An online, clickable version of this newsletter is available at: http://benefitslink.com/2007/2007_12_31_retirement.html =========================================================== BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (Plain Text Format) December 31, 2007 Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. =========================================================== TODAY'S SPONSOR: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc. Software for 401(k), Pension and Flex Administration (Advert.) http://benefitslink.com/modperl/a_d_top.cgi?a_d=2007_12_31_retirement (Click on the above address or copy and paste it into your web browser.) Pick and choose the software modules you need: DC/401(k) Proposals & Administration – DB Proposals & Administration – Retirement Plan Documents (Prototype and Volume Submitters) – Government Forms (5500s, 1099-Rs, 5300s) – Cafeteria Plan Administration & Documents – Participant Termination Calculations – FAS 132 Reporting Contact sales@datair.com or call 1-888-328-2474 ----------------------------------------------------------- (a) NEW GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------- (None today.) ----------------------------------------------------------- (b) NEWS ---------------------------------------------------------- Farm Bill Includes Provision for Governmental Roth 457 Plans http://www.icmarc.org/xp/rc/plansponsor/regs/updates/2007/20071227FarmBillRoth457.html Excerpt: "A provision that would allow Governmental Roth 457 plans was included in the Senate Farm Bill approved on Dec. 14, 2007 as part of the Manager's Package of Amendments (Amendment 3855). The House did not move on the Senate version of the farm bill before the holiday recess and the two will have to reconcile the differences in a conference in early 2008." (ICMA-RC) ---------------------------------------------------------- PBGC Asks Court to Terminate Racing Association Pension Plans http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=39919 Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced it has initiated court action to protect the benefits of more than 1,700 workers and retirees covered by the pension plans of the New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA), a nonprofit corporation that operates the Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks under a New York state franchise." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- Embarq, Sprint Retirees File Suit Over Revoked Benefits http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8TQO7LO0.html Excerpt: "Ten former telephone company employees have filed a class action lawsuit against landline company Embarq Corp. and its former wireless parent, Sprint Nextel Corp., over Embarq's decision this summer to reduce or withdraw some retiree benefits. The suit, filed Friday in Kansas City, Kan., federal court, claims Embarq violated federal law protecting retirement benefits and seeks to have those benefits restored." (AP via WVEC.com) ----------------------------------------------------------- (c) SUMMARIES OF GUIDANCE; FILED COMMENTS ---------------------------------------------------------- Overview: PBGC Issues PPA Transitional Guidance: Minimum Lump Sums and Standard Terminations (PDF) http://www.keightleyashner.com/publications/ASSPA_122707.pdf 4 pages. Excerpt: "We now focus on recent PBGC guidance in Technical Update 07-3 highlighting the importance of selecting a termination date -- not just a distribution date -- in the 2008 (rather than 2007) plan year to be able to use the PPA lump sum assumptions for 2008 distributions. (Keightley & Ashner LLP) ---------------------------------------------------------- Employee Ownership Update for December 28, 2007 http://www.nceo.org/columns/cr244.html NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses Sam Zell's assumption of control at the Tribune Company, now owned by an ESOP; IRS Notice 2007-100, which provides transition relief under the Section 409A deferred compensation rules; a growing trend toward employee ownership in the construction industry; and the top 10 employee ownership stories of 2007, such as the decline in employees holding stock options. (National Center for Employee Ownership) ----------------------------------------------------------- (d) TRENDS, SURVEYS, RESEARCH ---------------------------------------------------------- More 401(k) Fee Cases Are in the Works http://www.workforce.com/section/03/feature/25/23/83/index.html Excerpt: "The lawsuits put an intense spotlight on revenue-sharing practices of providers that receive money from investment managers. In the long run, they could place pressure on fees paid to managers and record keepers of 401(k) plans." (Workforce Management; free registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- Private Pension Plan Bulletin: Abstract of 2005 Form 5500 Annual Reports (PDF) http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/PDF/2005pensionplanbulletin.PDF 62 pages. Excerpt: "Over the past three decades, as the private pension system has shifted from defined benefit (DB) plans toward 401(k) type defined contribution (DC) plans, the financing of benefits has shifted from employers to participants. In 1978, when legislation was enacted authorizing 401(k) type plans that allow employees to contribute on a pre-tax basis, 29 percent of contributions to DC plans, and only 11 percent of total contributions to all DB and DC pension plans were contributed by participants. The percent of contributions made by the employee to DC plans has doubled since then, but has remained steady at 60 percent for the past seven years." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration) ---------------------------------------------------------- With Low Fees, ETFs Rival Mutual Funds: 401(k) Providers Could Add Option http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122803237.html Excerpt: "ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the trading day, rather than once a day as with mutual funds. While that could appeal to some investors, it makes it harder for 401(k) overseers. Imagine the difficulty faced by a company with thousands of employees who might want to place trades at various times during the day." (The Washington Post; free registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- 'Payout Funds' a New Way to Invest After You Retire http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1231/p14s01-wmgn.html Excerpt: "In October, Fidelity Investments unveiled a series of 11 funds called Income Replacement Funds. Each of these funds has an end date, ranging in two-year increments, currently from 2016 to 2036, and a payout strategy designed to allow participants to take regular monthly withdrawals until no money is left. In January, Fidelity expects to unveil three additional such funds, with end dates of 2038, 2040, and 2042." (The Christian Science Monitor) ---------------------------------------------------------- Boomer Generation's Members About to Start Qualifying for Early Retirement Benefits http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/personalfinance/stories/DN-perfi_31bus.State.Edition1.1d6be5e.html Excerpt: "Beginning Jan. 1, the first of 78 million baby boomers will turn 62 and qualify for early retirement benefits. About three in four are expected to claim those benefits before their full retirement age of 66 or 67." (The Dallas Morning News; free registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- The Case for Stock in Pension Funds (PDF) http://www.contingencies.org/janfeb08/trade.pdf 6 pages. Excerpt: "The primary goal of this article is to show that stock investments are justified when the cash flows contain economic risk. Moreover, the appropriate discount rate is the expected rate of return of a cash-flow-matching portfolio rather than the risk-free rate. In fact, if the cash flows have economic risk that can be hedged in the market, investing 100 percent of the portfolio in bonds actually increases risk and discounting at the risk-free rate inaccurately represents the liability. These ideas are supported by the principles of financial economics and, in fact, clarify some of the myths about financial economics." (American Academy of Actuaries) ---------------------------------------------------------- What Is Your 'Golden' Year for Social Security? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122803270.html?wpisrc=newsletter Excerpt: "The payments are based on average life estimates, which means they're absolutely fair only if your life conforms to the actuarial estimates. Drop dead sooner, and you collect less. Live long and prosper." (The Washington Post; free registration required) ----------------------------------------------------------- (e) POLICY, OPINION, ADVOCACY ---------------------------------------------------------- Opinion: On Ensuring Retirement Security by Limiting Fiduciary Liability http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/laborprof_blog/2007/12/geis-on-ensurin.html Excerpt: "Tom Gies of Crowell & Moring, who argued for DeWolff, Boberg in the pending ERISA 401(k) mega-case, has this opinion piece in the December 14th issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal. As I read it, Tom's basic point is that fiduciaries make mistakes all the time and we should not allow litigation expense in this area to make affordable 401(k) plans less available to other employees because of these innocent mistakes." (Workplace Prof Blog) ---------------------------------------------------------- Supreme Court ERISA Case Could Prompt Legislation Imposing Significant New Liability for DC Plans http://www.hrpolicy.org/news/news_detailv2.asp?ID=3310 Excerpt: "The issue for the Court is whether an individual participating in a 401(k) plan may sue for breach of fiduciary duty where the alleged losses only affected one individual's account and whether monetary or compensatory relief can be pursued against a fiduciary." (HR Policy Association) ========================================================== Links To Items on Executive Comp, Benefits In General ---------------------------------------------------------- Overview of SEC Launch of The Executive Compensation Reader http://www.winston.com/index.cfm?contentID=19&itemID=159&itemType=25&postid=30 Excerpt: "On December 21, 2007, just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched The Executive Compensation Reader, which it described as 'the first-ever online tool that enables investors to easily and instantly compare what 500 of the largest American companies are paying their top executives.' The Executive Compensation Reader is available on the SEC's Web site." (Winston & Strawn LLP) ========================================================== Newly Posted Events 401(k) Fees and the New Disclosure Mandates in Michigan on January 22, 2008 presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Detroit http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=43245 403(b) Revolutionized! in Pennsylvania on January 30, 2008 presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Delaware Valley http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=43247 The New Frontiers of ERISA Litigation: How to Proceed in a High-Risk Environment Nationwide on December 28, 2007 presented by BNA, Inc. http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=43246 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/events/eventmaint.php ========================================================== Newly Posted Press Releases U.S. Labor Department Announces FY 2007 Enforcement Results U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=41490 Morgan Stanley Hit with 401(k) Stock Suit Stull, Stull & Brody http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=41487 The Hartford Makes Another Retirement Business Acquisition The Hartford http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=41486 Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP File Class Action Lawsuit - Egan v. Morgan Stanley & Co., et al. Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=41488 Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of North Carolina Waives Copayments On Drugs For Chronic Conditions Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=41489 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/pr/maint.php ========================================================== Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Defined Benefits Actuarial Consultant for ERP Actuaries & Consultants in NY http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53201 Senior Plan Consultant I for Scholz, Klein & Friends Enlightened Retirement Group, Inc. in TX http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53209 Associate Consultant for Fidelity Investments in MA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53246 Vice President – Institutional Sales West Coast for Raymond James in ANY STATE http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53297 TPA Regional Manager – Northeast Region for Transamerica Retirement Services in MA, PA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53325 401(k) Production Manager for Malcolm Thompson & Associates, Inc. in TX http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53898 Project Manager - Transition Manager for MassMutual Financial Group in MA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53900 Manager, Retirement Services for Aris Corporation of America in PA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53902 401(k) Plan Operations Manager for ADP TotalSource in FL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53905 Editor, Knowledge Management for Administaff, Inc. in TX http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53906 Director of Pension Operations for Delaware Valley Retirement, Inc. in PA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53910 Pension Administration Team Leader for Schiller's Pension Consulting in CA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53911 Call Center Manager, Retirement Plans for The Newport Group in NC http://benefitslink.com/modperl/job.cgi?n=H53166 Post yours! http://EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com/jobs/post_help_wanted.html View all jobs http://EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com/ RSS feed http://EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com/rss/jobs.rss =========================================================== Search previous newsletters: http://benefitslink.com/search =========================================================== Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, Too Sign-up form is at: http://benefitslink.com/newsletter/ =========================================================== This newsletter is sent to you each workday except federal holidays. 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