Pension News – CORPaTH

24 05, 2023

DC Plan Sponsors Should Pay Attention to Increased Litigation, Low Retirement Confidence

CORPaTH2023-05-24T15:21:15-07:00May 24th, 2023|Categories: 401(k)|Tags: DC Plans, litigation|

By Remy Samuels Source: Plan Sponsor Increased litigation; regulatory and legislative changes; and a lack of retirement confidence among participants were common themes observed by defined contribution plan sponsor panelists on a recent Mercer webinar reflecting on key trends in the first quarter of 2023. Roughly 43 lawsuits, noted with activity, have been filed this quarter against retirement plans, including 14 settlements that totaled about $55.3 million, said Rhonda Berg, a senior principal and defined contribution consultant at Mercer [...]

2 05, 2023

Controversial super-priority pension bill receives royal assent

CORPaTH2023-05-03T14:20:11-07:00May 2nd, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: C-228, canada|

By Gideon Scanlon Source: Benefits Canada A controversial law giving super-priority to defined benefit pension plan members during plan windups and insolvencies is coming into effect after receiving royal assent from Governor General Mary Simon. While Bill C-228 received royal assent at the end of April, most of its measures won’t come into force for another four years. However, the requirement that all federally regulated pension plans produce annual reports on plan solvency is now in effect. Marilyn Gladu, [...]

28 04, 2023

Alaska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Study: Options and Analysis Supporting Retirement Plan Design

CORPaTH2023-05-03T13:42:44-07:00April 28th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: alaska, public education employees|

Source: National Institute on Retirement Security A report delivered to the Alaska Department of Education reviews the impacts of various retirement benefit offerings on the recruitment and retention of Alaska’s public education employees. Alaska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Study: Options and Analysis Supporting Retirement Plan Design, finds that switching Alaska’s public employees from defined benefit pension plans to 401(k)-style defined contribution accounts resulted in more public educators leaving their positions. The research comes as teacher shortages plague Alaska and [...]

27 04, 2023

Closing Pensions For Public Workers Has Proven A Mistake

CORPaTH2023-05-24T15:18:07-07:00April 27th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: north dakota, public pensions|

By Dan Doonan Source: Forbes A measure to close North Dakota's public pension plan is headed to Governor Doug Burgum's desk for signature. Before enacting the measure, the state’s chief executive would be wise to look at the experience of other states that have made such a drastic move. State leaders have learned the hard way that ending pension benefits comes with little to be gained and a big price to pay. More specifically, states that shifted new employees [...]

24 04, 2023

JP Morgan Analysis Says Corporate Defined Benefit Pension Plans Deserve A Fresh Look

CORPaTH2023-05-24T15:19:37-07:00April 24th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: DB Plans, jp morgan|

By Dan Doonan Source: Forbes Since the Great Resignation in 2021 when employees across industries quit their jobs in large numbers, private sector employers have begun revisiting their benefit offerings to align with current employee preferences. As cited in a recent JP Morgan Asset Management report, “Pension Defrost: Is it Time to reopen DB pension plans- or at least stop closing and freezing them?,” 40 percent of private sector employees who separated from their employer during the Great Resignation [...]

24 04, 2023

U.K. Pensions Regulator calls for more safeguards for LDI

CORPaTH2023-05-03T13:59:18-07:00April 24th, 2023|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: LDI, uk|

By Paulina Pielichata Source: Pensions & Investments Pension fund trustees should put in place appropriate buffers to manage any leveraged liability-driven investment arrangements, the U.K. Pensions Regulator said Monday. In a new guidance, which was published following the September LDI crisis, the regulator said investors must also include an operational buffer specific to the LDI arrangement to manage day-to-day changes, in addition to the 250 basis points minimum. Setting the right buffer level is essential so the fund can [...]

19 04, 2023

U.S. public pension funding rises in March

CORPaTH2023-04-19T15:52:22-07:00April 19th, 2023|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: funding ratio, public pensions|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments The overall estimated funding ratio of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans improved to 74.5% as of March 31 from 73.6% a month earlier, according to the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding index. During the month of March, Milliman estimated that public pension plans had an aggregate investment return of 1.8%, with an estimated range of 0.7% to 2.8%. While February was a down month, strong returns in January contributed to [...]

19 04, 2023

Defined Benefit Pensioners Win Battle for Pension Protection

CORPaTH2023-05-03T13:44:28-07:00April 19th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: Bill C-228, canada|

Source: Yahoo! Finance Yesterday marks a historic victory for the protection of Canadian pensioners. Bill C-228, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985passed third reading in the Senate, and awaits Royal Assent. "This landmark legislation will protect millions of Canadians who rely on defined benefit pensions for their financial security in retirement," said Michael Powell, President, Canadian Federation of Pensioners, whose organization led the charge [...]

18 04, 2023

U.S. workers want government to require employers to offer retirement plans

CORPaTH2023-05-03T13:48:59-07:00April 18th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: retirement plans, united states|

By Margarida Correia Source: Pensions & Investments American workers favor government mandates requiring employers to offer retirement plans and make matching contributions, according to a new survey released Tuesday by Natixis Investment Managers. More than 4 in 5 workers (81%) said that employers should be required to offer workplace retirement savings plans, with millennials voicing the greatest support for such a mandate (88%) followed by Generation X (79%) and baby boomers (70%). More than 3 in 5 workers (78%) [...]

17 04, 2023

State-run retirement savings programs may fuel launch of private plans, Pew study says

CORPaTH2023-04-17T16:20:08-07:00April 17th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: private-sector plans, State-run retirement savings programs|

By Margarida Correia Source: Pensions & Investments State-run retirement savings programs may be boosting the creation of new private-sector plans, according to a study from the Pew Charitable Trusts released Friday. Businesses in California, Illinois and Oregon — the first three states to launch state-facilitated programs to help private-sector workers without workplace plans save for retirement — continued to launch new plans in 2021 at rates similar to or exceeding those in states without such programs, the study found. [...]

14 04, 2023

What’s next for France’s pension reform?

CORPaTH2023-04-14T08:30:46-07:00April 14th, 2023|Categories: Pension Reform|Tags: france, France's Constitutional Council|

Source: Reuters France's Constitutional Council is due to deliver its verdict on Friday on a deeply unpopular bill which will delay retirement by two years to 64, and on plans for a referendum to challenge it. Here is why this matters and what could happen: VERDICT ON THE PENSION BILL * The Council can strike down the bill altogether if it considers it breaches the Constitution. Opposition parties have asked it to do so, for choosing to tack the [...]

14 04, 2023

French unions rally supporters to the streets ahead of pension ruling

CORPaTH2023-04-14T08:29:00-07:00April 14th, 2023|Categories: Pension Reform|Tags: france, french unions|

By Bart Biesemans, Layli Foroudi and Ingrid Melander Source: Reuters Union activists barged into the Paris headquarters of luxury goods company LVMH on Thursday, saying the French government should shelve plans to make people work longer for their pension and tax the rich more instead. In a 12th day of nationwide protests since mid-January, striking workers also disrupted garbage collections in Paris and blocked river traffic on part of the Rhine in eastern France. "You're looking for money to [...]

13 04, 2023

Corporate DB plans still hard to beat, JPMAM’s chief of institutional strategy says

CORPaTH2023-04-13T14:10:39-07:00April 13th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments You're a U.S. corporation, your frozen defined benefit plan is fully funded, and now it's time to get rid of it, right? One expert says perhaps not. U.S. corporate defined benefit plans are healthier than they've been in decades, and companies should think about keeping them so they can take advantage of surplus assets, said Jared Gross, head of institutional portfolio strategy at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, in an interview on Monday. [...]

13 04, 2023

PBGC approves supplemental assistance for Teamsters pension plan

CORPaTH2023-04-13T14:07:39-07:00April 13th, 2023|Categories: PBGC|Tags: NYS Teamsters Conference Plan, PBGC, teamsters|

By Courtney Degen Source: Pensions & Investments The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. on Thursday approved the supplemented special financial assistance application of a New York pension plan for workers and retirees in the transportation industry. New York State Teamsters Conference Pension & Retirement Plan, or NYS Teamsters Conference Plan, will receive $438 million as a supplement to the $963 million in special financial assistance that was approved for the plan in November 2022. President Joe Biden signed the Special [...]

13 04, 2023

Pension plan finances healthier in Q1

CORPaTH2023-04-13T14:05:05-07:00April 13th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: median solvency ratio|

By James Langton Source: Investment Executive Defined benefit pensions enjoyed improving solvency metrics in the first quarter, despite elevated market volatility and tightening financial conditions, according to new data from consulting firm Mercer. The median solvency ratio for the DB plans in Mercer’s universe rose to 116% in the quarter, up from 113% at the end of 2022. Other measures of pension funding health also indicated improvement in the first quarter, with 83% of plans estimated to be in [...]

11 04, 2023

DB funding remains strong, but transfers remain high risk

CORPaTH2023-05-03T13:50:52-07:00April 11th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: funding ratio|

By Pádraig Floyd Source: Pensions Expert The March 2023 PPF 7800 index estimates the aggregate surplus of the 5,131 schemes it covers to have decreased over the month to £359.3bn as of March 31, from a surplus of £381.4bn at the end of February, a fall of almost 6 per cent. The funding ratio decreased to 133.2 per cent from 137 per cent over the same period. Total assets were £1.44tn and total liabilities were £1.08tn. There were 4,355 (82 per cent) schemes [...]

10 04, 2023

Retirement expert calls on court to toss DOL ESG rule lawsuit

CORPaTH2023-04-10T16:25:53-07:00April 10th, 2023|Categories: ESG|Tags: dept of labor, esg|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments The Department of Labor's new rule permitting retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other ESG factors when selecting investments and exercising shareholder rights is based on sound legal footing and a lawsuit seeking to overturn it should be dismissed, retirement expert J. Mark Iwry said in a court filing. The new rule — Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights — took effect Jan. 30 and [...]

29 03, 2023

Pension super-priority bill becoming law following Senate vote

CORPaTH2023-03-29T10:49:24-07:00March 29th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: C-228, canada, pension security|

By Gideon Scanlon Source: Benefits Canada A bill that provides super-priority to defined benefit pension plan members during plan windups or employer bankruptcies has been passed by the Senate and will become law. “Now that C-228 has passed, it is up to the government to schedule it for royal assent and then to incorporate it into the [Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act] and [the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act],” said Mike Powell, president of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, an organization [...]

16 03, 2023

A Decade of Reforms Has Strengthened State Pension Plans

CORPaTH2023-03-16T10:01:01-07:00March 16th, 2023|Categories: Pension Reform|Tags: fiscal discipline, great recession|

Source: Pew Trusts Thanks to more than a decade of fiscal discipline, many state public retirement systems are on the cusp of long-term solvency and sustainability. Since the Great Recession, state policymakers have increased employer and employee pension contributions and changed benefit provisions. In some cases, they have also implemented reforms that have strengthened risk management practices, which can help keep costs relatively stable without increasing unfunded liabilities for future generations of taxpayers. However, volatile investment markets and high [...]

10 03, 2023

DB Pensions Are Financially Advantageous for Employers: JP Morgan Exec

CORPaTH2023-03-10T16:50:13-08:00March 10th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: db pensions, JP Morgan Asset Management|

By Justin Mitchell Source: FundFire The following text is a transcript of a portion of a speaker's presentation made at an industry conference or during an interview. This transcript solely represents the view of the individual who spoke, and not the view of FundFire or any other group. JUSTIN MITCHELL, SENIOR REPORTER, FUNDFIRE: Today we are speaking to Jared Gross, the Head of Institutional Portfolio Strategy for JP Morgan Asset Management. You wrote a recent paper where you made [...]

10 03, 2023

Alaska Bill Seeks to Revive Defined Benefit Pension

CORPaTH2023-03-13T11:54:15-07:00March 10th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: alaska, alaska senate bill 88|

Source: Chief Investment Officer State senators in Alaska have introduced a bipartisan bill that would create a new defined benefit pension system for state employees as a way help address a nearly 20% vacancy rate for state jobs. Alaska’s previous defined benefit retirement system was abolished by state legislators in 2006 and replaced with a defined contribution plan. Senate Bill 88 would restore a defined benefit plan for new workers and allow current employees to choose between the new [...]

6 03, 2023

U.S. corporate pension funding increases in February

CORPaTH2023-03-06T14:25:56-08:00March 6th, 2023|Categories: Pension Funding|Tags: funding ratios, U.S. corporate pension plans|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments U.S. corporate pension plans' funding ratios increased in February as falling liability values offset a drop in assets, according to three new monthly reports. Legal & General Investment Management America estimated the average funding ratio of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan was 99.9% as of Feb. 28, up from 99.8% a month earlier. In its latest monthly Pension Solutions Monitor, LGIMA said the estimated average funding ratio rose slightly in February [...]

6 03, 2023

Suddenly, Republicans Want to Rein in the Financial Sector. Wanna Guess Why?

CORPaTH2023-03-06T14:24:12-08:00March 6th, 2023|Categories: ESG|Tags: esg, wall street|

Source: ValueEdge Advisors Biden didn’t reverse the Trump rule and rehabilitate ESG investing because Greta Thunberg asked him to. He did it because Wall Street banks asked him to. They asked because ESG is well established at this point and the financial sector can’t afford to avoid it. And while it is I suppose conceivable that the financial community has gotten so “woke” that it no longer cares about money, that strikes me as pretty unlikely. Read the full [...]

1 03, 2023

DOL’s priorities include SECURE 2.0, ESG rule, EBSA head says

CORPaTH2023-03-01T17:02:53-08:00March 1st, 2023|Categories: ESG|Tags: ebsa, esg, secure 2.0, US Labor Dept|

By Courtney Degen Source: Pensions & Investments The Labor Department's 2023 priorities include implementing SECURE 2.0 and its new ESG rule, while aiming to improve communication with plan participants and beneficiaries, Lisa M. Gomez, assistant secretary of labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, said Tuesday. The department finalized a rule in November that allows retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when selecting investments and exercising shareholder rights, also overturning two [...]

23 02, 2023

Unions welcome new protections for workers’ pensions

CORPaTH2023-02-23T16:43:36-08:00February 23rd, 2023|Categories: Economy|Tags: Bill C-228, canada, unions|

Source: Canadian Labour Congress Canada’s unions are happy to see Bill C-228 passed in the House of Commons today. This bill aimed to ensure that in the event of an employer becoming insolvent, the employer will have to prioritize paying pensions before addressing other financial liabilities. ‘‘Bill C-228 is about fairness for workers. We’re encouraged by the cross-party support for this legislation,’’ said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “For decades we have seen companies pay out [...]

16 02, 2023

Ontario’s pension plans remained resilient despite challenges

CORPaTH2023-02-16T10:18:11-08:00February 16th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: canada, Ontario|

By Steve Randall Source: Wealth Professional Ontarians can feel confident that their pension plans weathered the economic storms of 2022 with resilience according to a provincial regulator. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario's (FSRA) says that most pension plans in Ontario managed to navigate the economic challenges and market volatility to remain strong. Today (Feb. 16) the regulator is holding its first ever Pension Awareness Day to get people thinking more about retirement savings and engage with employers and unions [...]

16 02, 2023

Study finds U.S. public pension plans’ average funding ratio reached 77.8% in 2022

CORPaTH2023-02-16T09:56:28-08:00February 16th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: funding ratio, pension revenue|

Source: Benefits Canada The average funding ratio for U.S. public pension plans increased to 77.8 per cent in 2022 with the majority (68 per cent) of pensions’ revenue coming from investment returns, according to a new survey by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. The 12th annual public retirement systems study received responses from 195 state and local government pension funds, which represent more than 19.6 million active and retired members with combined assets exceeding $3 trillion. Across these [...]

16 02, 2023

Thousands of Chinese Retirees Protest Government Cuts to Benefits

CORPaTH2023-02-16T08:52:15-08:00February 16th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: china, retirement cuts|

By Keith Bradsher, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu Source: The New York Times Thousands of retirees confronted local officials and the police outside a popular park in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to demand the repeal of recent cuts in government-provided medical insurance for seniors. The protest on Wednesday, the second in Wuhan in a week, was the latest sign of strain on the finances of China’s local governments, which are responsible for covering much of the cost [...]

16 02, 2023

Historic down year puts retirement plans on notice

CORPaTH2023-02-16T08:50:34-08:00February 16th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: retirement plans|

By Rob Kozlowski Source: Pensions & Investments U.S. retirement plans could not escape historically negative equity and fixed-income markets during the year ended Sept. 30 and posted the highest-percentage asset losses in nearly half a century of Pensions & Investments'annual surveys. In the year ended Sept. 30, the 1,000 largest U.S. retirement funds saw their assets plummet to $12.16 trillion, a record-setting 13.9% loss from a year earlier when the universe had reached an all-time high of $14.13 trillion. [...]

3 02, 2023

World’s biggest pension fund posts loss in longest losing streak in two decades

CORPaTH2023-02-03T11:36:06-08:00February 3rd, 2023|Categories: Economy|Tags: Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan|

By Jenni Reid Source: CNBC Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund — the world’s largest — reported a fourth consecutive quarterly loss on Friday, taking it to its longest losing streak in 20 years. The world’s largest pension fund saw a 0.97% loss on its investments in the last three months of 2022, equating to 1.85 trillion yen ($14.3 billion). The string of quarterly losses marks the pension fund’s longest stint in the red since it reported four quarters of falls [...]

30 01, 2023

25 states sue to stop Labor Department’s ESG rule

CORPaTH2023-01-30T10:58:16-08:00January 30th, 2023|Categories: Uncategorized|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments A group of 25 states is seeking to halt the Department of Labor's new ESG rule from taking effect. Republican attorneys general from the 25 states, co-led by Ken Paxton of Texas and Sean D. Reyes of Utah, filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, arguing that the Labor Department's rule undermines key protections for retirement savers, oversteps the department's authority under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, [...]

19 01, 2023

Don’t let ESG become ‘the next 3-letter bad word’ – CalPERS CEO

CORPaTH2023-01-19T15:58:01-08:00January 19th, 2023|Categories: ESG|Tags: CalPERS, esg, marcie frost|

By Arleen Jacobius Source: Pensions & Investments ESG is about managing risks and spotting investment opportunities, and should not be allowed to become "the next three-letter bad word," CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost said at the pension fund's stakeholder forum on Wednesday. "When you break down ESG … it's around managing risks related to climate, managing risks related to poor human capital practices. It is about managing risks related to poor governance," Ms. Frost said. Read the full article

18 01, 2023

As France Moves to Delay Retirement, Older Workers Are in a Quandary

CORPaTH2023-01-18T15:54:40-08:00January 18th, 2023|Categories: Retirement|Tags: france, older workers, retirement|

By Liz Alderman Source: The New York Times During her 38-year career as a sales and marketing manager, Christine Jagueneau rarely thought about retirement. But when her job at a French industrial company was eliminated just before her 59th birthday last February, the idea of tapping her pension took on unexpected urgency. Despite nearly a dozen job interviews, she said, employers have suggested that she’s too old to be hired. She has just enough savings to coast to France’s [...]

18 01, 2023

Pensions Recruit and Retain Public Employees

CORPaTH2023-01-18T14:18:41-08:00January 18th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: public employees, public pension|

Source: National Public Pension Coalition Did you know that state and local governments are facing staffing shortages of historic proportions that are significantly impacting communities across the country? One tool proven to help combat shortages and draw in potential employees is defined-benefit pensions! In fact, over 75% of Americans agree that providing a pension plan to public employees is an essential tool in the recruitment and retention of teachers and public safety officers, according to the National Institute on [...]

18 01, 2023

Pensions beat flexible working for top spot in employee benefits ranking

CORPaTH2023-01-18T14:16:32-08:00January 18th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, pensions|

By Sophie Smith Source: Pensions Age Pensions have topped the list of employee benefits HR teams say people value the most, having regained the position two years after flexible working took the top spot in Punter Southall Aspire’s annual survey, although concerns around the advice gap remain. The research, which was carried out with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), found that 900 out of 1,700 HR professionals ranked pensions as the most valued employee benefit amongst [...]

16 01, 2023

Emmanuel Macron unveils his pension reforms

CORPaTH2023-01-16T16:28:26-08:00January 16th, 2023|Categories: Pension Reform|Tags: Emmanuel Macron, france|

Source: The Economist The French government has decided to go ahead with a controversial pension reform that looks set to divide the country and spark social unrest. On January 10th Elisabeth Borne, the prime minister, unveiled the details of changes to the country’s mandatory pension rules. The fate of these measures will test Emmanuel Macron’s ability to continue to reform France during his second presidential term. The centrepiece is a raising of the legal minimum retirement age from 62 [...]

16 01, 2023

Pensionomics 2023: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures

CORPaTH2023-01-16T09:41:21-08:00January 16th, 2023|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: Pensionomics 2023|

By Dan Doonan, Ilana Boivie and Tyler Bond Source: National Institute on Retirement Security Economic gains attributable to private and public sector defined benefit pensions in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic were substantial, according to Pensionomics 2023: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures. This report calculates the national economic impacts of U.S pension plans, as well as the impact of state and local plans on a state-by-state basis. This report finds that retiree spending of public and [...]

19 12, 2022

CalPERS, CalSTRS need fresh skills to take on new risks, Betty Yee says

CORPaTH2022-12-19T10:12:16-08:00December 19th, 2022|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|Tags: betty yee, california, CalPERS, CALSTRS|

By Arleen Jacobius Source: Pensions & Investments Asset owners need a different set of tools to navigate their portfolios through the uncharted waters they find themselves in today, said Betty T. Yee, outgoing California state controller and member of the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS. To get there, boards need more education related to these issues and risks including geopolitical and climate change, and to hire staff with different skill sets to augment the deep investment expertise plans already [...]

19 12, 2022

Washington puts indefinite hold on Albertsons’ $4-billion dividend as FTC begins asking questions

CORPaTH2022-12-19T10:10:34-08:00December 19th, 2022|Categories: Economy|Tags: albertsons, dividend payment, Washington|

By Don Day Source: Boise Dev Albertsons Companies, in connection with its merger with Kroger, hoped to hand out a $4 billion dividend payment to shareholders last month. But it won’t be happening soon. The Washington State Superior Court decided to extend a temporary restraining order against the payment indefinitely. That extends an earlier order from a lower court that started in November and saw several delays. Last week, Albertsons won in a lower court, but the judge said [...]

8 12, 2022

Biden announces $36 billion in federal aid for struggling Central States Teamsters plan

CORPaTH2022-12-08T09:53:00-08:00December 8th, 2022|Categories: Multiemployer Plans|Tags: PBGC, president biden, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, Teamsters Central States|

By Brian Croce Source: Pensions & Investments President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has approved $36 billion in federal assistance to shore up a massive union multiemployer pension plan facing steep cuts. Teamsters Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, Chicago, will receive the funds under the Special Financial Assistance Program. The program, created by the American Rescue Plan Act that Democrats passed in March 2021, was designed to shore up struggling [...]

8 12, 2022

New DOL Proposal Would Allow Fiduciaries to Self-Correct Certain Errors

CORPaTH2022-12-08T08:12:31-08:00December 8th, 2022|Categories: Retirement|Tags: dept of labor, fiduciaries, Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program|

By Paul Mulholland Source: PlanSponsor The Department of Labor has proposed a rule, released on November 21, that aims to simplify and expand its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. If adopted, the rule new would allow fiduciaries to self-correct for participant contributions that are not invested or participant loan repayments that are not repaid and then notify the DOL after the fact. Under current rules, fiduciaries have to apply to the DOL for permission to correct the issue. Other erroneous [...]

8 12, 2022

The Mid-Term Results and What They Mean for ESG and SECURE 2.0

CORPaTH2022-12-08T08:10:47-08:00December 8th, 2022|Categories: ESG|Tags: esg, secure 2.0|

By Paul Mulholland Source: PlanSponsor This year’s midterm elections resulted in Democrats keeping their narrow lead in the Senate but losing control of the House to Republicans. Republicans are expected to have a nine-seat majority in the House, and Democrats will either have a one-seat majority or the tiebreaking vote in an evenly split Senate, pending the result of the Georgia runoff election on December 6. With the House changing hands, some key committee gavels will switch from Democrat [...]

8 12, 2022

Final ESG Reg Published in the Federal Register

CORPaTH2022-12-08T08:08:12-08:00December 8th, 2022|Categories: ESG|Tags: esg rule|

Source: National Association of Plan Advisors We now have an official effective date for the new ESG regulation. While the Department of Labor unveiled its final rule on the consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, the regulation has now been officially published in the Federal Register, establishing the timeline for it to be effective. Consequently, the rule—Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights—will now be effective Jan. [...]

30 11, 2022

Trump Loses His Clutch on Your 401(k) in Department of Labor Ruling

CORPaTH2022-11-30T16:24:08-08:00November 30th, 2022|Categories: 401(k), ESG|Tags: 401(k), esg|

By Eric Reed Source: Yahoo! Finance The new rule is written broadly, which means that it may let employers explore several different categories of investing. But it specifically aims to create more opportunities for ESG, or "Environmental, Social and Governance," investing. Otherwise known as impact investing, these are portfolios that invest around specific social and political goals. For example, a portfolio may explicitly choose not to invest in fossil fuels and dirty industries, or it may proactively invest in [...]

17 11, 2022

CalPERS CEO pushes back against politicization of ESG investing

CORPaTH2022-11-17T14:33:59-08:00November 17th, 2022|Categories: ESG|Tags: CalPERS, esg, investing, marcie frost|

By Arleen Jacobius Source: Pensions & Investments CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost decried the politicization of environmental, governance and social investing at Wednesday's board meeting and highlighted the benefits of the $443.2 billion pension plan's ESG approach. "In some cases, the (midterm election) campaign rhetoric not only dismissed the danger of climate change, it went so far as to mischaracterize a strategy we believe in strongly: examining the risk factors of the environment, of social inequality, and of good governance," [...]

17 11, 2022

Largest U.S. Pension Buys Up Apple, Intel, and 2 More Big Stocks

CORPaTH2022-11-17T14:31:26-08:00November 17th, 2022|Categories: Economy|Tags: apple, intel|

By Ed Lin Source: Barrons The coming recession may be the most widely predicted recession in U.S. history. In the past, forecasters often did not realize we were in a recession until several months after it started. But professional forecasters surveyed in October projected an increase in the unemployment rate of 0.6 percentage point in 2023, to 4.3% from 3.7% this year. That suggests a recession is likely according to a rule promoted by economist Claudia Sahm, who found [...]

14 11, 2022

CORPaTH urges Attorneys General to halt Albertsons $4B shareholder dividend

CORPaTH2022-11-14T16:34:58-08:00November 14th, 2022|Categories: Uncategorized|

Following reports earlier this month that Albertsons shareholders were scheduled to receive a $4 billion dividend, CORPaTH Executive Director Ron Auer sent the following letter urging state attorneys general around the country to halt the payment pending confirmation the company will fulfill its pension obligations. Read the letter below

7 11, 2022

Employers favouring wage hikes over benefits enhancements amid high inflation

CORPaTH2022-11-07T11:24:18-08:00November 7th, 2022|Categories: Economy|Tags: canada, retirement, wage hikes|

Source: Benefits Canada While Canadian employers recognize the value of retirement benefits, the current high inflation environment is driving them to favour wage hikes instead, according to a new survey by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Angus Reid Group. The survey, which polled nearly 800 business owners and senior leaders, found employers’ leading concerns are greater competition for hiring (82 per cent), employee burnout (79 per cent), labour shortages (79 per cent) and high turnover (77 per [...]

7 11, 2022

Germany’s pension system will collapse without reform, influential lobby group says

CORPaTH2022-11-07T11:21:58-08:00November 7th, 2022|Categories: Defined Benefit Plans|Tags: germany, pension system|

By Hannah Ward-Glenton Source: CNBC Germany’s pension system won’t be financially viable in five years’ time without reform, according to Rainer Dulger, the president of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations. The influential lobby group represents around 20 million employees in the German workforce. Dulger told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper Sunday that the German economy is weakening and the social system is on “the verge of collapse.” “The costs will explode,” he said, according to a translation by CNBC. [...]