| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
April 12, 2001
Today's sponsor: The Retirement Plan Distribution Book (click)
The Retirement Plan Distribution Book: No other resource is as comprehensive, yet accessible by everyone who has to answer distribution questions-- from customer service representatives to legal counsel. Available now, from National Underwriter Company, publishers of other fine compliance books including Tax Facts.
Employee Ownership Update for April 11, 2001
NCEO executive director Corey Rosen discusses the reintroduction of pension reform legislation in the U.S., a survey of stock options in high-tech companies, stock option legislation in the U.K., and a ruling that state law claims are not preempted by ERISA. (The National Center for Employee Ownership)
Understanding Federal Thrift Savings Plan Contributions
Excerpt: "... let's look more carefully and closely at the TSP's limits on contributions and how federal employees should spread out their contributions." (GovExec.com)
Quick Access to the Latest Status of Pension Reform Legislation
Buttons provide handy links to Thomas legislative information on both the Senate (S. 742) and House (H.R. 10) versions of 2001 pension reform legislation. (Carol V. Calhoun)
New from EBRI: the Changing Face of Private Retirement Plans
April 2001, Executive Summary of Issue Brief no. 232. Excerpt: "[I]ndividuals--rather than the pension plan sponsor--increasingly will have to manage their retirement assets and bear the risk of investment losses. Second ... retirees will need either to purchase an annuity from an insurance company or carefully manage their individual rate of spending in order to avoid outliving their assets." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
German Government Introduces Pension Reform Legislation
Excerpt: "The German government has introduced pension legislation that would create a new type of occupational pension scheme in the nation. The pension legislation also would amend the current occupational pension schemes. This part of the legislation was passed by the lower house but was rejected by the upper house of Parliament and is now in the conciliatory committee." (Investment Company Institute)
United Kingdom Issues Report On Pension Fund Decisonmaking
Excerpt: "The government of the United Kingdom issued a report concerning the nation's pension funds. The purpose of the report was to review whether any factors distort the investment decisionmaking of institutional investors and, in particular, pension funds. The report focuses on whether distortions exist within the system that cause institutional investors to avoid investing in small- and medium-sized companies." (Investment Company Institute)
Another Question is Answered in the Stop, Look & Listen: Railroad Retirement Q&A Column
If a worker leaves the railroad industry before vesting(10 Years), are the contributions to the Railroad Retirement fund tax deductible? (BenefitsLink.com)
Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
John and Sue are married to each other. John owns 200 of the 1,000 outstanding shares of ABC Company. Sue owns 500 shares of ABC Company. I know John is deemed to own Sue's stock, and she is deemed to own his stock, for controlled group purposes. Do the two of them own 1,400 shares (140% of the company!) after considering attribution, or just 700 shares? (BenefitsLink.com)
Florida Investment Broker Sentenced; Had Stolen Funds from Pension Funds
Excerpt: "An investment broker has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for defrauding a police pension fund and other clients out of more than $2 million. Robin McEachin, 48, stole $700,000 from the Florida Police Benevolent Association's employee pension fund, $1 million from a Georgia trucking company's pension fund and up to $130,000 each from several individual investors." (Associated Press, via Excite News)
Circuit-by-Circuit Review: Scope of Court Review of Discretionary Employee Benefit Plan Decisions
Excerpt: "The evidentiary scope of judicial review of discretionary employee benefit plan decisions is well-established: review is usually confined to the evidence in the plan administrative record. As this article demonstrates, however, the rule is not absolute. Courts have developed variations on and exceptions to the rule, which present opportunities or pitfalls, as the case may be, for claimants and plan administrators. This article surveys the variations and exceptions ..." (Groom Law Group)
Report: High CEO Pay Does Not Translate to Good Stock Performance
Excerpt: "United for a Fair Economy, a Boston-based non-profit working to reduce the inequities of wealth distribution in the U.S., has taken a closer look at the stock performance of companies led by top-paid CEOs. They found that shareholders may not be getting their money's worth." (SocialFunds.com)
Opinion: When Stocks Suffer, So Should Options
Excerpt: "For months, corporate governance experts have been warning of a wave of stock option repricings, once company execs realize their share prices won't be bouncing back anytime soon. So far, out-and-out repricings have been sparse. But that doesn't mean companies have stopped the practice. Far from it -- they've just come up with new ways to bail out execs. Problem is, these new practices are just as bad for outside shareholders as the simple repricing schemes they replace." (BusinessWeek.com)
Graef Crystal: CEOs Bakke, Sherman Prove Cash Isn't Sole Spur
Excerpt: "Searching for CEOs who play the pay game fairly is about as rewarding as panning for gold in the High Sierras today, 152 years after the original strike. Curiously enough, I came across two who qualify and whose companies are headquartered in the Washington, D.C., area, not heretofore known as a mecca of modesty -- in pay or anything else." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
Why One CFO Said Good-bye to His Defined-Benefit Pension
Excerpt: "'Dot-corps' give senior financial execs a chance to test E-commerce waters with less risk of drowning.... Thus while dot-corps may offer 'a significant equity component,' it may be in the form of restricted stock rather than options so as to expose employees to less downside risk, he says. Signing awards and guarantees on bonuses may also be part of the package." (CFO.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| 401(k) Document Compliance Analyst | for Automatic Data Processing - Retirement Services in NJ |
| 401(k) Benefit Specialist | for Automatic Data Processing - Retirement Services in NJ |
| 401(k) Client Service Reps | for Automatic Data Processing- Retirement Services in NJ |
| Requirements Analyst | for The 401(k) Company in TX |
| Employee Benefits Tax Consultant | for Deloitte & Touche, a Professional Services Firm in OH |
| Senior Consultant, Health & Welfare Systems | for J. Glancy & Associates, Inc. in TX |
| Benefits Specialist | for Occidental Petroleum Corporation/Oxy Services Inc. in OK |
| Pension Services / Marketing | for Benefit Services Group, Inc. in IL |
| Director, Consulting and Compliance | for Fidelity Investments in MA |
| PENSION ENROLLMENT SPECIALISTS | for Diversified Investment Advisors in CA, NC |
| Defined Benefit Client Account Manager | for New York Life Benefit Services LLC in MA |
| SR. COMPENSATION REPRESENTATIVE | for JET PROPULSION LABORATORY in CA |
| SR. BENEFITS REPRESENTATIVE | for JET PROPULSION LABORATORY in CA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Swerdlin & Company Holds Its 3rd Annual Fun Day! (Swerdlin & Company) |
| Programs to Cover Latest Department of Labor Regulations (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) |
| June IFEBP Educational Programs Available (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) |
| Media Advisory - The Ottawa Legislative Update (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) |
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