Advisors who work with pension plan sponsors should know that those plans will have to fork over more in premiums to the nation’s private pension plan insurer next year — in some cases, a... Read More
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Technical competence
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 10/24/2014
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reissued its preliminary report on Individual Retirement Account (IRA) accumulations. As it had indicated in a statement to the Senate Finance... Read More
BY John Iekel | 10/23/2014
The IRS and Social Security Administration have issued their cost-of-living adjustments relevant to retirement benefits for 2015. IRS Limits The IRS on Oct. 23 announced COLAs affecting... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 10/23/2014
With more and more defined benefit plan sponsors exploring — and undertaking — pension de-risking, a pair of leading U.S. senators have asked regulators to establish some guidelines to... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 10/22/2014
While Jerome Schlichter was surprised by the lack of activity by the DOL when he began his 401(k)-related lawsuits almost 10 years ago, it seems that the agency is now making up for lost time.... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 10/21/2014
Floyd Norris, The New York Times’ chief financial correspondent, asks the obvious question why a plan sponsor would willingly (or neglectfully) choose a more expensive version of a fund... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 10/21/2014
The Nutmeg State is looking for public comments on the feasibility of a state-sponsored retirement plan for all private sector employees. Connecticut State Comptroller Kevin Lembo and State Treasurer... Read More
BY John Iekel | 10/21/2014
Public pensions can be fair game when a city government declares bankruptcy under federal law, the federal judge overseeing Stockton, Calif.’s bankruptcy has ruled. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge... Read More
BY John Carl | 10/20/2014
The ERISA consultants at the Columbia Management Retirement Learning Center Resource Desk regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs and... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 10/17/2014
The upcoming midterm congressional election will have important repercussions for plan advisors. What will happen if the Republicans keep the House of Representatives and take the control of the... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 10/13/2014
According to new research from Cerulli Associates, approximately $720 billion of defined contribution assets that were eligible for distribution remained in employer-sponsored plans in 2013.... Read More
BY John Carl | 10/13/2014
The ERISA consultants at the Columbia Management Retirement Learning Center Resource Desk regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs and... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 10/8/2014
There are lots of theories on why financial education within DC plans doesn’t work well. But that doesn’t stop the industry from spending billions of dollars on it, with tens of thousands... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 10/7/2014
Now that 408(b)(2) provider disclosure is two years old, what have we learned? According to a recent speech by Kristen Zarenko, Senior Law Specialist at the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security... Read More
BY John Carl | 10/6/2014
The ERISA consultants at the Columbia Management Retirement Learning Center Resource Desk regularly receive calls from financial advisors on a broad array of technical topics related to IRAs... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 10/3/2014
Is there a retirement crisis or not? Though you may have missed it, last week a Wall Street Journal op-ed (subscription required) claimed that there was an “... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 10/2/2014
Another of the so-called “excessive fees” cases has been tossed by a federal appellate court. In Santomenno v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company, No. 13–3467, 2014 WL 4783665 (3d... Read More
BY Craig Hoffman | 10/2/2014
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Tibble v. Edison Int’l case, it was announced Oct. 2. One of the many “excessive fee” cases being pursued through the federal court... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 9/30/2014
Most of the discussion these days is about outsourcing investment fiduciary duties under ERISA section 3(38), which transfers full discretion or limited discretion to the co-fiduciary under section 3... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 9/26/2014
Roughly 6,800 American companies have an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. Recently Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi had some cautionary comments for those who have, and work... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/26/2014
A plan sponsor’s decision to eliminate an option to transfer DC account balances to a DB floor-offset plan didn't violate ERISA’s anti-cutback rules, according to a federal... Read More
BY Fred Barstein | 9/24/2014
Realizing that the opposition has outgunned their lobbying efforts, advocates for an SEC fiduciary rule admit that they are losing the battle “badly” on trying to get the SEC to... Read More
BY NAPA Net Staff | 9/23/2014
Right on schedule, last week Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler presented the recommendations of the Retirement Security Task Force to the state legislature — with an eye toward ensuring... Read More
BY Nevin E. Adams, JD | 9/23/2014
While there are plenty of cautionary tales about the way(s) in which you can unintentionally become a plan fiduciary, a recent court case highlights another potential trap for company... Read More
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