Scott Hittner,Partner,October Three Consulting to Speak at TKG’s Speaking Opportunity - Latest Class Action Wave: Reasonability of Actuarial Factors in Pension Plans
The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Scott Hittner, Partner, October Three Consulting will speak at the Knowledge Group’s webcast entitled: “Latest Class Action Wave: Reasonability of Actuarial Factors in Pension Plans” This event is scheduled for May 30, 2019 from 12:00pm – 1:30pm (ET).
- (1888PressRelease) May 21, 2019 - The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Scott Hittner, Partner, October Three Consulting will speak at the Knowledge Group’s webcast entitled: “Latest Class Action Wave: Reasonability of Actuarial Factors in Pension Plans” This event is scheduled for May 30, 2019 from 12:00pm – 1:30pm (ET).
For further details, please visit:
https://www.theknowledgegroup.org/webcasts/latest-class-action-wave/
About Scott Hittner
Scott Hittner is a Denver-based partner and Chief Actuary at October Three. He serves as an expert resource to October Three’s technical group and consulting team and has nearly 30 years of experience as a consulting actuary specializing in pension and other postemployment benefit plans.
Scott is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), an Enrolled Actuary (EA) under ERISA, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). He has a B.S. in actuarial science from the University of Nebraska.
About October Three Consulting
October Three was built around a refreshingly different approach to Defined Benefit (DB) plans. In an industry mired in confusion and overall skepticism, we saw an opportunity to create clarity and to build a new understanding about where the industry is headed and how an organization’s DB plan can evolve to deliver more.
How we do that is two-fold. First, we design solutions that fit both the urgent needs of today and the impending needs of the future. And we do so with openness and full transparency, granting customers a refreshing level of insight into their plans.
We know how to share our expertise in a way that’s easily understood. As Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” We’re experts in what we do. But we don’t show off what we know. Instead, we’re about communicating in a way that delivers clarity and garners long-term trust.
At the end of the day, we believe in treating our clients fairly and with respect. And we believe that by shedding light on alternative solutions in the DB arena, we can help our clients move from a sense of powerlessness and negativity to one of empowerment.
Event Synopsis:
In recent months, we have seen a new wave of ERISA class action litigation challenging the reasonableness of actuarial factors used in pension plans. A group of class action complaints have been filed against traditional pension designs. These complaints allege the plans are using out-of-date mortality tables and interest assumptions to calculate optional forms of annuity and to reduce annuities for early commencement. As a result, the suits claim that annuities paid to participants under these plans are subject to excessive actuarial reductions, improperly denying participants their full vested benefits. The plaintiffs seek reformation of the plans’ terms, which is allegedly necessary to bring them into compliance with ERISA, recovery of past underpayments and resulting future increases in benefits.
In this 90-minute LIVE Webcast, a panel of distinguished professionals and thought leaders assembled by The Knowledge Group will discuss the implications of the cases that have been filed, the prospects for additional similar suits, prior case law regarding the reasonableness of actuarial factors, the magnitude of risk that the suits present, and the steps that plan sponsors should be taking now.
Key topics include:
• Plans that are affected
• The actuarial factors and actuarial adjustments that have given rise to the complaints
• The legal basis for evaluating the reasonableness of actuarial factors
• How much deviation from current, “standard” actuarial factors is permissible?
• Is it time to update your actuarial factors?
• Is it sufficient to update factors prospectively?
• The impact of Section 411(d)(6)’s anti-cutback protection
• Statutes of limitation and plan-specified limitation periods
• The applicability of the continuing violation theory
• Other key defenses
About The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series
The Knowledge Group was established with the mission to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webinars that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format. To contact or register for an event, please visit: http://theknowledgegroup.org/
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