Analysis Suggests Participants Don't Understand Value of Annuities An analysis of retiring participants from one public pension plan suggests they do not understand the value of life annuity payments. Source: Plansponsor.com

Making Promises You Can Keep – Building Pensions for the Future The financial and economic crisis has had a profound and ongoing impact on pension plans around the world. Neither Defined Benefit (DB) nor Defined Contribution (DC) plans have been able to escape unscathed – and the crisis has served to expose and magnify the differences between these two pension systems. Now that the dust seems to be settling, it is time to see what lessons can be drawn. Source: AEGON Global Pensions

Are 401ks Finally Recovering? Two recent studies indicate that most defined-contribution-plan participants have the same or higher balances in their accounts now, than before the stock market began to tank. Such reports should be taken with a grain of salt, however, say experts, who also advise HR leaders to continue educating employees on the importance of prudence and diversification -- in good times and bad. Source: Human Resource Executive Online

401k and Profit Sharing Plan Eligibility Survey 2009 This is the 12th year that PSCA has collected defined contribution plan eligibility data. The changes over time have been significant. In 1998, only 24 percent of plans allowed employees to begin contributing to their 401k plans immediately upon employment. This percentage has more than doubled since. Source: Profit Sharing/401k Council of America

Retirement Plan Participation: Race/Ethnicity Differences How do race and ethnicity affect the likelihood of participating in a retirement plan? How do the size of employers and the birthplace of workers affect these levels? Here are some of the key findings concerning race/ethnicity differences in employment-based retirement plan participation. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute

The Fiduciary Role of Investment Advisors Because of the disjointed regulatory structure and lack of uniform advanced education requirements, even the advisors who are fiduciaries often have a limited understanding of the fiduciary code of conduct. Clearing up this confusion and enhancing consumer protections are among the goals of financial regulatory reform that is currently being debated by Congress. Source: fi360 Blog

House Democrats Introduce Bill Amending Qualified Plan Nondiscrimination Rules Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) recently introduced H.R. 4126, the "Retirement Fairness Act of 2009," which would significantly strengthen the qualified plan nondiscrimination rules and potentially jeopardize the qualified status of many plans. Source: JP Morgan

The 403(b) Prohibited Transaction There are some technical differences between 401k plans and 403(b) plans. One of the more striking differences is that of the prohibited transactions. Source: Business of Benefits Blog

DOL Issues Ruling on Target-Date and Lifecycle Mutual Funds Although the DOL affirmed the current state of the law in its recent advisory opinion, regulatory and legislative initiatives affecting target-date funds and their use in retirement plans remain under discussion, and have been the subject of additional Congressional hearings. In addition, guidance for benefit plan fiduciaries on the selection and use of target-date funds is expected to be published by the DOL. Source: Dechert LLP

DOL Approves Use of Summary Prospectus to Satisfy ERISA 404(c) In September 2009, the DOL issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2009-03, permitting the use of summary prospectuses to satisfy the prospectus requirement of ERISA Section 404(c). Source: Prudential