The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition December 21, 2000 Today's sponsor is EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click on banner for more information) PBGC Issues New, Simplified Premium Form: Meet the Form 1-EZ Excerpt: "This new form, which will be included in the 2001 Premium Payment Package, replaces the PBGC Form 1 and Schedule A for single-employer defined benefit plans that are exempt from the variable rate premium. More than 50 percent of PBGC-insured plans are exempt from the variable rate premium and will benefit from the new, simplified Form 1-EZ." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) For Retirement Investment Advice, You Fill In The Blanks Online Excerpt: "Like me, you may be agonizing over your next move in this volatile stock market. I do believe the Internet can help. Not with hot stocks, but with electronic planning tools that let you peer more deeply into your financial future through all kinds of economic weather." (Washington Post) PWBA Sues 401(k) Plan and Sponsor for Failing to Bond the Plan Excerpt: "The complaint alleges that since the effective date of the plan, it appears that the plan has not been protected by a fidelity bond, as required by ERISA Section 412, in an amount equal to 10% of the amount of plan funds handled." (EBIA Weekly) Notice of Order Immediately Before Participant's Death Was Sufficient to Enforce Post-Death QDRO Trustees of the Directors Guild of America-Producer Pension Benefits Plans v. Tise (9th Cir. 2000). Excerpt: "Curry claimed that she was entitled the full pension plan benefit because her rights as the sole beneficiary vested upon Myers' death. To the contrary, the [Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit] held that ERISA does not require a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) to be obtained and approved before a participant's death." (EBIA Weekly) Oklahoma Legislature to Debate Creation of Defined Contribution Program for State Employees Excerpt: "The new plan would be offered as an option to the 68,000 participants of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, which oversees a $6 billion defined benefit plan. New state and local government employees automatically would be enrolled in the DC plan." (Defined Contribution News) How to Build Diversification as Painlessly as Possible Excerpt: "If you haven't considered diversification, but now you're reeling from the lack of it, you still have time to start." (Financial Finesse) In Russia: Early Retirement, Hard Truths Excerpt: "Russians say their threadbare pension system is a national disgrace. But efforts to raise benefits by increasing the retirement age are unpalatable politically." (Las Vegas Sun) American Benefits Council Pension Policy Paper Submitted to Bush Transition Team (PDF) Excerpt: "Bipartisan pension legislation stands as one the key unfinished priorities of the 106 th Congress and would offer the incoming Bush Administration a concrete and bipartisan legislative achievement early in its term. Moreover, as the more difficult work of reforming Social Security proceeds, prompt enactment of bipartisan pension legislation would demonstrate the Bush Administration�s serious attention to Americans' retirement needs. Actions recommended: ..." (American Benefits Council) (Following also appears in Welfare Plans Edition) Microsoft Concludes 8-Year Lesson on Using Temporary Workers and Drafting Plan Eligibility Language Excerpt: "... the case has caused 401(k) and other ERISA plan sponsors to carefully consider the nature and identity of all workers in their workforce, and to then carefully draft plan eligibility provisions and exclusions in accordance with (1) a defensible characterization of the common law employee status of the workers and (2) the plan sponsor's inclusion versus exclusion preferences, subject to full compliance with the Code's qualification standards and ERISA's fiduciary obligations." (EBIA Weekly) EEOC Issues New Section For Its Compliance Manual On Discrimination In Compensation Excerpt: "The new Compliance Manual section explains that the anti-discrimination laws cover all forms of compensation, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit-sharing plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, reimbursement for travel expenses, and other fringe benefits." (Spencernet)
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