Friday, May 25, 2007

New 403(b) rules give employers more control

New 403(b) rules give employers more control - 25 May 2007

The new 403(b) regs are coming and this article provides a short, short summary emphasizing that employers will need to take control of their plans.

I've spent a lot of time going over what work will need to be done in order to really comply with these regulations and when I say the work is a daunting task, I am not being overly dramatic. The changes that are about to befall the 403(b) industry are going to be massive.

Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF
Consultant on Government Retirement Plans
949-916-6238
www.meridianwealth.com

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Prepare for Changes in 403(b) Plans - WSJ.com

Prepare for Changes in 403(b) Plans - WSJ.com

Andrea Coombes interviewed me last week for this article and I'm quoted throughout the article! This is an article about how the upcoming 403(b) regulations will affect participants who are currently in these plans.

It's a relatively short article and a good primer for what to expect. I would expect many more of these articles to pop up over the next six months.

A big thank you to Andrea Coombes for quoting me!!

Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF
www.meridianwealth.com
949-916-6238

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Friday, May 11, 2007

How Close Is the 403(b) To Becoming History? 401(x)...

Governing Management Letter/Girard Miller/May 2007

Girard Miller paints an great picture about the problems in the 403(b) and 457(b) market and lets us in on a little known fight that is going on in Washington behind the scenes - the fight for 401(x) - basically the new term for President Bush's proposal several years ago call ERSA (Employer Retirement Savings Accounts).

401(x) would consolidate 403(b), 457(b) and 401(k)'s into a single plan (they are now all pretty similar as it is). As you would expect, the insurance industry is fighting tooth and nail against this. Is the future of the 403(b) a transformance into a 401(x)? Nobody knows, but is seems inevitable and it would be best for the participants.

This is a short article that I encourage you to read, I for one support the 401(x).

Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF
www.meridianwealth.com

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

CalSTRS Awards Recordkeeping RFP TO TIAA-CREF

Award of Contracts

From CalSTRS Website:

Begin

Notice of Intent to Award

Third Party Administrator for Record Keeping of Assets
Request for Proposal Number 2P200610

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) intends to award a contract to TIAA-CREF as the successful Proposers in the Request for Proposal process entitled Third Party Administrator for Recordkeeping of Assets, pending the Teachers' Retirement Board approval.

CalSTRS has elected to terminate the Third Party Administrator for Compliance component of this RFP. There will be no contract award resulting from the Compliance component of the RFP process.

End

Commentary and Disclosure:

Details are not yet public, but CalSTRS has decided to move away from CitiStreet as its recordkeeper and award TIAA-CREF the new contract. The contract will goto the board for approval in June, the fund lineup and pricing should be announced in July. More information about the new program will be forthcoming in the next few months.

The RFP for Compliance was not awarded, instead it was reissued as a separate RFP and can be found at www.calstrs.com/rfp.

In the interest of full disclosure, I (Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF President of Meridian Wealth Management) acted as a consultant for the Recordkeeping RFP and continue to act as a consultant on the new Compliance RFP bid.

Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF
President
Meridian Wealth Management
949-916-6238
www.meridianwealth.com

Thursday, May 03, 2007

School Districts and Fiduciary Responsibility

If you are a school district board member, Superintendent, or administrator you need to read this article.

Scott Dauenhauer, CFP,MSFP, AIF

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Plan Compliance Group Update

starbulletin.com | News | /2007/04/28/

Update on Plan Compliance Group

Man guilty in UH, DOE pension scam
Question: What ever happened to Plan Compliance Group, the California company accused of losing nearly $2.3 million from retirement accounts of Hawaii Department of Education employees and $420,000 from the accounts of University of Hawaii workers?

Answer: Education officials are still trying to have the company, which filed for bankruptcy in December 2005, pay back the money. The DOE and UH have reimbursed some 10,000 affected employees.

The university used risk-management money to replace the funds missing from the retirement accounts of its workers, said spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka. The university is now managing the accounts, she said. The DOE also used state funds to make up for the money lost, said spokesman Greg Knudsen.

The owner of Walnut Creek, Calif.-based PCG, Francis William "Bill" Reimers, pleaded guilty last month to six counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering in federal court, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In a deal with federal prosecutors, Reimers admitted to carrying out a fraud scheme that caused more than $7 million in losses to more than 250 investors.

Reimers, 62, faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the seven counts, plus substantial fines and restitution. His sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 3.

Reimers, who also owned Advisory Services Group, a financial investment services company, admitted to using money from investors to pay his mortgage and to buy luxury cars, vacations and hunting trips. Meanwhile, he would give individual investors false account statements and divert the money to run PCG and Univest Capital Management, which managed benefits for federal employees.

In 2005 the DOE sued PCG for fraud, negligence and breach of contract over the disappearance of the money. UH has also filed a lawsuit to retrieve the funds, said Darolyn Lendio, the university's vice president for legal affairs and general counsel.

When it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, PCG estimated its assets at less than $500,000.

This update was written by Alexandre Da Silva


Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF