July 2017

03Jul

US. Retirement savers ditch the ‘do it yourself’ approach, opt for target dated funds and professional guidance

It turns out "do-it-yourself" investing is not all that it's cracked up to be. Employees saving for retirement in workplace 401(k) plans are increasingly eager (or willing) to autopilot their allocation and portfolio management decisions. Vanguard reports that among the more than 8,500 retirement plans it administers, with more than 4.6 million participants, usage of target date funds, balanced funds or managed account services has tripled in the decade. This explosive growth has taken place since Washington gave its blessing for...

July 3, 2017
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June 2017

30Jun

US. Citing Advocate Ruling, Judge Signs Off On $4M ERISA Deal

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday gave the go-ahead to a $4 million settlement in a pension dispute between a Chicago-area hospital and a class of its employees, saying the deal is appropriate given the U.S. Supreme Court’s extension of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s church exemption. US District Judge Manish Shah said that the agreement, which puts to rest the employees’ claim that Holy Cross Hospital violated ERISA when it underfunded and then terminated their pension plan, was...

June 30, 2017
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28Jun

US. UPS to Freeze Pensions for 70,000 Workers to Reduce Costs

United Parcel Service will freeze a pension plan for about 70,000 nonunion U.S. employees because of escalating costs and volatility in determining future payments, replacing it with a different retirement benefit. UPS joins companies including DuPont Co. and Lockheed Martin in freezing pensions, which means that some or all participants may stop accumulating benefits. UPS’s retirement obligations are on top of a $1 billion jump in capital spending being planned for this year to handle a surge in e-commerce shipments. “It’s...

June 28, 2017
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27Jun

U.S. states’ pension plans’ funding ratio down in 2016: report

The funding ratio for state retirement systems fell 4 percentage points to 69 percent in fiscal 2016 due to weak stock price performance and a strengthening U.S. dollar, according to a report issued on Monday by advisory firm Wilshire Consulting. It is the second consecutive year the funded ratio dropped by 4 percentage points, and the first year since 2010 that the aggregate funded ratio is below 70 percent, according to the report. The report studied the funding ratio, or ratio...

June 27, 2017
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26Jun

US. High Police and Fire Pension Rates Send Lawmakers Scrambling

A group of Arizona House lawmakers is launching an effort aimed at cutting the soaring costs to communities of police and fire pensions, with its leader warning that cities could end up declaring bankruptcy if legislators fail to act. The new committee announced by House Speaker J.D. Mesnard comes just over a year after 70 percent of voters approved changes to the state's public safety pension plan designed to return it to solvency in 20 years. The voter approval and separate...

June 26, 2017
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22Jun

6 Trends Seen In America’s Retirement Plans

Employer 401k matches and automatic features are a win for all involved. Anyone needing more evidence can find it in a new report that claims over 80 percent of retirement plan sponsors have opted to fund an employee match, up from 69 percent in 2015. These plans are seeing participation rates 19 percent higher than those that don’t fund a match. Additionally, plans that offer both automatic enrollment and automatic increase features have an 80 percent participation rate. It’s part of...

June 22, 2017
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21Jun

US. More than 1,200 positions targeted for early retirement, buyouts at EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to cut 8 percent of its workforce by early September through early retirement and buyouts. In memo of Acting EPA Deputy Administrator Michael Flynn, and obtained by Federal News Radio, he said the agency plans submitting its agency-wide VERA/VSIP proposal to the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget for approval later this month, with more information about which positions will be included in the program of July. Officials from the...

June 21, 2017
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20Jun

US. Ending Pittsburgh’s fossil fuel pension investments wouldn’t be easy or cheap

Researchers say that Pittsburgh's pension funds could lose nearly $500,000 a year if the city stops investing in fossil fuel-related companies — as Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has said he is committed to doing. While that loss would be damaging for Pittsburgh's underfunded pension funds, it wouldn't do much to change the behavior of fossil fuel companies, the researchers suggest. “It's purely a symbolic move that has no impact on the climate,” said Chris Fiore of the Chicago-based economic consulting firm...

June 20, 2017
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20Jun

US. CalPERS pension fund to review private equity investments

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, plans to scrutinize its private equity investments at next month's board meeting with an eye toward reviewing the governance and transparency of the asset class. Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos told the investment board on Monday that despite the high returns of its private equity investments, the negative public scrutiny of the asset class had made "it increasingly difficult for CalPERS to compete successfully in the private equity marketplace." The "fish bowl of...

June 20, 2017
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15Jun

US. Three Ways GOP Is Waging War On Retirement

While most of the world was consumed with former FBI Director James Comey's riveting Senate testimony last week, the GOP majority in the House of Representatives quietly prosecuted its war on retirement. House Republicans under the leadership of Speaker Paul Ryan passed a "Financial CHOICE" Act that would roll back multiple Dodd-Frank protections that were put in place after the 2008 crash. These recent "reforms" mean your retirement savings will be more at risk. U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Paul...

June 15, 2017
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