2013
and September 2014, according to data from the federation’s America Saves
campaign. During this period, interest in personal savings for young adults
fell, from 77% to 68%, and the reported savings effort of these young adults
also slipped, from 66% to 57%. Reported savings effectiveness for this group
was also lower: 60% a year ago but only 57% last month. “What we would like is
for more people to split their pay to a savings type account to offset
emergencies that consistently arise,” George Barany, director of financial
education for America Saves, tells PLANSPONSOR.Read more > | | | Buyer's Market | | Fiduciary Investment Advisors Hires Financial Educator | | Fiduciary Investment Advisors (FIA) has taken
steps to enhance its employee communication and education services within its
defined contribution business. The company has hired Mary Legg as a Financial
Educator. In this role, Legg will provide perspective on participant
communication and education. She will help redesign all of FIA’s programs and
materials in this area, and help enhance FIA’s offering in the participant
services space.Read more > | | | Industry Voices | | Industry Voice: Hedge Funds as Fixed Income Replacements? | | Should hedge funds replace fixed income
investments? This question has been top-of-mind for many corporate defined
benefit (DB) plan sponsors as they await the rise of interest rates.Read more > | | | Market Mirror | | Tuesday, the Dow fell 272.52 points
(1.60%) to 16,719.39, the NASDAQ lost 69.60 points (1.56%) to finish at
4,385.20, and the S&P 500 closed 29.74 points (1.51%) lower at 1,935.08.
The Russell 2000 tumbled 10.09 points (0.91%) to 1,094.65, and the Wilshire
5000 took a 314.08-points (1.52%) dive to 20,350.96.
On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares traded,
with a more than 3 to 1 lead for decliners. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares
changes hands, with 3.7 declining issues for every advancing issue.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 23/32,
bringing its yield down to 2.339%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond
increased 1 19/32, decreasing its yield to 3.047%.
| | | Sponsored message | How America Saves
Jean Young, Senior Research Analyst at the Vanguard Center for Retirement Research, shares insights into a report on Vanguard 2013 defined contribution plan data.Read more > | | | Small Talk | | Administrative professionals can be a necessary
and useful resource for bosses and employees, and sometimes they are asked to
perform some odd tasks. A survey by OfficeTeam revealed some administrative
professionals have been held responsible for animal control. One reported being
asked to get a snake out of the women’s bathroom, while another was asked to
take care of the office’s pet snails, and yet another was tasked with removing
nesting geese from the front door area.Read more > | | ON
THIS DATE: In 1871,
flames sparked in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, igniting a
two-day blaze that killed between 200 and 300 people, destroyed 17,450
buildings, left 100,000 homeless and caused an estimated $200 million (in 1871
dollars; $3 billion in 2007 dollars) in damages. In 1944, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” debuted on
CBS radio. In 1956, Donald James
Larsen (New York Yankees) pitched the first perfect game in the history of the
World Series. In 1998, the U.S.
House of Representatives voted to proceed toward impeaching President Bill
Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. In 2001, Tom Ridge, former Governor of
Pennsylvania, was sworn in as director of the new U.S. department of Homeland
Security.
WEDNESDAY
WISDOM: “If you do not change direction, you may end up
where you are heading.”—Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher
| | 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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