Strengthening The Retirement System Beyond Social Security.

Intro -- STRENGTHENING THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM BEYOND SOCIAL SECURITY -- STRENGTHENING THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM BEYOND SOCIAL SECURITY -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1 FEE DISCLOSURE IN DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLANS: BACKGROUND AND CURRENT LEGISLATION -- SUMMARY -- BACKGROUND ON 401(K) FEES -- The Structure of 401(k) Plans and the Impact of Fees -- Structure of 401(k) Plans -- Types of 401(k) Fees -- Plan Administration Fees -- Investment Fees -- Individual Service Fees -- Documents Required by Current Law -- Summary Plan Descriptions -- Annual Report Form 5500 -- Benefit Statements -- FEE DISCLOSURE LEGISLATION IN THE 110TH CONGRESS -- Bill Summaries -- H.R. 3185 and S. 2473 -- Minimum Investment Option Requirement in H.R. 3185 -- H.R. 3765 -- Details of 401(k) Fee Legislation -- Disclosure from Service Providers to Plan Sponsors -- Timing of Disclosure -- Kinds of Pension Plans -- Bundled Service Charges -- Form of Charges and Permission of Estimates -- Third Party Payments -- Disclosure of Impact Share Classes -- Frequency of Disclosure -- Disclosures from Plan Sponsors to Plan Participants -- Disclosures Prior to Participants' Initial Contributions Required by H.R. 3185 and S. 2473 -- Plan and Investment Comparison Chart Required by H.R. 3185 and S. 2473 -- Disclosures Prior to Participants' Initial Contributions Required by H.R. 3765 -- Quarterly Benefits Statements Required by H.R. 3185 and S. 2473 -- Annual Statements Required by H.R. 3765 -- Minimum Investment Option Requirement in H.R. 3185 -- Assistance to Small Employers in H.R. 3185 and S. 2473 -- Enforcement and Review by the Department of Labor in H.R. 3185 and S. 2473 -- Imposition of Taxes in H.R. 3765 -- AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION -- End Notes -- Chapter 2 PRIVATE PENSIONS: FULFILLING FIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONS CAN PRESENT CHALLENGES FOR 401(K) PLAN SPONSORS.

WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY -- WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS -- WHAT GAO FOUND -- ABBREVIATIONS -- RESULTS IN BRIEF -- BACKGROUND -- Fiduciary Obligations under ERISA -- The Department of Labor's Role -- Plan Services -- SPONSORS DETERMINE A NUMBER OF COMMON PLAN FEATURES, AND THEIR DECISIONS ABOUT INVESTMENT FEATURES HAVE IMPORTANT FIDUCIARY IMPLICATIONS -- Plan Sponsors Determine Some Common Plan Features to Establish the Plan -- Sponsors' Decisions about Investment Features Have Important Fiduciary Implications -- PLAN SPONSORS CAN FACE CHALLENGES IN FULFILLING THEIR FIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONS WHEN BUSINESS ARRANGEMENTS ARE UNCLEAR OR UNDISCLOSED -- A Sponsor's Failure to Clearly Define Fiduciary Relationships Can Lead to Gaps in Oversight -- Sponsors Cannot Fulfill Their Fiduciary Obligations without Disclosures about Compensation Arrangements and Potential Conflicts of Interest -- Various Ways to Improve Fiduciary Oversight Have Been Proposed -- LABOR MONITORS SPONSORS' OPERATION OF 401(K) PLANS AND HAS MADE PROGRESS ON RECENT REGULATORY INITIATIVES -- Labor Investigates Fiduciary Breaches and Conducts Outreach to Educate Plan Sponsors -- Labor Has Made Some Progress on Relevant Regulatory Initiatives but Legislation Could Also Promote Fiduciary Oversight -- Status of Initiative on Disclosure by Plan Sponsors to Participants -- Status of Initiative on Disclosures by Service Providers to Plan Sponsors -- CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS -- AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION -- APPENDIX I: SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY -- End Notes -- Chapter 3 RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING-ORSZAG TESTIMONY -- TURMOIL IN FINANCIAL MARKETS -- PRIVATE-SECTOR PENSION PLANS -- Defined-Benefit Pension Plans -- Defined-Contribution Pension Plans -- STATE AND LOCAL PENSION PLANS -- HOUSEHOLDS' ASSETS AND RETIREMENT BEHAVIOR -- MITIGATING FINANCIAL MARKET RISKS -- End Notes.

Chapter 4 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - AMERICAN BENEFITS COUNCIL WHITE PAPER -- INTRODUCTION -- Defined Contribution Plans Reach Tens of Millions of Workers and Provide an Important Source of Retirement Savings -- Employers Make Significant Contributions Into Defined Contribution Plans -- The Defined Contribution System is More Than 401(k) Plans -- 401(k) Plans Have Evolved in Ways That Benefit Workers -- Long-Term Retirement Plans Should Not Be Judged on Short-Term Market Conditions -- Defined Contribution Plan Coverage and Participation Rates Are Increasing -- Defined Contribution Plan Rules Promote Benefit Fairness -- Employer Sponsorship of Defined Contribution Plans Offers Advantages to Employees -- Recent Enhancements to the Defined Contribution System Are Working -- Defined Contribution Plans Provide Employees with the Tools to Make Sound Investments -- New Proposals for Early Access Would Upset the Balance between Liquidity and Asset Preservation -- Defined Contribution Plan Savings is an Important Source of Investment Capital -- Inquiries about Risk Are Appropriate but No Retirement Plan Design is Immune from Risk -- The Strong Defined Contribution System Can Still Be Improved -- End Notes -- Chapter 5 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING- BAKER TESTIMONY -- HOW THE CURRENT CRISIS HAS JEAPORDIZED RETIREMENT SECURITY -- OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SYSTEM -- Inadequate Coverage -- Lack of Portability -- High Fees -- PRINCIPLES FOR A NEW PENSION SYSTEM -- CONCLUSION -- End Notes -- Chapter 6 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - HUTCHESON TESTIMONY -- INTRODUCTION -- Step 1: Elevate Stature of 401(k) to the Original Level Contemplated by Statute -- Step 2: Create the Right Types of Safe Harbors and Incentives.

Step 3: Participants Have a Right to Know the Expected Return of Their Portfolio -- Step 4: Transparency -- Step 5: Retire-Ability Measurements -- SUMMARY -- CONCLUSION -- End Notes -- Chapter 7 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - JOHN BOGLE, BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES -- EXTRACTING VALUE FROM SOCIETY -- OUR RETIREMENT SYSTEM TODAY -- Defined Benefit Plans -- The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation -- Defined Contribution Plans -- Individual Retirement Accounts -- FOCUSING ON 401(K) RETIREMENT PLANS -- A DEEPLY FLAWED SYSTEM -- Inadequate Savings -- Excess Flexibility -- Inappropriate Asset Allocation -- Excessive Costs -- Failure to Deal with Longevity Risk -- THE NEW DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS -- 1. Simplify the DC system -- 2. Get Real about Stock Market Return and Risk -- 3. Owning the Stock Market-and the Bond Market -- 4. Asset Allocation-Balancing Risk and Return -- 5. Mutuality, Investment Risk, and Longevity Risk -- WHAT WOULD AN IDEAL RETIREMENT PLAN SYSTEM LOOK LIKE? -- End Notes -- Chapter 8 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - MILLER STATEMENT -- Chapter 9 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - MUNNELL TESTIMONY -- REFERENCES -- End Notes -- Chapter 10 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - PSCA STATEMENT -- THE MARKET CRISIS MUST BE ADDRESSED -- DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS WORK FOR EMPLOYEES, EMPLOYERS, AND AMERICA -- DB AND DC PLANS - UNDERSTANDING THE RISKS AND REWARDS -- OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT -- 401(K) FEES IN THE ERISA FRAMEWORK -- PRINCIPLES OF REFORM -- HR 3185 -- End Notes -- Chapter 11 STRENGTHENING WORKER RETIREMENT SECURITY HEARING - STEVENS TESTIMONY -- CHAPTER SOURCES -- INDEX -- Blank Page.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.