Preview of 2014 Lump Sum Interest Rates

As mentioned in our July lump sum interest rate post, many defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors are considering lump sum payouts to their terminated vested participants as a way of “right-sizing” their plan. The ultimate goal is to reduce plan costs and risk. The IRS recently released the November 2013 417(e) rates, which will be […]Read More… from Preview of 2014 Lump Sum Interest Rates

Lump Sum Interest Rate Update – June 2013

Many defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors are considering lump sum payouts to their terminated vested participants as a way of reducing plan costs and risk. This post shares a brief update of the interest rates used to calculate deferred vested lump sums and the impact it could have on potential lump sum payout strategies. Background […]Read More… from Lump Sum Interest Rate Update – June 2013

It’s now or never for ERRP application

We all knew this day would come, and now it’s here.  New applications for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) will be received only until 5 pm on Thursday, May 5th. The last time we blogged about this, the ERRP money was going fast.  Now the urgency is clear. So if you’ve been thinking about […]Read More… from It’s now or never for ERRP application

Update: the retiree health reinsurance gold rush

Last week, the HHS published an interim final rule for the new Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (should we call it ERRP?). In our first post on this, we noted that a lot was still unknown.  There still is, but it’s becoming clearer. The White House fact sheet says “Employers can use the savings to either […]Read More… from Update: the retiree health reinsurance gold rush

The retiree health reinsurance gold rush

There’s an intriguing provision in the new health care reform law for retiree medical plans:  80% reinsurance for each early retiree’s claims between $15,000 and $90,000.  The official summary is here. There’s a fixed amount of money available for this, just $5 billion.  When it’s gone, it’s gone.  And remember that $5 billion doesn’t go […]Read More… from The retiree health reinsurance gold rush