Defaults fail safe

Sixth Circuit finds that plan fiduciaries did not breach their duties when participants' investments were transferred to the plan's default fund without their explicit consent.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed that a Section 403(b) plan administrator did not breach its fiduciary duty to plan participants when it changed the plan's default investment fund and automatically transferred participants' investments to the new default fund without first receiving actual investment elections from the participants.[1] In Bidwell, the Sixth Circuit upheld the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky's April 17, 2011, decision that the Department of Labor's (DOL's) Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) safe harbor protected a plan fiduciary from liability stemming from losses suffered following a transfer of participant accounts to the plan-selected default investment vehicle, provided adequate notice and other procedural requirements were … [Read more...] about Qualified Default Investment Alternative Safe Harbor Upheld

The U.S. District Court in the Western District of Kentucky recently ruled in favor of plan fiduciaries that adopted a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) for an employer's tax-qualified retirement plans. In Bidwell v. University Medical Center, Inc., No. 3:10-cv-00005-TBR (W.D. Ky. Apr. 17, 2011), the court ruled that a plan administrator did not breach its fiduciary duties when it did the following:Changed the plans' default investment fund from a conservative stable value fund focused on capital preservation to a comparatively more aggressive "life cycle" fund invested in a mixture of equity and fixed income investments.Automatically transferred amounts held in the stable value fund to the life cycle fund for participants who did not make a different election.Due to the timing of the transfer (July 2008) and prevailing market conditions, some plan participants incurred significant investment losses as a result of the increased equity investment exposure in the … [Read more...] about U.S. District Court Finds No Fiduciary Breach for Change in Qualified Default Investment Alternative

BUENOSAIRES (Reuters) – Fernando de la Rua, who led Argentina through a debilitating economic depression that eventually led to the country’s record sovereign debt default, died on Tuesday after falling ill with heart problems. He was 81 years old. Argentina’s current president Mauricio Macri sent condolences on social media, saying De la Rua’s service deserved the “recognition of all Argentines.” De la Rua won election in 1999 with a reputation for being dull that appealed to Argentines weary of the tabloid personal life of his flamboyant predecessor, Carlos Menem, who was losing control of the economy by the end of his second term. But de la Rua was forced to leave office before completing his first term as the economy spiralled out of control and Argentines protested. He initially enjoyed strong approval ratings, but he inherited an economy that was becoming increasingly mired in debt and dogged by growing discontent over high unemployment. … [Read more...] about Argentina’s pre-default president de la Rua dies at 81

“A Judge must be of sterner stuff. His mental equipoise must always remain firm and undetected.”This quote is apt for Justice Singhvi. He may not be a great jurist as normally judges  are referred to, but surely he is a judge with backbone. In nutshell, he is a judge for ‘AamAdmi’.Justice Singhvi has the longest tenure as a Judge of the High Court to his credit.  He was elevated to the Bench of Rajasthan High Court on 20.7.1990 and became Supreme Court Judge after 17 years, i.e. on 12.11.2007. Though at present Justice Singhvi is no -2 and junior to the present Chief Justice Sathasivam, he is six years senior to the CJI (as a High Court Judge). Justice Sathasivam was appointed as a permanent Judge of the Madras High Court only on Januray 8, 1996, six years after the appointment of Justice Singhvi.Justice Singhvi, who is due to retire on the 12th of December’ 13, has made a place for himself for his consistent, honest and bold  position taken … [Read more...] about Justice Singhvi, a Judge for AamAdmi, retires

Blanket drug testing of college students is officially unconstitutional, a US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in December, reversing a previous panel opinion. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit's 9-2 en banc decision in Kittle-Aikeley v. Strong reinstates a lower court ruling that suspicionless mandatory drug testing of college students' urine violates the Fourth Amendment.In 2011 a public technical college in Linn, Missouri rolled out a new drug testing plan for all incoming students. Linn State Technical College (recently renamed the State Technical College of Missouri) required students to submit to urine testing by default, imposing on them a $50 fee for a test costing $28. The program's stated purpose was "to provide a safe, healthy and productive environment for everyone who learns and works at Linn State Technical College by detecting, preventing and deterring drug use and abuse among students."In its first semester Linn State's testing program faced a … [Read more...] about What the Federal Court Decision Against Blanket Drug Testing Means for Students