Compliance August 26, 2010

Lifetime Income Hearing Agenda Unveiled

August 26, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U. S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has released the agenda for the upcoming joint hearing with the Department of the Treasury on lifetime income options for retirement plans.   

 

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The agenda is spread out over two days, beginning at 9:00 a.m. (EST) on September 14 and running through 3:45 p.m. the following day, with 15 panels of varying lengths, apparently depending on the number of panellists (2-4 panelists).  The hearing was announced earlier this month (see DoL and Treasury to Hold Hearing on Lifetime Income Options).        

The requests to testify (indicating what the firms/individuals have asked to address) are available on EBSA’s website at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/cmt-1210-AB33.html.  The hearing agenda is available at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/1210-AB33hearingagenda.pdf.  

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The hearing was designed to hear testimony regarding: 

  • certain participant concerns affecting the choice of lifetime income relative to other options;   
  • information to help participants make choices on the management and spend down of retirement benefits;   
  • disclosure of account balances as monthly income streams;   
  • the fiduciary safe harbor for selection of lifetime income issuers or products; and   
  • alternative designs of in-plan and distribution lifetime income options.   

The hearing will be held in the Labor Department’s main auditorium, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. in Washington, D.C., and a live webcast of the hearing will be available on EBSA’s website at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.   

Benefits August 26, 2010

Majority of U.S. Workers Think Casual Attire Equals More Productive

August 26, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Fifty-five percent of U.S. employee respondents to a recent survey said workers wearing casual attire are more productive than those wearing more traditional business clothes.
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Only 19% said casual dressers in the workplace are “slackers.”  

However, 38% of U.S. respondents said casual dressers in the workplace will never make it into senior management, and 64% said senior managers should always be more dressed up than their employees.  

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Thirty-seven percent of U.S. respondents indicated they wear traditional business attire at work, while 41% said they wear casual attire. Forty-four percent reported their employers have a designated day or time for wearing casual attire.  

Nearly a third (32%) of U.S. workers surveyed said it is appropriate to wear shorts to work, but only 18% indicated it is appropriate to wear sandals or flip-flops. More than a third (35%) said it is ok to wear a speedo or bikini at a work picnic or day at the beach.  

The survey results suggest Europeans have the most casual attitude about workplace attire (see Europeans Most Casual about Work Clothes).  

More than 12,600 adults, ages 18-64 in the U.S. and Canada and ages 16-64 in 22 other countries, were interviewed for the survey. The 24 countries included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.  

The full survey report can be downloaded from here. Free registration is required.

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