Retirement Plans Edition
January 25, 2001
(No issue coming January 26; your editor is going spelunking in Mammoth Cave and, we hope, returning to the net on January 29.)
Today's sponsor is Still River Retirement Planning Software, Inc. (click on banner for more information)
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Mark to Market: Innovative Internet Radio Show Directed to Pension Plan Sponsors and Investors
BenefitsLink is impressed with the live Internet radio shows hosted by Mark A. Davis, a registered investment adviser in Westlake Village, California. His guest on Tuesday, January 30 is John Rekenthaler, who will be discussing Morningstar's plans for its advisory and online businesses as well as market commentary. Questions to Rekenthaler can be sent in 'real time' via a chat room during the broadcast. Set your Web browser to http://www.cibnradio.com at 1:30 PM ET (12:30 PM CT, 10:30 AM PT). (CIBNRadio.com)
Universal Pensions, Inc. (UPI) Announces Strategic Relationship With E*TRADE
Excerpt: "Through this new relationship, UPI will combine its retirement plan expertise and plan servicing capabilities with E*TRADE' s broad range of on-line financial planning and investment services to provide consumers with a state-of-the-art Internet delivery for retirement plan servicing." (StarTribune.com)
Pension Fund Files Shareholder Suit Against Embattled Tiremaker
Excerpt: "A $110 million Michigan pension fund and a Colorado woman have filed shareholder lawsuits against Bridgestone Corp., accusing the Japanese company of covering up defects in its tires to keep its stock price and earnings inflated." (Auto.com)
Defining the Limits of Prudence and Fiduciary Responsibility
Excerpt: "Recent court rulings reinforce procedural prudence and foresight -- not hindsight -- in the application of ERISA-mandated fiduciary responsibilities.... In the recent case of King v. National Human Resource Committee, Inc. (7th Cir. 2000), participants in a 404(c) plan alleged fiduciary breach litigation under ERISA. The participants argued that their employer breached a fiduciary duty by investing their 401(k) deferrals in money market funds ..." (David R. Levin, Esq. of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)
Proposed IRS Regs Address Provision of Explanation of QJSA to Participants
Excerpt: "In accordance with Sec. 417(a)(7)(A), the proposed regulations would provide that the QJSA explanation could be furnished on or after the annuity starting date, under the specified circumstances. Under the regulations, such a 'retroactive' annuity starting date could be used only if the plan provides for it and if the participant elects to use the retroactive annuity starting date." (Spencernet)
Baltimore County Police Reject Lump-sum Option for Retirement Pay
Excerpt: "Baltimore County police have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed change to their pension plan that was designed to keep experienced officers on the job longer. In tabulations completed yesterday, 97 percent of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4 members who cast ballots opposed the proposed Deferred Retirement Option Program." (Baltimore Sun)
Retirees' Checks Delayed: Administrator Switch Affects 10,000 California State Ex-Employees
Excerpt: "A change in administrators for one of the nation's largest voluntary retirement plans caused a nearly two-week delay in disbursements to some 10,000 California retirees ... [retiree Forrest] Bailey complained that the delay from the state's Savings Plus Program was unacceptably long, even though he and other retirees were warned it would be necessary when the state changed plan administrators." (Sacramento Bee)
Putting (Employer) Stock in Benefits (PDF)
Fall 2000 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions. Excerpt: "Benefits that provide workers with stock or that invest in stock are becoming more prevalent; BLS captures data on some of these plans and is conducting research on those plans not currently captured." (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
Schwab Book Discusses Retirement Savings After 50
Excerpt: "Schwab's 'You're Fifty-Now What? Investing for the Second Half of Your Life' is aimed at helping you prime the pump for retirement." (Las Vegas Sun)
Real Estate Recommended for Retirees
Excerpt: "Why should retirees consider real estate, and if they do, how should they invest in it? [Michelle] Augustine points out that savvy investors will likely do better, on average over time, investing in stocks rather than real estate because the long-term returns of stocks historically have been higher than real estate.... The problem for stock investors, however, is that stocks can be very volatile from one year to the next, as the year 2000 has so dramatically illustrated." (New York Times; free registration required)
(Following also appears in Welfare Plans Edition)
Insurance and Retirement Benefits in the Salt Lake City and Toledo Construction Industries (PDF)
13 pages; Fall 2000 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions. Excerpt: "Surveys of the construction industry in Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT, and Toledo, OH, show considerable variation in the incidence and costs of insurance and retirement benefits. Higher-skilled occupations and higher degrees of unionization generally resulted in higher rates of incidence and employer costs." (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
| Pensions/401(k) Administrators | for pensioncareers.ltd in NJ, NY |
| Account Manager | for Benefit Plan Services, Inc. in GA |
| PENSION ADMINISTRATOR | for Schloss & Co. in NY |
| Pension Administrator | for Pension Financial Services in GA |
| Consulting Assistant | for McCready and Keene, Inc. in IN |
| Overview of Current Legal Decisions | in MA on March 6, 2001 presented by Greater Boston Chapter: International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists |
Subscribe to the Welfare Plans Edition, too (click)
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