Compliance November 4, 2013

PBGC Takes Plan of Pa. Animal Feed Mill

November 4, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is taking over the retirement plan of a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, animal feed mill.
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The agency will pay retirement benefits for the nearly 580 current and future retirees of Pennfield Corporation. The agency assumed control of the plan because Pennfield sold the majority of its assets in bankruptcy proceedings to agribusiness giant Cargill, Inc., and Cargill did not assume responsibility for the pension plan.

According to PBGC estimates, Pennfield’s plan was 54% funded, with $15 million in assets to pay $28 million in benefits. The agency expects to cover the entire $13 million shortfall.

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Pennfield produced, processed, and marketed high-end animal feeds at facilities in Pennsylvania. The company served the East Coast, as well as Southern California, but had the majority of its business operations in Pennsylvania. Pennfield has a subsidiary, Pennfield Transport Company, also located in Lancaster.

The PBGC will pay all pension benefits earned by Pennfield retirees up to the legal limit of about $56,000 for a 65-year-old. Retirees will continue to get benefits without interruption, and future retirees can apply for benefits as soon as they are eligible.

Products November 4, 2013

Stadion Target-Date CITs Go 'Flex'

November 4, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Stadion Money Management rebranded its series of target-date collective investment trusts (CITs).
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The target-date product line, sponsored by the Benefit Trust Company, is now known as the Stadion Flex Target Date CIT Series. The new title incorporates the word “Flex” to reflect a more active market risk management style, according to Tim McCabe, senior vice president and national sales director for Stadion’s retirement solutions business.

“Adding just one word to the names may not seem like much of a change, but, in fact the ‘Flex’ component of the product is what distinguishes the Stadion Flex Target Date CIT Series from seemingly similar products,” McCabe said.

McCabe said the flex strategy will occasionally result in situations when either equity or fixed-income allocations will be over-weighted within the series’ portfolios, as determined by Stadion’s defensive growth philosophy.

Stadion utilizes exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the primary underlying investment vehicle in the CITs to take advantage of diverse market segments and to provide additional transparency and liquidity.

For more on Stadion’s rebranding efforts, see www.stadionmoney.com.

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