Products June 23, 2016

Mercer Launches Financial Wellness Program

The solution integrates offerings from five independent financial wellness providers.
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Mercer has launched Mercer Financial Wellness, a digital solution that integrates independent experts on the subjects of asset growth, debt management and budgeting.

“Employees are increasingly interested in their employer providing benefits that help them with their overall financial wellness—moving beyond the focus on retirement to address a wide range of financial needs, from individual coaching to challenges facing new families to better debt management,” says Tom Murphy, U.S. defined contribution and financial wellness leader at Mercer.

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The service includes tools from Plaid that enable users to integrate multiple financial accounts and analyze monthly spending in order to set budgets. Transamerica retirement counselors are also on hand through the program to provide information on retirement savings, Social Security and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Experian also provides credit scores, Avant can arrange for unsecured personal loans, and CommonBond enables people to refinance their student loans at lower rates.

For more information, visit www.mercer.com. 

Compliance June 23, 2016

Webcast to Discuss Nondiscrimination Rules for Closed DBs

Proposed rules in January provided nondiscrimination testing relief.
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is hosting a free webcast about the nondiscrimination rules for closed pension plans.

The agency proposed nondiscrimination relief for closed defined benefit (DB) plans in January.

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The IRS explained that a significant number of DB plans have been closed to new entrants, and the plan sponsor of a closed DB plan typically provides a DC plan for its new hires. Under these arrangements, in the early years after the DB plan has been closed to new entrants, the plan may be able to satisfy the coverage requirement of § 410(b) without being aggregated with the DC plan. However, the § 410(b) minimum coverage test typically becomes more difficult for the closed DB plan to satisfy over time, as grandfathered employees in the old system typically build seniority and become more highly compensated than younger workers entering the DC plan.

Webinar attendees will learn about:

  • Testing for nondiscriminatory amounts;
  • Testing for nondiscriminatory availability; and
  • Considering practical situations.
The webcast is July 21, 2016; 2 p.m. (Eastern). Registration is here.

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