8:30 - 8:35 Welcome

8:35 - 9:20 Session 1: "Building Better Defined Contribution Plan Line-Ups”

The defined contribution investment and regulatory landscape has become drastically more complex. Plan sponsors are increasingly under scrutiny to ensure that they fulfill their legal obligations and act with responsibility for the prudence and suitability of participant investment decisions. Despite the significant advancements of the DC industry over the past 30 years, the typical core investment menu continues to fall short in meeting the needs of vast majority of plan participants.  In this session, Maddi Dessner will discuss how fewer, yet more sophisticated, investment choices can potentially increase participant engagement and substantially narrow the range of extreme investment outcomes.  Ms. Dessner will explore an effective way to help close gap by applying the concepts of greater diversification and maximizing risk-adjusted returns for participants who desire a more active role in their investments.

Ms. Dessner, CFA, executive director at JP Morgan, is a portfolio manager in the Global Multi-Asset Group, based in New York. An employee since 1995, previously Maddi was a client portfolio manager in the Global Emerging Markets Group. Prior to joining the GEM group in 2000, Ms. Dessner spent four years in the Foreign Exchange sales and trading group. Maddi obtained a BA in Economics and an MBA in Finance from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is a CFA charterholder and holds NASD Series 7 and 63 licenses. 

9:20 - 9:30 BREAK

9:30 - 10:15 Session 2: “Employee Benefits – Challenges Faced by a Plan Sponsor”

Companies face many challenges in designing  health and welfare and 401(k) plans for their employees.  Additionally, these are different depending on whether they are a startup company, publicly traded entity or a firm growing via mergers and acquisitions.  And what does health care reform really mean?  How do you balance employee satisfaction with regulatory compliance requirements?  Allen Chin will address these and other issues in this session.

Mr. Chin is currently the Vice President of Human Resources at Evans Analytical Group, a leading global provider of high value expert analytical and testing services.  In his 26 year career in Human Resources,  Mr. Chin has held senior level HR positions with companies such as OLIN Corporation, Franklin Templeton, Federal Reserve Bank, Egreetings.com, San Francisco Housing Authority and Vitria Technology.  He received his bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.

10:15 - 10:25 BREAK

10:25 - 11:10 Session 3: "Legal Update”

Eva McComas will provide an update on key legal developments affecting employee benefit plans, with a focus on recent regulations and guidance concerning tax-qualified plans and health and welfare benefits.  Ms. McComas also will discuss the impact of judicial decisions on employee benefit plans, as well as significant proposed legislation affecting them.

Ms. McComas has more than 20 years of experience counseling clients in the employee benefits area.  She currently serves as Counsel in the Employee Benefits practice at Miller & Chevalier Chartered.  She is an adjunct professor in the LL.M. Taxation program at the Golden Gate University School of Law.  Ms. McComas received her J.D. degree from the Washington and Lee University School of Law, and her LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center. 

11:10- 11:20 BREAK

11:20 - 12:00 Session 4:  “Account-Based Health Plans.”

Account-based health plans provide employers with the promise of health and productivity gains, cost containment and other benefits. In the program’s final session, Tonie Bitseff will discuss various aspects of these plans, including their design and implementation, the compliance considerations they raise and their potential traps.

Ms. Bitseff is a member of Nixon Peabody LLP’s Labor & Employment practice group.  She advises clients on health benefits, pension plans, and other forms of compensation and employee benefits. Her experience includes welfare plans, 401(k) plans, cafeteria plans, benefit outsourcing, defined benefit plans, ERISA fiduciary liability, ERISA claims procedures, prohibited transactions, appeals, and government audits. Ms. Bitseff received her law degree from Seattle University, and her undergraduate and LL.M. in taxation degrees from the University of Washington.