The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition Today's sponsor is EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click on banner for more information) August 9 - 10, 2000 The GoldK Web Plan Excerpt: "Move over Fidelity, GoldK is readying the launch of its 'e401k'-type product, and get ready, it plans to offer the service to plan sponsors free of recordkeeping and administrative charges. Of course, unlike other Internet firms peddling free wares GoldK does have an understandable revenue model-- it will take revenue sharing-- but if the product is successful it promises to shake up the small plan market." (401kWire.com) Nolo.com's Retirement Law Center A well-done "self-help" retirement information page, by the publishers of a line of self-help law books. (Nolo Press) Responding (Again) to the Hype: Phased Retirement Excerpt: "Now phased retirement is the target of The Wall Street Journal ... Phased retirement programs allow long-time employees to "phase" into retirement by gradually reducing their work hours, sometimes while collecting part of their pension check. ... Incredibly, The Wall Street Journal once again sees only corporate cost-cutting. And once again the newspaper inaccurately portrays Watson Wyatt's position on important pension and demographic issues." (Watson Wyatt) Tax Court: Distribution of IRA Funds That Taxpayer Endorsed To Former Wife Was Taxable Excerpt: "A taxpayer who withdrew all of the funds in his individual retirement account and then endorsed the distribution check over to his former wife was required to include the distributed funds in his gross income because the distribution did not constitute the transfer of the taxpayer's 'interest' in the IRA. This was the decision of the U.S. Tax Court in Jones v. Commissioner." (Spencernet) New Issue Online of the Pension & Benefits Update Email Newsletter by Tax Analysts 8/8/2000 issue (not affiliated with BenefitsLink) (Tax Analysts, Inc.--see www.taxbase.org) How the Fed Affects Your Nest Egg Excerpt: "Inflation is the financial specter that looms over most retirees. Living on limited and often fixed incomes, retirees can't cope with rising prices as easily as someone who is working. Even at a modest three percent rise annually, the buying power of a retiree's money can be cut nearly in half over the course of retirement. That's where the Federal Reserve Board comes to the rescue: It is the inflation killer for retirees." (New York Times; free registration required) A Passing Exploration of Privatization Excerpt: "Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph I. Lieberman once favored exploring the idea of partially privatizing Social Security, a key proposal of Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush. But in the last year Lieberman came to agree with Vice President Gore that the GOP plan poses a financial risk to retirees." (Washington Post) A Passing Exploration of Privatization: Lieberman Backs Gore's Social Security Stance Excerpt: "Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph I. Lieberman once favored exploring the idea of partially privatizing Social Security, a key proposal of Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush. But in the last year Lieberman came to agree with Vice President Gore that the GOP plan poses a financial risk to retirees." (Washington Post) (Following also appears in Welfare Plans Edition) Global Aging: The Challenge of the New Millennium Excerpt: "... people are getting older and living longer all over the world. And these demographic trends will impose extraordinary worldwide economic, social and political stress, according to a new study, Global Aging: The Challenge of the New Millennium, by Watson Wyatt Worldwide done in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies for the Commission on Global Aging." (Watson Wyatt) APPWP Comments on DOL's Focus on Payment of Fees From Plan Assets Excerpt: "DOL auditors have taken the position that a broad range of plan expenses should be shared between the employer and the plan, if not paid wholly by the employer, even when the underlying component of plan administration is required under ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code. APPWP believes that an overly aggressive posture by the DOL in such audits will not serve the needs of participants, plan sponsors, or the Department itself." (Association of Private Pension and Welfare Plans) DOL Audit Program Targets Expenses Paid from Plan Assets Excerpt: "A Midwest DOL office is examining cases of plan sponsors using plan assets to pay expenses. So far, the examination program is operating only out of the Kansas City DOL office, which has jurisdiction over Colorado, southern Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming." (Watson Wyatt) Welcome to new advertiser The Benefits Group, Inc. "The Benefits Group, Inc. is the leading deferred compensation and executive benefits online administration technology and plan design firm located in Los Angeles. Large and mid-size public companies only. Call 888-551-2800 for demonstration online access to InstantAccess, The Benefits Group's non-qualified plan online experience." Oracle Suit: Why a Sick Day May Be Worth $10 Million Excerpt: "A fired executive's nearly $10 million worth of options is the subject of a lawsuit filed by software maker Oracle. Just four days before Pier Carlo Falotti's nearly $10 million in options were about to vest, the Oracle executive vice president was fired for undisclosed reasons, according to court documents.... Falotti says that the 125,000 options are legally his, as he was unable to work on the day of his scheduled termination." (New York Times; free registration required) Government Plans Including a Few Private-Employer Participants Get Green Light Excerpt: "In three recent Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) Advisory Opinion letters, the Department of Labor (DOL) has ruled that plans may continue to be classified as governmental plans, even if the plan is a collectively bargained plan negotiated between a labor union and a governmental employer, or the plan covers a certain de minimus number of nongovernmental employees." (Watson Wyatt)
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