Investment Company Institute Testimony on DOL Proposed 408(b)(2) Regs - Summary: Testimony of Paul Schott Stevens, President and CEO, Investment Company Institute, before the Department of Labor hearing on 408(b)(2) regulations proposal. Located at: Investment Company Institute, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

American Benefits Council Testimony on DOL Proposed 408(b)(2) Regs - Summary: Testimony of Robert Chambers (Helms, Mullis & Wicker) on behalf of the American Benefits Council before the U.S. Department of Labor Hearing on proposed 408(b)(2) regulations. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Testimony of Matthew D. Hutcheson on DOL Proposed 408(b)(2) Regs - Summary: Testimony of Matthew D. Hutcheson, Independent Pension Fiduciary, for "Hearing on Reasonable Contracts or Arrangements Under Section 408(b)(2) - Fee Disclosure" before the United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, on March 31, 2008. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

ASPPA & CIKR Recommend Changes in Proposed 408(b)(2) DOL Regs - Summary: ASPPA and CIKR recommended in testimony that the U.S. Department of Labor require a consolidated form of disclosure for all service providers regarding 408(b)(2) plans. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Fiduciary Fitness - Summary: Although you already may have given up on your New Year's resolution to get fit, you still can follow through with your resolution­ to make sure all of your fiduciary ducks are in a row for this year. This article outlines some important steps that you should consider. Located at: Plansponsor.com (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: Revenue-Sharing is Not Out in the Open - Summary: Fred Reish comments, "[V]irtually every 401k plan that I work with has some revenue-sharing. That's just another way of saying that the participants are being charged for some or all of the cost of the plan, including the investments and the services to the plan." Located at: Plansponsor.com (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

U.S. Retirement Assets Now Worth More than GDP - Summary: The 2008 Global Pensions Asset Study found that assets in U.S. pension funds, 401ks, individual retirement accounts, and other retirement savings vehicles have increased from $7.9 trillion in 1997 to $15 trillion in 2007. Located at: OHSonline.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Worker 401k Fee Suits Find Friend in DOL - Summary: DOL weighs in, backing right of Deere employees to sue company and Fidelity over fees, revenue sharing. Located at: Financialweek.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

IRS Issues Guidance on 2008 Law Changes - Summary: Of interest to defined contribution practitioners, Notice 2008-30 discusses distributions of gap period income for 402(g) corrections, rollovers of pretax plan accounts to Roth IRAs, and qualified optional survivor annuities. Located at: Sungard/Relius, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

ERISA Fiduciaries Could Have Disclosure Mandate - Summary: Federal regulators have contended that fiduciaries may still be legally required to disclose plan fees such as revenue sharing even if such a mandate is not explicit in federal benefits law. Located at: Plansponsor.com (free registration may be required). Click on headline for full article.

Few 401k Plan Sponsors Buying Fiduciary Insurance - Summary: Following the Supreme Court decision allowing individual 401k participants to sue employers, lawyers are recommending that advisors require plan sponsors to have fiduciary insurance. Advisors, however, are leery of jacking up prices; customers 'think you're a shoe salesman.' Located at: Workforce.com (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Mapping Out a Strategy for Target-Date Funds - Summary: More employers with 401k plans are "mapping" their workers into target-date funds. As a result, target-date fund assets have jumped from about $15 billion in 2002 to about $183 billion as of December 2007. Located at: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Collective Funds Next Trend in Plan Investments - Summary: A white paper presented by AST Capital Trust with contributions from Hewitt Associates claims the grip is easing on mutual funds' reign as king of 401k plans investments. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Agenda for DOL Rescheduled Section 408(b)(2) Hearing - Summary: This is the agenda for the public hearing on the DOLs proposed amendments to Section 408(b)(2) regulation on fee disclosure to be held March 31, 2008. This agenda indicates the order of presentation of oral comments and testimony. In the absence of special circumstances, each presenter will be allotted ten minutes in which to complete his or her presentation. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

When Should Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits? - Summary: If married men delayed claiming Social Security benefits, retirement income security would significantly improve. This brief focuses on the potential gains from delayed claiming and the factors that may influence claiming behavior. It then considers possible policy responses. Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: Never Mind the Forest — or the Trees - Summary: "[L]egislation has been introduced by Representative George Miller, D-Calif., who chairs a congressional committee with jurisdiction over pension policy, that would add extensive new requirements to the substantial disclosure burdens that both employers and service providers face." Located at: Producersweb.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Vote on 401k Fee Disclosure Likely - Summary: Although Congress is expected to pass only few regulations this year focused on 401k retirement plans, fee disclosure is a priority that will likely see House votes this summer. Located at: Investment News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: There's No Such Thing as a Bullet-proof 401k Plan - Summary: It's not about the structure, it's about process. Specifically, "procedural prudence," a concept that has been part of the fiduciary world long before ERISA. Located at: Retirement Plan Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Miscommunication Happens! Correcting it Through EPCRS - Summary: Miscommunications can happen to even the best intentioned clients and frequently result in a failure that adversely impacts the tax-qualified status of the plan, known as a "qualification failure." When they do, the Internal Revenue Service's consolidated correction program for defects occurring in tax-deferred retirement programs, the EPCRS program, can be used to resolve these issues. Located at: Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: 401k as a Safety Net - Summary: The commentator says, "while there is reason for concern if this simply becomes just one more way of fueling (no pun intended) our nation's apparently insatiable desire for "stuff," there's little point in having a retirement savings account if you and your family get thrown out of your home 20 years before then." Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: Should We Rue LaRue? - Summary: The author suggests that "[t]he most unfortunate thing about Justice Roberts' concurrence [in the LaRue case] is that it ensures us a new period of uncertainty. Certainly every fiduciary defendant will seize on Justice Roberts' words, and courts will have to figure out just what the concurrence means and if any Justices, other than Justices Roberts and Kennedy, may in the future be sympathetic to the concurrence's rather odd position." Located at: Pension and Benefits Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

The Value of an Independent Fiduciary - Summary: There is a special fiduciary science behind achieving optimal results in a retirement plan. Skilled Independent Fiduciaries know how to reduce risk to plan sponsors, increase benefits to plan participants, and improve the security of future retirees. Located at: Greenspring Wealth Management , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: A 401k Debit Card is Dumb - Summary: This seems like a new way to sacrifice your future. A 401k is not just another savings account to use for shopping, vacations or other wants. Outside of Social Security, this is what many of us will be living on in our old age. Borrowing this money today -- and paying to do so -- means you will have less money in retirement. Located at: Baltimore Sun, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Divorce Can Put Dent in Retirement Savings - Summary: Getting your retirement nest egg through a divorce takes more time, patience and short-term cash than many people can muster during such a traumatic period. Located at: Chicago Tribune (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Competition Fierce in 401k Marketplace - Summary: A full 93% of plan sponsors said they are solicited at least once a year by other advisers, according to a Fidelity study. Located at: Investment News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Plan Producers Shy Away from Fiduciary Insurance - Summary: In the weeks following a ground-breaking Supreme Court case allowing individual 401k participants to sue employers, lawyers have been recommending that advisers require plan sponsors to purchase fiduciary insurance. Located at: Investment News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Raiding Retirement Funds to Stave Off Foreclosure - Summary: Many homeowners facing financial difficulties used to look to home equity as a resource to cover shortfalls. But with that option off the table for many, increasing numbers of people are considering tapping into a second large asset — retirement savings. Located at: Naplesnews.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

IRS Announces Date for Issuing Letters on Pre-Approved Plans - Summary: The IRS has announced that it will begin issuing opinion and advisory letters on pre-approved defined contribution plan documents (i.e., master and prototype and volume submitter plans) on or soon after March 31, 2008. Located at: Employee Benefits Institute of America, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

More Employees Borrowing Against 401k Plans - Summary: Retirement plan participants are taking out loans on their investments at an accelerated rate jeopardizing their future assets, a leading Boston College researcher says. Located at: Workforce.com (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Retirement Plan Assets Concentrated in High-Income Families - Summary: Assets in employment-based defined contribution plans (typically 401k plans), individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and Keogh plans are concentrated in families with high family income and higher net worth, according to a new study. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Employee Plans News - Spring 2008 Edition - Summary: This edition includes articles such as Recent Guidance that May Require Interim or Discretionary Amendments; Determination Letters Coming Your Way; Steve Miller Discusses Governmental Plans Roundtable; New PPA Guidance; Exam's Risk Modeling Project; Economic Stimulus Payments; Written Plan Requirement for 403(b) Plans; "Interesting" Pension Guidance Issued; and AFTAP Certifications. Located at: IRS , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Retirement Plan Sponsors Focus in 2008 - Summary: Continued changes to the retirement plan landscape—including recent legislation, tighter reporting and funding rules, and the gradual shift of risk from employers to employees—are prompting companies to more actively manage their retirement plans. Located at: CCH, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Creating the Next Generation Glidepaths for Defined Contribution Plans - Summary: This paper examines the efficacy of the current, first-generation glidepaths and suggests a next generation glidepath designed to increase the probability that DC plan participants achieve sufficient post-retirement income after accounting for the effects of inflation. Located at: PIMCO , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Disclosing Fees Does Not Mean They Are Understood - Summary: While many employers say fee disclosure in the 401k market has improved, they remain uneasy about what they don't know about their defined contribution plans. Outwardly, employers are comfortable with transparency levels, but many plan sponsors feel they just don't understand plan fees. Located at: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: Another Perspective on the Shifting 401k - Summary: In a recent interview, Fred Barstein, CEO of 401kExchange, Inc., offered his insights on a number of emerging 401k issues. Fred is a respected voice in the retirement community; however, there were a number of issues he addressed that could be approached from a slightly different perspective. This is a counterpoint by David Witz of Fiduciary Risk Assessment LLC which provides a thought provoking alternative viewpoint. Located at: Benchmark Financial, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Sponsors Lack Confidence About Plan Fees - Summary: Plan sponsors may say they are comfortable with fee disclosure efforts as they exist now, but a new study asserts that many of them are racked with under-the-surface doubts about their understanding of the fee issue. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: DOL Proposes Full Disclosure Plan - Summary: Providers of services to employee benefit plans governed by ERISA might soon be called upon to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about key business practices, and stand ready to be held accountable for the veracity of their representations. Located at: Investment News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

IBM Raises the Bar With New 401k Plan - Summary: On Jan. 1, the company finally flipped the switch on its new and improved plan — a retirement vehicle for 125,000 workers that many believe could set the standard for a new generation of corporate 401k plans. Located at: PIonline.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

New Federal Regulations on 401k Plans - Summary: Federal regulators have released several pieces of guidance that should be of help to defined contribution plan fiduciaries and administrators. This article summarizes them. Located at: Milliman , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

PPA Check-Up 2008 - Summary: Drinker Biddle and Watson Wyatt Worldwide presented a webinar on how plan sponsors will comply with the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), and how they will face the monumental task of implementing the PPA requirements in 2008. Link provided to view the presentation as well as hear the audio portion of this webinar. Located at: Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

House Passes PPA Technical Corrections Bill - Summary: The House-passed bill differs slightly from a PPA technical corrections bill (S. 1974) the Senate approved in December 2007. That means the House and Senate bills will need to be reconciled, a process expected to begin in April. Located at: Benefitslink.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

The DOL's Proposed 408(b)(2) Regulation: Impact on Broker-Dealers and Registered Representatives - Summary: This article discusses the impact of the proposed regulations on broker-dealers and their registered representatives and their relationship with plans. It does not discuss the application of the proposed regulation to investment advice or services to participants. Located at: Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

ING Releases Finding from New Retirement Study - Summary: The survey, conducted with Ipsos Public Affairs in January 2008, polled more than 1,000 U.S. adults to learn what numbers are most important in their life. Participants also responded to a series of questions to see how -- if at all -- they consider their retirement number. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

IRS Details Simplified Determination Letter Application Process - Summary: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Announcement 2008-23, which lays out a new simplified process for obtaining determination letters for pre-approved defined contribution plans. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

DOL Hearing on Proposed 401k Fee Disclosure Likely to be Contentious - Summary: Some...expressed frustration on behalf of their employer-clients about what they perceive as mounting and burdensome disclosure and document requirements, revealing an "enough is enough" mentality. Located at: CCH, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

IRS Agents Reprimanded - Summary: Practitioners have been grumbling for some time about the often quirky way in which the Internal Revenue Service administers its determination letter program, but it's not often that the Service gets called to the carpet by a federal district court judge for "extortionary, deplorable, and wrong" behavior. Located at: Benefits Biz Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Revenue Sharing Class Actions: An Update - Summary: District Court refuses to dismiss suit alleging breach of fiduciary duty for failing to control 401k plan expenses even though the plan made required disclosures. The court's decision is another indication that the recent wave of litigation against defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401k plans, for failing to control plan expenses will continue. Located at: Ross, Dixon & Bell LLP, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Perspective: Cost and Concentration: Pros or Cons in Target-Dates? - Summary: Target-date mutual funds, also called lifecycle funds, are exploding in popularity. With this proliferation has come criticism. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Is It Time to Re-examine What It Means to Fulfill Your 401k Fiduciary Responsibility? - Summary: Fiduciaries are now forced to ask themselves whether or not it is prudent to ignore research findings that, if applied wisely, could increase the likelihood that their employees will achieve financially secure retirements. Perhaps even more important than their conclusion may be the fiduciaries' abilities to document the process they used in arriving at their decision. Located at: Investment Horizons , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Employers Redouble Efforts to Communicate Need for Diversification - Summary: The value of diversification can't be overstated for employees. That's why more and more employers and their advisers are redoubling their education and communication efforts around this crucial concept. Located at: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Evaluating and Implementing Target-Date Funds - Summary: As plan fiduciaries, sponsors face a challenge in evaluating the growing list of Target-Date Fund offerings and selecting the provider and funds that best fit their participants' needs. This paper identifies four key considerations for plan sponsors when evaluating and implementing Target-Date Funds. Located at: Vanguard Center for Retirement Research , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

House Committee Set to Act on PPA Technical Corrections - Summary: The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to report out the Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act (H.R.3361). Located at: Benefits Biz Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Tools to Increase Participation and Savings in DC Plans - Summary: Learn the most common barriers to good retirement plan action and effective solutions that can help increase participant enrollment and savings rates. Located at: MassMutual's Center for Behavioral Research (free registration may be required) , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Automation: Three Steps to a High Performance Plan - Summary: This white paper offers some suggestions and best practices to consider when adopting plan automation. With a little forethought and planning, you can design and implement an effective, efficient, and appreciated automated plan. Located at: MassMutual's Center for Behavioral Research (free registration may be required) , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Proposed Regs Provide 7-day Safe Harbor for Contributions - Summary: The Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued proposed regulations, applicable primarily to defined contribution plans with fewer than 100 participants, that would provide a seven-business-day safe harbor period for employers to remit contributions from participants into retirement plans. Located at: CCH, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Experts Say Automatic Enrollment Not Enough - Summary: Automatic enrollment in 401k plans makes saving for retirement a breeze by automatically diverting a small portion of new employees' salaries to the plan. But if you think by placing your retirement planning in the hands of your employer will prepare you for your golden years, experts said you'll probably come up short. Located at: FOXbusiness.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

401ks Tapped to Save Homes - Summary: Struggling to save their homes from foreclosure, more Americans are raiding their 401k retirement accounts to pay their bills — and getting slammed with taxes and penalties in the process, according to retirement plan administrators. Located at: USA Today, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Survey Spots Authentic Trends Among the Buzz - Summary: After surveying nearly ninety large plan sponsors who oversee more than $120 billion in assets and over two million participants, Callan's Defined Contribution Consulting group identified authentic trends about the use of target date funds, the popularity of automatic enrollment, the appeal of guaranteed income for life solutions, plan fees and more. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Employers Enhancing 401ks To Compensate for Retirement Plan Changes - Summary: Many companies that shift from traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans to defined contribution (DC) plans, such as 401ks, are enhancing contributions to their DC plans, according to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Liability of Plan Fiduciaries under ERISA: LaRue v. DeWolff - Summary: At issue in the LaRue case was whether an individual could bring an action under ERISA to recover the losses. The Supreme Court held that a plan participant in a 401k plan could sue a plan fiduciary under Section 502(a)(2) of ERISA to recover losses caused by a fiduciary breach that only affected his individual account. This report discusses breach of fiduciary duty claims under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) and the LaRue case. Located at: Open CRS, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Court Approves Settlement of New York Life Self-Dealing Case - Summary: U.S. District Judge Bruce W. Kauffman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania approved a $14 million settlement deal between the company and employees and agents who were in the New York Life defined benefit and 401k programs. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Savers Credit for Retirement Savings Contributions - Summary: If you make eligible contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or to an individual retirement arrangement, you may be able to take a tax credit. Located at: Shreveport Times, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

ATM Cards for 401ks Stir Controversy - Summary: At a time when mortgage defaults are at an all-time high, a New York company is marketing a debit card that allows users to withdraw money from their company 401k savings -- a plan one financial expert called "a disaster waiting to happen." Located at: Adage.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Workers Step Up Raids on 401ks - Summary: More Americans are tapping their retirement plans as the credit crunch and falling home values make cash harder to come by. But such a loan is usually a bad idea. Located at: Moneycentral.msn.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

The 401k Effect: Employees Who Won't Retire - Summary: Poor performing, unpredictable DC plans keep employees hanging on, bedeviling bosses' attempts to reshape their workforce's. Located at: Financial Week, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

IRS Publishes PPA Distribution Changes Guidance - Summary: The Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance regarding three areas of plan administration changed by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

DC Participants Invest in the Extreme - Summary: Although the average U.S. household invests about 55% of its 401k or other defined contribution plan assets in stocks, many Americans are going to extremes when it comes to the equity markets. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: Nevin Adams on Participant Fee Disclosure - Summary: In theory most [plan participants] are already in possession of information that would allow them to figure out what they are paying for their retirement accounts, although not always in a place, or explained in a manner, that makes the task easy. Located at: Plan Sponsor Institute, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Final Schedule C Includes Extensive New Codes - Summary: The final revisions to Schedule C of the Form 5500 will require plan administrators and TPAs to spend a lot of time with their systems administrators over the next year. Located at: Benefits Biz Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Federal Legislation Quick Guide - Retirement - Summary: Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law, regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law. Located at: Hewitt Associates , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

The Universal Fiduciary - Summary: Education is the first step in helping fiduciaries understand the importance and consequences of their position. Advisers to fiduciaries need to inform them, at the very least, of the need for a prudent process and of the basic steps for implementing that process. Located at: Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

7-day Safe Harbor for Depositing Participant Contributions - Summary: The DOL has proposed a safe harbor deadline for an employer to deposit participant contributions withheld from his/her compensation or payments received from a participant in a retirement or welfare plan. Located at: Sungard/Relius, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Prudent Selection and Monitoring of Providers - Summary: In light of a trustee's duty to prudently select and monitor providers, how should a trustee satisfy that duty? Located at: Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

ERISA Fiduciary Responsibility to Monitor and Collect Delinquent Contributions - Summary: Employers maintaining benefit plans that are subject to ERISA's trust requirement and plan fiduciaries should properly assign authority over plan assets, or they may be subject to fiduciary responsibility (and liability) for losses sustained by the plan. Located at: McDermott Will & Emery, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Best Practices for Preventing 401k Plan Lawsuits - Summary: While it is impossible to eliminate the risk of being sued, this article reviews several steps that should help 401k plan fiduciaries reduce their risk of becoming a lawsuit target. Located at: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Are Participant Contributions Remitted Quickly Enough? - Summary: Participant contributions to certain ERISA plans must be deposited with the plan on the earliest date on which they can reasonably be segregated from the employer's general assets. The Department of Labor has proposed a "safe harbor" for plans with fewer than 100 participants at the beginning of the plan year (small plans) to provide certainty of compliance with this rule. Located at: Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

When Shove Comes to Push - Summary: Social scientists are starting to explore ways of using our biases and blinders to get us to make smarter choices in spite of ourselves. It can take a variety of shapes, from the automatic-enrollment version of the 401k to cash payments that encourage recovering drug addicts to stay clean to new kinds of feedback on the power consumption of cars and appliances that will subtly encourage people to save energy. Located at: Boston Globe (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Cost of 401k Matches Has Many Steering Clear of Auto Enrollment - Summary: While a growing number of companies are now automatically enrolling workers in 401k plans, the majority of employers—56%, according to a new study—still leave participation up to their employees. Located at: Financial Week, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: LaRue and 401k: What's The Fuss About? - Summary: If a plan's fiduciaries did something wrong or failed to do something they should have done, why should it take the nation's highest tribunal to conclude that the injured participant can obtain relief under ERISA? Located at: Oxford University Press Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Hewitt Survey Reveals New Employer Trends in Retirement - Summary: Companies are increasing their focus on reducing retirement plan risk and ensuring that employees take appropriate advantage of their retirement plans. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Participant Contributions are "Plan Assets" After 7 Business Days - Summary: The DOL issued a proposed amendment to §2510.3-102 which establishes a safe harbor period of 7 business days (effectively 9 days) regarding the deadline for plan deposits of employee 401k elective deferrals and loan repayments for plans sponsored by small employers. Located at: ERISAexpertise.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Massachusetts May Tax Owners and Partners 401k Deferrals - Summary: Massachusetts tax professionals received Draft Directive 08-XX by email from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue regarding a proposal to deny partners and other self-employed individuals any deduction for contributions to their 401k plans, irrespective of whether the contributions are elective contributions or matching contributions made on their behalf. Located at: Theworkplace.biz, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Supreme Court Expands Right of Participants to Sue ERISA Fiduciaries - Summary: In LaRue v. Dewolff Boberg & Assoc, et al. 06-856, the Supreme Court expanded both the potential avenues for benefit plan litigation under ERISA and the types of remedies available to plaintiffs. Located at: Crowell & Moring, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

9th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey - Summary: The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies has conducted its 9th national survey of U.S. business employers and workers regarding their attitudes toward retirement. The research emphasizes employer-sponsored retirement plans, issues faced by small- to mid-sized companies and their employees, and the implications of legislative and regulatory changes. Located at: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Depositing of Participant Contributions Safe Harbor - Summary: Federal Register on the proposed DOL rule that would establish a safe harbor period of seven business days during which amounts that an employer has received from employees or withheld from wages for contribution to employee benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants would not constitute plan assets. Located at: Benefitslink.com , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

COMMENTARY: A Potentially Dangerous 'Safe Harbor' - Summary: Participant contributions to small employee benefit plans will not be considered "plan assets" before being placed in the plan if they are deposited within seven business days. The new rule could increase compliance costs for trustees of small plans, especially if the seven-day safe harbor opportunity is enforced as the rule when DOL investigators come knocking. Located at: Benefits Biz Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

The Dynamics of Lifecycle Investing in 401k Plans - Summary: Comparing retirement plan portfolios before and after adoption of target maturity funds, the authors of this paper observed that these funds meaningfully change the age structure of equity exposure, eliminate zero- or all-equity portfolios, and reduce the share of idiosyncratic portfolio risk. Located at: Vanguard Center for Retirement Research , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

DOL Proposes Safe Harbor for Deposit of Employee 401k Contributions - Summary: On February 28, 2008, the DOL announced that employee contributions to a "small" retirement plan will be deemed to be made in compliance with the law if those amounts are deposited with the plan within seven business days of receipt or withholding. Located at: Retirement Plan Blog, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Another Survey Confirms Workers' Lack of Retirement Confidence - Summary: Working Americans' confidence in their ability to retire comfortably declined significantly in the past year, according to the Ninth Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey. Located at: Planadviser.com, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Characteristics and Efficiency of 401k Investment Menus - Summary: The key factor contributing to plan efficiency and performance is the particular set of funds offered, rather than the total number of investment options provided. In 401k arena, more is not necessarily better. Located at: Pension Research Council, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Supreme Court Addresses the Remedies Available for Fiduciary Breach - Summary: In an important legal development in the area of retirement plan fiduciary liability, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that individual participants may sue ERISA fiduciaries for account losses. Located at: Littler Mendelson, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Supreme Court Gives "Green Light" to ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims - Summary: The Supreme Court ruled that an individual participant in a 401k defined contribution plan can maintain a breach of fiduciary duty claim under ERISA, even though the alleged breach affected only the value of his own individual account. Located at: Groom Law Group, March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Talk Smarter, Not Louder to Get Employees on Track for Retirement - Summary: Employers and service providers agree that a strong emphasis on retirement education and planning needs to stay a top priority in 2008. But the message isn't about restating the same scary facts to employees over and over again. Located at: Employee Benefit News (free registration may be required), March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Pension Protection Act of 2006: Implementation and Aftermath - Summary: This five-section special report provides insights from benefit experts on retirement plan administration in the post-PPA world as well as a look at how the PPA affects critical aspects of plan administration as the dust continues to settle. Located at: Thompson Publishing , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Retirement Plan Participation: Race/Ethnicity Differences - Summary: 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? Located at: Employee Benefit Research Institute , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Supreme Court Allows Individual Participants to Sue for a Breach of Fiduciary Duty - Summary: In a decision with significant implications for plan fiduciaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that individual participants in a defined contribution plan can sue for a breach of fiduciary duty that results in a loss to the participant's own account, even if not all participants' accounts have similar losses. Located at: Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP , March 2008. Click on headline for full article.

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