Compliance July 27, 2018

Bill Would Establish Personal Savings Accounts Based on TSP

The concept is being reintroduced through the American Savings Act

Reported by

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) has reintroduced the American Savings Act.

Modeled on the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) used by federal workers and members of Congress, it would give every worker who does not already have access to a retirement savings plan through their employer their own personal retirement savings account. Most notably, workers would be able to take these savings accounts with them seamlessly as they switch jobs.

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“It shouldn’t matter whether you work part-time or full-time, as an employee or a contractor, or for a huge corporation or a tiny business,” Merkley says. “Every American worker deserves access to a financially secure retirement. With private-sector pensions becoming rarer and rarer, Social Security and retirement savings are more important to retirement security than ever. That makes our mission clear. We need to strengthen Social Security, and we also must expand high-quality retirement savings options to all workers.”

Merkley notes that 55 million Americans do not have access to a retirement savings plan. The legislation would enable employers to send employees’ savings to the federal government in an American Savings Account (ASA) alongside the employee tax withholdings they already process, thereby not saddling employers with new administrative processes. It would initially defer 3% of workers’ salaries, but participants could change that to 2%, or contribute a maximum of $18,000 a year.

ASAs would offer the same investment options as TSPs, at the same low cost. Workers would be able to control their accounts through a website. They would be able to roll any previous individual retirement accounts (IRAs) into the ASA, and well as roll their ASA into an employer-sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plan.

The main benefits of ASAs is that they would be universal, portable, simple and personal—workers would be able to decide how much to save and how to invest.

Products July 26, 2018

Northern Trust Develops Tools Enhancing Transparency

The features will reportedly raise "demand from private equity financial officers for direct and immediate access to their data—enabling general partners to drill down into their trial balances and the underlying transactions." 

Reported by

Northern Trust announced enhanced reporting and analytical tools to provide private equity managers with greater transparency into fund operations, delivering on-demand data and customized views of portfolio information.

 

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Reporting for Northern Trust private equity fund administration clients was developed in collaboration with financial technology solutions provider FIS and leverages FIS’s Data Exchange Reporting and Analytics (DX R&A) solution. This capability enables on-demand reporting to answer investor and investment manager inquiries, providing general partners with direct access to detailed and comprehensive information on their schedule of investments, cash flows, investor capital commitments and balances.

 

“We have focused heavily on deploying leading technology to drive increased transparency in private equity investing, and this latest enhancement is another example of how we continue to raise the bar,” says Pete Cherecwich, president of Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust. “By incorporating the advanced FIS solution, we give clients the data they need to make more informed decisions.”

 

The new technology supports increasing demand from private equity financial officers for direct and immediate access to their data—enabling general partners to drill down into their trial balances and the underlying transactions. Access to intuitive dashboards displaying performance and risk metrics will soon be available.

 

“Northern Trust joins a growing number of firms that deploy our Data Exchange Reporting and Analytics solution to provide a self-service platform for their clients to view their data, run reports, and analyze portfolio performance,” says Sami Juma, head of Alternative Solutions, FIS. “Using our advanced solution, Northern Trust’s clients can transform data into intelligence to improve decision-making, whilst simultaneously benefiting from an enhanced customer experience.”

 

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