Newsdash Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy from PLANSPONSOR
July 15th, 2016
Benefits & Administration
A Combination of Benefits/Perks Drives Overall Employee Well-Being
The O.C. Tanner Institute 2015 Health and Well-Being Study shows that improved well-being has a large impact on employees, the way they work, and ultimately on the company’s bottom-line. Those with poor well-being self-reported, on average, that they are only working at 64% of their maximum output. O.C. Tanner found seven benefits/perks impacted overall well-being the most.Read more >
Report Offers Proposals for Improving Retirement Security
The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings issued a report presenting bipartisan proposals to address inability of some employee populations to access workplace retirement savings plans; retirement plan leakage; and the risk of outliving retirement savings, among other things.Read more >
MOST READ ARTICLES
Compliance
Judge Dismisses Pfizer 401(k) Plan Fee Lawsuit
Products
Agilis Launches Lifetime Income Tool PensionBuilder
Benefits
Retirement Benefits Remain a Sticking Point in Boeing Strike
PLANSPONSOR Research
PLANSPONSOR’s 2016 Recordkeeping Survey shows the homogenization, and commoditization, of a growing number of recordkeeper services that as recently as 10 years ago might have been purely a source of added value.Read more >
Economic Events

In the week ending July 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 254,000, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised level of 254,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 259,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 264,750.

The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.5% in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Final demand prices rose 0.4% in May and 0.2% in April. In June, prices for final demand services moved up 0.4%. The index for final demand goods advanced 0.8%.
Market Mirror

Thursday, the Dow climbed 134.29 points (0.73%) to 18,506.41, the NASDAQ closed 28.33 points (0.57%) higher at 5,034.06, and the S&P 500 increased 11.31 points (0.53%) to 2,163.74. The Russell 2000 was up 1.01 points (0.08%) at 1,202.17, and the Wilshire 5000 gained 90.76 points (0.41%) to finish at 22,385.83.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with 1.3 advancing issues for every declining issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for advancers.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 18/32, bringing its yield up to 1.536%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond fell 1 27/32, increasing its yield to 2.255%.
Compliance
IRS Requesting DB Lump-Sum Payment Window Information
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has said applicants requesting determination letters for their defined benefit (DB) plans should identify whether the plan has lump-sum risk transfer language in either the cover letter to their application or an attachment.Read more >
IRS to Host Webcast About Determination Letter Program Changes
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a free webcast about the determination letter program changes on August 11 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.Read more >
From the Magazine
Just out of Reish: Parting Thoughts
Fred Reish, a partner in Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP’s employee benefits and executive compensation practice group and chair of the financial services ERISA team, has written his last column for PLANSPONSOR magazine. He leaves plan sponsors with some parting thoughts.Read more >
Investing
401(k) Plan Participants Invest in Lower-Cost Mutual Funds
401(k) plan participants tend to be invested in lower-cost mutual funds, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) finds. At year-end 2015, 89% of mutual fund assets in 401(k) plans were held in institutional and retail no-load share classes, while the remaining assets were held in load share classes, predominantly in share classes that do not charge retirement plan participants a front-end load. The cost of investing in equity mutual funds through 401(k) plans fell again in 2015, marking a 31% decline since 2000, according to annual research from ICI.Read more >
Small Talk

ON THIS DATE: In 1870, Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union. In 1876, George Washington Bradley of St. Louis pitched the first no-hitter in baseball in a 2-0 win over Hartford. In 1885, in New York, the Niagara Reservation State Park opened. In 1904, the first Buddhist temple in the U.S. was established in Los Angeles. In 1916, in Seattle, Washington, Pacific Aero Products was incorporated by William Boeing. The company was later renamed Boeing Co. In 1965, the spacecraft Mariner IV sent back the first close-up pictures of the planet Mars. In 1968, commercial air travel began between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., when the first plane, a Soviet Aeroflot jet, landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York. In 2006, the social networking service Twitter was launched.

 

And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!
You know the Pokemon Go craze is getting out of hand when a weather report is interrupted.Read more >

In Guelph, Ontario, Canada, a police officer saw what looked like a bicycle light heading northbound on a street, but as the light approached, the officer realized the light was coming from inside a motor vehicle. The vehicle was speeding, and as it passed the police cruiser, the officer noted it had no working exterior lights. According to CBC News, the officer stopped the car and “found the driver to be wearing an LED headlamp on his forehead,” police said.                            

In Mary Esther, Florida, a woman was taken to the hospital for evaluation after crashing her car into a home. The woman told Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies she was praying at the time and had her eyes closed, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, a kebab shop owner thwarted a would-be robber’s plans by just ignoring him.Read more >

In Vista, California, a sheriff tried to pull over a driver for a minor traffic violation, but instead of stopping, the driving kept going. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the driver meandered through the city for nearly 20 minutes before stopping in the jail parking lot. He ran from the car and clambered over a fence into the jail intake area, where prisoners are driven in for booking, a sheriff’s official said. Easy arrest.

In Chongqing, China, a man met a woman online and found out she has a great admiration for policemen. To impress her, he took her to the local police station, saying he was the police chief. According to the Shanghaiist, before the policeman on duty had a chance to ask who he was, the man said, “Brother, you don’t know your new police chief? Must be because I was only transferred here last week. I’ve been training elsewhere, and haven’t met everyone here yet.” He then asked the policeman to bring his guest a cup of water, and declared that there will be a meeting that night during which he will introduce himself to everyone. The policeman he talked to thought this was odd, so he asked his group leader about this change in leadership, who assured him that there was none. Realizing that there was a fraud in their midst, he detained the imposter, who quickly admitted to his crime.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Share the good news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along—and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more >

Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com

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