The Washington Post is moving away from both its traditional DB plan and cash balance plan, and has agreed not to transfer pension liabilities to an insurance company.
The
Washington Post and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild have reached a
tentative agreement on a new two-year contract.
According
to the Guild, the Post declined to improve the pension formula for the cash balance
pension plan and insisted on closing this plan to new employees. The newspaper
will also freeze its traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plan as of August
31.
The
Post also offered to credit employees’ cash balance pensions for half a year
retroactive to July 1.
According
to the Guild, the newspaper agreed not to sell the DB plan’s liabilities to an
insurance company—an action several big-name companies have already taken. Some in the industry have wondered whether participants’
benefits are more or less secure after the move to an insurer.
Interestingly,
the Guild also said the Post backed off a proposal to have the right to cease
offering health care insurance for everyone.
More information
about the tentative agreement is here.
MapMyBenefits provides each employee with a customized needs analysis and recommendations based on the information about his or her personal situation.
MassMutual launched an employee benefits guidance tool that helps retirement savers make important financial decisions.
The new MapMyBenefits
tool provides customized recommendations and guidance about health care
coverage, insurance protection and retirement savings, according to MassMutual.
The tool is responsive to individuals’ personal financial situation, the
firm notes, and it’s designed to be easy to use. Insight from the tool can be
applied across different demographic groups and according to life stage and
other individualized circumstances.
MapMyBenefits analyzes basic information provided by the
employee about his or her personal financial situation, including income and
expenses, as well as current insurance coverage and retirement savings.
Information about existing employer-provided coverage and employer-sponsored
retirement plans such as 401(k)s are preloaded by MassMutual into the tool’s
data bank. Employees are also asked about other coverages and retirement
savings they may have outside the workplace in order to render the best
possible guidance.
MapMyBenefits provides each employee with a customized needs
analysis and recommendations based on the information about his or her personal
situation, and then makes suggestions about individual coverage and savings
needs.
“This all-inclusive approach to financial planning at the
workplace combines retirement readiness, health care coverage and preparation
for life’s unforeseen events,” explains Elaine Sarsynski, executive vice
president for retirement services and work-site insurance. “MapMyBenefits is a
powerful planning tool designed to help both employers and employees as they
navigate an increasingly complex employee benefits environment.”
Sarsynski points to PricewaterhouseCoopers research showing
nearly one in four employees “say personal financial problems have become a
distraction at work,” and figures from the American Psychological Association
suggesting money issues have “consistently topped Americans’ list of biggest
stressors since 2007.”
MassMutual hopes MapMyBenefits will help more employers
focus on the financial wellness of their employees. The tool is available
through financial advisers, third-party administrators (TPAs) and benefits
specialist consultants. Currently, MassMutual is making several employee
benefits products available through MapMyBenefits, including 401(k) and other
defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, and life insurance. Additional insurance
products are in the planning stages.