Break from the Grind December 17, 2015

A Little Friday File Fun

Reported by

In Modesto, California, a man was attending a firearms safety training class. During the course, the instructor was using a training gun, a rubber fake with no firing mechanism, said a Modesto Police Department spokeswoman, according to the Modesto Bee. But as the class was ending, he removed that prop from his holster and replaced it with his real handgun. About that time, another student asked the instructor to demonstrate what to do if attacked by someone armed with a knife, and the man volunteered to portray the attacker in a role-playing exercise. “During the scenario, the instructor drew the firearm and it accidentally discharged” injuring the man, a witness said.

In Sherman Oaks, California, a coach at a high school recently uploaded to Instagram an aerial image that was on his computer desktop showing the school’s football stadium. However, he did not realize that the image on his computer revealed he had an open tab for a por.nography website. The Mirror reports that he also had a tab open for searching education/teaching jobs, which he may have no luck with now.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

In Sydney, Australia, a man stole a 20-ton garbage truck, and managed to drive it for 13 kilometers. But authorities had no problem catching up with him as he couldn’t get the truck out of first gear and it was slow-going for that 13 kilometers, according to The Daily Telegraph.

In Morehead, Kentucky, a man took his child to a Walmart for the state’s Shop with a Trooper program. But, the local CBS News station reports, that before the dad made it out the door, Walmart’s loss prevention team caught him with a $40 drill for which he didn’t pay. Troopers were stunned they had to arrest the man joining in this community program.

In St. Petersburg, Florida, a boy on a bike approached an 89-year-old man at a gas station claiming that a tire on the passenger side of the man’s care was low on air. When the man exited his vehicle to check, the boy jumped in the driver’s seat and sped off. UPI reports that when police were able to apprehend the boy they were less surprised by his actions. Sadly, he had been arrested more than 20 times since the age of nine.

In Vienna, Austria, a tourist couple climbed aboard the famous giant Ferris wheel Wiener Riesenrad. An employee decided to let them go around one more time, but handed the controls to another employee who didn’t know they were on the ride. The second employee packed it in for the night and turned the Ferris wheel off, leaving the couple stranded at the top. The Toronto Sun reports that the couple enjoyed the view for a while, but reportedly became bored and started calling around for help. Ferris wheel staff sped back to the attraction to let them down.

100 years of Christmas toys

If you can't view the below video, try https://youtu.be/EDAPaEVr1Hk

These illusions will amaze you.

If you can't view the below video, try https://youtu.be/GIvD-_ITco8

A house cat beats up a tiger.

If you can't view the below video, try https://youtu.be/sFw6JW_A5XU

Administration December 17, 2015

Is It Time to Bump Up DB Rate Assumptions?

Nearly all plan sponsors—99%—decreased their discount rates last year, to a level that is unlikely to be reversed in 2015, because of the small change in yield curves through November 30.
Reported by

The annual pension accounting research study by SEI Institutional, in its 14th year, outlines how some plan sponsors and auditors are interpreting the events in recent years and the impact of the current economic environment. Based on this analysis, and assuming no change during December 2015, plan sponsors with a December 31 measurement date should consider increasing the discount rate they are using—but not by much, if at all.

“The yield curve increased slightly in 2015, with corporate bond indices rising 35 to 40 basis points,” says Jonathan Waite, director of the advisory team and chief actuary for SEI’s Institutional Group. “Rising discount rates will result in slightly lower plan liabilities and lower pension expense for the upcoming year. Additionally, new mortality tables might further decrease liabilities by 1% to 2% at year-end.”

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

The study analyzed a database of 625 corporate defined benefit plan sponsors, revealing a 75-basis point range of discount rates used for 2014 pension expense, a tighter range than last year’s analysis. The results of the study provide companies with guidance for setting the discount rate and return on asset (ROA) assumptions that pension plan sponsors will use for 2015 year-end disclosures.

In looking at year-end 2014 ROA assumptions, most plan sponsors (62%) had ROAs between 7% and 8.25%, as with year-end 2013. More than 90% had ROAs between 5.52% and 8.25%, the same range as last year. According to the paper, plan sponsors should be wary in using other plans’ asset return assumptions as a guide in setting their own. Rather, they should continue to look at long-term capital market assumptions as a guide, but customize the results for their asset allocations.

Data is derived from the 2014 SEI Plan Sponsor Accounting Database, which consists of data from Standard & Poor’s Institutional Market Services database, as well as proprietary analysis created by SEI’s Institutional Group. The report can be accessed from the SEI website. 

«