Products October 3, 2012

ASPire, OBS Launch Dimensional Managed DC

Dimensional Managed DC has been rolled out on a platform by ASPire Financial Services LLC and OBS Financial Services Inc.
Reported by

Dimensional Managed DC offers plan participants an alternative to target-date funds. Currently available on the ASPire platform, Dimensional Managed DC accounts are customized to the particular retirement account and retirement income needs of each individual participant.  

“Dimensional Managed DC addresses a growing demand for cost-effective retirement programs through an integrated, easy-to-use tool capable of helping participants determine investment strategies to close their retirement income gaps,” said Pete Kirtland, ASPire president and chief executive of ASPire. “By bringing together the investment products and professionals of Dimensional, OBS Financial Services’ fiduciary oversight and ASPire’s technology, we are able to bring products to market that positively impact participant investment outcomes.”

Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.

According to John Henry, president and chief executive of OBS Financial Services, “In serving as a fiduciary for advisers, OBS is well aware of the needs of those working within the retirement plan space. Flexibility is crucial and our partnership with ASPire to offer Dimensional Managed DC is the latest example of how our companies provide innovative and differentiating services that drive value across the board.”

ASPire Financial Services is a provider of conflict-free retirement plan solutions through a customizable open-architecture proprietary technology platform.

OBS Financial Services provides investment solutions to financial institutions and qualified plan marketplaces.

 

 

The Markets October 3, 2012

List of Companies Offering Pension Lump Sums Grows

The list of companies offering lump sum payments to help manage pension plan liability continues to grow, with Equifax as the latest addition.
Reported by

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Equifax said it has begun notifying “certain former employees of the Company of its offer to pay their pension benefits in either a lump sum payable by December 31, 2012, or a reduced monthly annuity that will commence December 1, 2012. The voluntary lump sum payment option is based on the present value of the participant’s pension benefit, and is payable at the participant’s election in cash or rollover into a qualified retirement plan or IRA.” 

Equifax said it made the offer to 3,500 vested participants in its U.S. Retirement Income Plan. The group represents about 20% of the company’s total qualified pension plan liabilities, which were about $630 million as of December 31, 2011.  

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

In recent weeks, there have been news reports that Thomson Reuters, Visteon and Sears Holdings are also offering lump sum payments to terminated, vested pension plan participants.  

Other companies that have made this move include The Times Co., NCR Corporation and auto giants Ford and GM (see “Times Co. Offers Pension Lump Sums”). 

 

«