Products January 26, 2009

ijoin Announces Solution for Enrollment Process

January 26, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - ijoin has introduced a new turnkey 401(k) enrollment solution it says will offer greater efficiency and effectiveness while helping participants make sound investment choices.
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With ijoin participants are lead through a personalized decision-making process via mobile Web technology, according to a press release. The process includes a secure, encrypted mobile Web portal which can be customized for DC providers and plan sponsor clients.

ijoin captures and integrates plan and provider data with personal information input confirmed real-time by plan participants during the enrollment meeting.  

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The company said a number of pilots are scheduled for large plans in March 2009.

ijoin was designed collaboratively by retirement industry veterans Fred Greenstein, Kendall Kay, Win Cody, and Joe Brummel.  Greenstein has been developing and selling online databases, market intelligence, and business process tools to the retirement industry for a dozen years.  Kay was SVP – Marketing for Manulife / John Hancock and ADP retirement services, and is now a business development consultant in the DC industry.  Cody founded ExpertPlan and has helped build and improve recordkeeping systems for several providers.  Brummel is an experienced retirement plan and investment advisor with Financial Concepts and NFP.  

For more information, contact Kendall Kay, CMO ijoin at 617-803-6344 or KKay2@me.com .

Administration January 23, 2009

GM Settles with SEC over Pension Accounting Charges

January 23, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - General Motors Corp. and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement Thursday over charges that the company improperly represented pension estimates in 2002.
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The Detroit Free Press reports GM was not fined by the SEC, but the auto giant agreed to follow SEC regulations in the future and is subject to a federal injunction under which it would face stiff penalties for any future violations. GM did not admit or deny any wrongdoing.

“The injunctive remedy should provide strong incentives for General Motors to maintain strong accounting and disclosure practices,” said Frederic Firestone, associate director in the SEC’s enforcement division, in the news report.

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The SEC alleged in its 2004 lawsuit that GM made significant misstatements or omissions in a 2002 filing about its pension discount rate for 2002 and its expected return on pension assets for 2003. The complaint also alleged that GM failed to disclose material information about the timing and amount of its projected cash contributions to its pension plans, according to the Free Press.

GM said it made mistakes, but not with the intent to deceive shareholders.

The automaker recently agreed to pay about $39 million to settle a lawsuit over company stock investments in its 401(k) plan (see GM Settlement of Company Stock Suit to Include $39M Payment ). That suit claimed the company put its interests ahead of the interests of plan participants by continuing to offer GM stock as an investment option, matching employee contributions in GM stock, and failing to diversify the stock fund when it was clear GM stock was not a prudent investment during the time GM was struggling financially and its accounting was being reviewed by the SEC.

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