Products January 15, 2014

NTSAA Changes Name

The National Tax-deferred Savings Association (NTSA) maintains the same core mission as its predecessor.
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Formerly the National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association (NTSAA), the NTSA works to ensure the health and sustainability of America’s public-sector and not-for-profit retirement systems.

“There’s a retirement crisis in America and while the national scene can sometimes overshadow our efforts, we haven’t lost sight of how important it is to protect the vitality of our public-sector retirement system. I think our new name only enhances that sentiment and our ability to help public education, government and not-for-profit employees retire successfully,” says NTSA executive director Chris DeGrassi.

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The NTSA is a sister organization of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) tasked with supporting the public-sector retirement system and the 403(b) and 457 marketplace. In addition to working with retiree stakeholders, policy makers and legislators to address issues and design retirement plans that improve employee outcomes, NTSA also provides education, professional development and information resources.

“Every working American deserves tools to help them retire successfully and our name change simply reflects, to a better degree, what we do and why protecting the public-sector retirement system is our prime directive,” explains DeGrassi.

NTSA will host its annual 403(b) Summit on June 22 to 24, 2014, at the Washington Hilton in Washington D.C.

Products January 15, 2014

Mercer Releases Federal Benefit Guides

Consulting firm Mercer has released explanatory material about Social Security and Medicare that may prove useful to plan sponsors and advisers.
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Knowing what benefits Social Security and Medicare provides, and the best age to begin receiving benefits, is one of the first steps in retirement planning, according to a statement from Mercer. To that end, Mercer has released its “2014 Guide to Social Security” and “2014 Medicare Booklet,” which give simple explanations of both federal programs, recent changes, and cost and benefit amounts for 2014. The materials also include many real-life examples.

The Social Security guide, now in its 42nd edition, is a 64-page booklet that includes information about:

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  • Major Social Security program changes for 2014;
  • Retirement benefits including early, late and delayed retirement information, along with examples;
  • Disability and survivor benefits;
  • Who receives benefits;
  • Easy-to-reference monthly benefit tables;
  • Medicare benefits overview of eligibility and enrollment;
  • A to-do section; and
  • Answers to frequently asked questions about Social Security.

In addition, Mercer has issued the 31st edition of its booklet on Medicare. The 32-page document discusses:

  • Major Medicare changes for 2014;
  • What is covered and not covered;
  • Enrollment and eligibility;
  • Part A (Hospital Insurance);
  • Part B (Medical Insurance);
  • Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans); and
  • Part D (Outpatient Prescription Drug Plan).

Information about how to purchase the guide and booklet can be found here, or by calling 800-333-3070.

The minimum order for the guide is 25 copies at $7.60 each. The minimum order for the booklet is 100 copies at $3.65 each. Quantity discounts are available for both documents.

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