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September 17, 2003 - 13,400 subscribers
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The INs and OUTs of Qualified Retirement Plans ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 23, 2003 Please join us for this one-day seminar. We take you through the world of qualified plans, beginning with an overview of the various types of retirement plans, continuing through compliance testing and concluding with several case studies to put it all into context. This course helps prepare you for various benefit certification exams such as those offered by NIPA, ASPA, ISCEBS and the American College.
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Pensions in Crisis
Excerpt: "[T]he most serious threat to the system may be a crisis in confidence, on the part of plan sponsors and workers. The problems include underfunded plans, skyrocketing costs and perceived unfairness to workers as employers adapt their plans to today's economic realities.... Less well known are the complications of dealing with a myriad of pension rules within the context of troubled financial markets and the prospect of unprecedented labor market developments in years to come." (Watson Wyatt)
Written Testimony of Mark Iwry at Senate DB Hearing (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to discuss issues relating to the current underfunding in our private defined benefit pension system and the role and financial situation of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation." (Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs)
Written Testimony of Prof. Norman Stein for Pension Rights Center at Senate DB Hearing
Excerpt: "The issues you are looking at today, the 'crisis' in pension funding and the challenges facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation are difficult, and fuse together broad issues of economic and social policy with arcane concepts of actuarial science. But these issues are critical not only to the participants in defined benefit plans and to their families, but also to the economic and moral health of our nation." (Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs)
ERISA Industry Committee's Testimony at Hearing on Defined Benefit Plan Funding
22 pages. Excerpt: "The Subcommittee asked ERIC to address (1) the financial status of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, (2) the financial status of private sector defined benefit plans, and (3) specific proposals for reform aimed at either or both of the first two issues." (ERISA Industry Committee)
Overview: Grassley Unveils Pension Reform Mark
Excerpt: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, on September 15 released his mark for a pension reform bill modeled after the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Bill, NESTEG (Sen 1971), which was introduced during the 107th Congressional session. A markup is slated for September 17." (CCH Tax News)
Opinion: Senate Yield Curve Proposal Could Drive More Companies From the Pension System
Excerpt: "Said American Benefits Council President James A. Klein, 'While it is often said that the devil is in the details, this bill's yield curve proposal doesn't have any details in which the devil can hide. This bill leaves out important specifics of how the yield curve will be calculated and how it will be applied, leaving the Treasury Department to sort it all out later. American businesses must be able to predict their future funding liabilities now.'" (American Benefits Council)
Update on Cash Balance Plan Developments
Excerpt: "The amendment, which was sponsored by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), was approved by a vote of 258-160. The Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2004 was passed by a vote of 380 to 39 and now needs to be reconciled with an appropriations bill that is moving through the Senate ..." (CCH News & Information Library)
Overview: Court Rules That Cash Balance and PEP Plans Are Age Discriminatory
Excerpt: "IBM intends to appeal the decision. Because the case involves other issues as well as age discrimination, resolution of the appeal may take some time. It is not clear how the decision will affect the IRS' proposed age discrimination regulations, though a delay in the release of the next round of guidance is possible." (Watson Wyatt)
Opinion: Hybrid Pension Plans Are Inherently Fair
Excerpt: "After all the newspaper articles, the legal maneuvering and the congressional clamor, the core question remains: Are hybrid pension plans unfair to older workers? ... The time value of money is a widely accepted financial principle. Yet critics argue that it does not apply to pension plans, despite the fact that the principle is commonly accepted in affirming the validity of 401(k) plans." (Watson Wyatt)
Opinion: Reflections on the Cash Balance Media
Excerpt: "It's always disturbing when the news media confuse opinion with fact or make unsubstantiated generalizations. And when the issue at hand affects countless organizations and potentially millions of workers, the confusion cries out for clarification." (Eric P. Lofgren of Watson Wyatt)
Former Consolidated Freightways Workers Sue Over Pensions
Excerpt: "A former top executive and five ex-workers of Consolidated Freightways have sued the company's former parent and actuarial firm, alleging they caused the defunct trucker's pension plan to become underfunded, costing some 500 ex-workers millions of dollars in benefits." (The [Portland] Oregonian via NewsAlert.com)
Oregon Voters Approve $2 Billion Public Pension Debt Refinancing
Excerpt: "Oregon got permission from voters in Tuesday's special election to sell bonds to refinance part of the public pension debt, a move the state treasurer says will save the state about $1 billion." (KVAL)
Government Pension Trustees Want NYSE Boss to Quit
Excerpt: "Three influential public pension funds have added their leaders' voices to those calling for the departure of New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso, calling his hefty compensation a danger to corporate governance reform." (Washington Post)
Report of the Working Group on Planning for Retirement
November 14, 2001. Includes recommendations and summaries of testimony received. Excerpt: "The group focused on how individuals currently plan for their retirement and how such planning might be made more effective. We were particularly interested in identifying materials, tools, and other resources that help people plan for retirement; in determining what types of resources work best; and in assessing how to increase availability and improve coordination of resources." (ERISA Advisory Council)
Report of the Working Group on Increasing Pension Coverage, Participation and Benefits
November 13, 2001. Includes recommendations and summaries of testimony received. Excerpt: "The Working Group recommends that the Federal Government take the following actions to further encourage the voluntary sponsorship of pension plans by employers and participation in those plans by employees: (1) promote more, individualized education for employers and employees; (2) encourage the sponsorship of defined benefit pension plans by modernizing the regulatory scheme for these plans; ..." (ERISA Advisory Council)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
In Germany, Young Are Balking at Paying Benefits for Increasing Numbers of Retirees
Excerpt: "'It's about time 85-year-olds started paying for their own hip replacements and false teeth,' [Philipp Missfelder, chairman of the youth wing of the center-right Christian Democrats] declared in an August interview with the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel that was widely quoted by other news media. 'In the old days, people got around on crutches,' he said." (Business Week)
Overview: New Proposed Financial Disclosures for Pensions and Other Benefits (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Although the new proposed disclosure rules would not directly modify the underlying accounting rules for how pensions and other benefits are recognized in a company's income statement and balance sheet, new calculations may need to be performed to make the required disclosures." (Milliman USA)
Microsoft To Retire Options Worth $19 Billion
Excerpt: "Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed that employee stock options covering $18.8bn worth of its shares stood to be retired under the ground-breaking plan that will involve it abandoning the use of options for good." (Financial Times via Yahoo! News)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Administrator
for WESPAC Plan Services, Inc.
in CA
Customer Service Representative
for Flexsoft, Inc.
in CA
Director/Fund Administrator
for Taft-Hartley Benefit Plans - Philadelphia metro area
in PA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Health Care Cost Containment: Fraud Red Flags
on September 23, 2003
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
2003 CCA Annual Meeting
in AZ
November 2, 2003
Conference of Consulting Actuaries
2004 Enrolled Actuaries Meeting
in DC
March 21, 2004
Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries
An Overview of the Legal Application for Pension Actuaries
in AZ
November 5, 2003
Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries
An Overview of Health & Welfare Laws & Regulations
in AZ
November 5, 2003
Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries
Introduction To Defined Benefit Plans
in ALL STATES
October 2, 2003
McKay Hochman / HRTrainingCenter.com
Coverage Requirements For Qualified Plans
in
September 30, 2003
McKay Hochman / HRTrainingCenter.com
Introduction To Cross-Testing
in ALL STATES
October 8, 2003
McKay Hochman / HRTrainingCenter.com
Compensation In Qualified Plans
in ALL STATES
December 4, 2003
McKay Hochman / HRTrainingCenter.com
Women Leading Change
in ALL STATES
September 22, 2003
WorkWorlds / HRTrainingCenter.com
Leadership Savvy - Difficult Conversations
in ALL STATES
October 13, 2003
WorkWorlds / HRTrainingCenter.com
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Latest Canadian Benefits Book Examines Effects of Monsanto Case
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Alliance Benefit Group Holds Strong In Recordkeeping Business
(Alliance Benefit Group)
Benefit Software Inc. Provides Online TotalComp and Printed Benefit Statements for OshKosh B’Gosh
(Benefit Software Inc.)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Mark P. Carey (Carey & Associates, P.C.)
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