The 6th Circuit noted that Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, in which an arbitrary-and-capricious standard of review is required by the court if the plan “gives the administrator or fiduciary discretionary authority to determine eligibility for benefits or to construe the terms of the plan,” should have been used by the district court.
According to MetLife, the pension risk transfer (PRT) agreement involves pension obligations of $6 billion.
Corporate and health care plans fared the worst, with quarterly returns of -1.14% and -0.71%, respectively.
Firms that track defined benefit (DB) plan funded ratios also noted that slight gains in equity markets improved plans’ funded status during the month.
Wilshire TUCS first quarter returns were weighed down by losses across all major asset classes.
“A primary driver of the improvement in the funding ratio was the increase in global equity values for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2017,” notes Ned McGuire, managing director and a member of the Pension Risk Solutions Group of Wilshire Consulting.
Data provided by LGIMA suggests the average U.S. pension plan’s funding ratio increased a full 2% during the month of April.
A federal appellate court agreed with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that Pizza Pro Equipment Leasing incorrectly calculated the limitation on the plan’s annual benefit and therefore made non-deductible contributions to the plan.
The quarterly Defined Benefit Market Update and Commentary is designed to support DB plan sponsor clients and potential clients in the ongoing management of their plans and includes data on interest rates, bond and equity markets, and commentary on economic and regulatory matters.
Plan sponsors now have the opportunity to contact the agency for a pre-filing consultation to discuss the filing process and ensure the filing of a distress termination is appropriate given the sponsor’s specific circumstances.
“Portfolio managers and their trading desks primarily choose [investment] instruments based solely on personal experience rather than through an analytical process,” says Kevin McPartland, with Greenwich Associates.
“A combination of economic, demographic, and regulatory changes have placed a small but material segment of these plans at risk,” Ted Goldman, senior pension fellow with the American Academy of Actuaries, told a new Congressional committee.
Corporate plans are winding down as public plans are strengthening themselves for the long run.
Despite two months in a row of funded status losses, most firms that track pension funding find the average funded status is still up for the year.
For example, the Council proposes to develop an alternative means of compliance by which the introductory portion of the SPD–referred to as the “Quick Reference Guide”–would be delivered annually to participants automatically, and the entire SPD or any full part of the SPD would be made available upon request.
A plan sponsor using pre-approved plan documents to restate a plan for the plan qualification requirements included on the 2012 Cumulative List will be required to adopt the plan document by April 30, 2020.
Institutions that track defined benefit (DB) plans’ funded ratios measured increases or decreases in funded status as high as 1%, but noted it could have been worse if not offset by higher liability discount rates.