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BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter
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June 21, 2004 - 13366 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The Retirement Planning Center

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

ANNOUNCING: Advanced Version of Retirement Planning Center
A website for creating the best plan for a client

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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Survey: Pessimism on Retirement Funds
Excerpt: "Despite a recovering economy, people around the world are pessimistic about their financial security in retirement." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Mutual Funds and the U.S. Retirement Market in 2002 (PDF)
16 pages; June 2004. (Investment Company Institute)

Overview: Cash Balance Developments (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Three noteworthy events in the controversy over cash balance plans occurred in the last week: A Federal District Court ruled that a cash balance plan was not age-discriminatory. The Treasury Department withdrew its 2002 proposed regulations on age discrimination rules for qualified plans, including cash balance plans. The House of Representatives Workforce Committee announced its intention to hold a hearing in July to examine cash balance plans." (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)

Reforming the UK Retirement System: Privatization Plus a Safety Net (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "Going forward, Britain's retirement income system will increasingly rely on individual accounts and means-tested assistance. The individual accounts are not well funded and carry significant risk. The disincentive to work or save created by the expanded means-tested program across a broad range of households further clouds the system's prospects. As a result, observers generally expect an increase in public expenditures on the elderly and further reforms to the system." (Steven A. Sass published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Overview: U.S. Supreme Court Speaks Out on Suspension of Benefits Rules (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "In a landmark decision resolving differences between the Fifth Circuit and Seventh Circuit Courts, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that an amendment to a multiemployer pension plan's suspension of benefits (SOB) rules for early retirees making the rules more stringent than before was a violation of IRS Code section 411(d)(6) which prohibits the reduction or elimination of early retiree benefits." (TIC International Corporation)

Overview: Supreme Court Backs Retirees' Benefit Cutback Claims (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The court found that the retirees had justifiably relied on the terms of the plan at the time they retired and the subsequent amendment effectively reduced their benefits. This decision reminds employers with suspension of benefit provisions (or considering adding such provisions) to make sure that current accrued benefits are not affected." (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)

Overview: Final Reg on RMDs from DB Plans and Annuity Contracts (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The final regulations allow defined benefit plans to offer distribution options that would not have been permitted under the proposed regulations. The following summarizes the significant changes from the proposed regulations affecting defined benefit plans." (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)

Bookmark: ERISA Fiduciary and Company Stock Update Center
Excerpt: "Welcome to Jenner & Block's ERISA Fiduciary and Company Stock Update Center. We have created this online resource to offer a convenient source for the latest information on ERISA fiduciary matters relating to the use of company stock in benefits plans." (Jenner & Block)

Opinion: Defined Contribution Plan Choices in United Kingdom Are Inadequate
Excerpt: "[Boston University School of Management Zvi Bodie] predicted: 'The next generation of DC products will be substitutes for DB plans, which are dying out in the US and the UK.' The challenge for the mutual fund industry in the US is to produce such products inexpensively." (Investments & Pensions Europe)

Robert A.G. Monks' Novel Recreates Takeover Frenzy During '90s Boom
Excerpt: "Monks, arguably the leading voice for shareholder empowerment, has championed the premise that pension funds and other institutional investors should use the voting power that accompanies their ownership stakes to assume a greater role in the way corporations are managed.... Monks began jousting with corporate titans in the mid 1980s after leaving his post as director of the government's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration ..." (MaineToday.com)

Opinion: Bush Savings Incentive Proposals Make Good Sense
Excerpt: "In the 2004 Budget, President Bush proposed to simplify and expand saving incentives. Instead of choosing from among a bewildering array of narrowly focused accounts, individuals would be able to save much larger amounts in a Lifetime Savings Account usable for any purpose and a Retirement Savings Account designed for retirement." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

Opinion: Social Security's Still in Trouble
Excerpt: "Critics of President Bush's proposal to strengthen Social Security with personal retirement accounts immediately seized the new report as evidence that when it comes to Social Security -- to borrow a line from Mark Twain -- reports of its imminent death are greatly exaggerated." (Matt Moore in the Washington Times)

Newly Posted Events

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Michigan on November 4, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in New York on November 4, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Ohio on November 4, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Iowa on November 4, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Illinois on November 9, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Ohio on November 5, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Iowa on November 5, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Michigan on November 5, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in New York on November 5, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Illinois on November 10, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases

ICC Plan Solutions completes deal with CBH Pensions
(Metrics Partners)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Benefit Pension Administrator
for Bruce & Bruce Company
in IL

Employee Benefits Trust Officer
for Regions Financial Corporation
in AL

Employee Benefits Tax Senior
for Deloitte
in GA

Tax Manager - Employee Benefits Tax Services
for Deloitte
in TX

Benefit Plan Administrator
for EBS Benefit Solutions, An Excellus Company
in NY

Service Specialist
for Principal Financial Group
in NY

Compliance Testing Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY

International Research Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in IL

Benefits Project Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in IL

Investment Analyst
for Aon Consulting
in WA

Defined Contribution Analyst
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR

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