| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
May 3, 2001
Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Webcast (click)
Webcast coming up May 30! FMLA: The Family and Medical Leave Act -- "It's Not Getting Any Easier." Instructor: Christine E. Howard, Esq. and Jennifer B. Sandberg, Esq., Fisher & Phillips LLP. Presented by Human Resource Consultants. Click to register and purchase this webcast through BenefitsLink!
House Approves Plan to Boost Savings
Excerpt: "On the day President Bush reopened debate on some privatizing of Social Security, the House voted to make it easier for people to save for retirement." (Cox News Service)
House's OK Could Mean Better Days for 401(k)s
Excerpt: "Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) predicted the Senate would pass a similar bill later this year, and White House spokesman Claire Buchan said President Bush believes the bill is 'meritorious,' although she said Bush first wants to see Congress pass his tax cut." (New York Post)
House Approves Higher Limits for IRAs, 401(k)s
Excerpt: "Politicians hailed the measure as a way to boost Americans' notoriously low savings rate and supplement Social Security as aging baby boomers head into retirement. That's good news for aggressive savers, but may mean less to folks who have already been shaken by big declines in their portfolios from stock market losses." (Knight Ridder/Tribune)
H.R. 10 Roll Call Votes
Excerpt: "[Here is the] 407-24 roll call Wednesday by which the House passed legislation to expand contribution limits for IRAs and 401(k) plans. A 'yes' vote is a vote to pass the legislation. Voting yes were 187 Democrats, 219 Republicans and one independent. Voting no were 22 Democrats, one Republican and one independent." (Associated Press)
House OKs Expanding IRA, 401k Plans
Excerpt: "The House easily passed legislation Wednesday to expand contribution limits for IRAs and 401(k) plans and encourage more companies to offer retirement pensions. The 407-24 vote sent the bill to the Senate, where a nearly identical measure died last year. President Bush has spoken favorably of the approach but did not include such a measure in his tax cut package." (Associated Press)
House Approves Pension Overhaul Bill
Excerpt: "A pension overhaul bill that is so popular in the House it has passed five previous times was approved for a sixth time Wednesday. Supporters hope to get it to the president's desk this year despite warnings of continued difficulty getting it through the Senate." (CNN.com)
U.S. House Approves Retirement Savings Bill
Excerpt: "The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that will allow bigger contributions to tax-favored retirement savings accounts. Supporters said the legislation, approved on a vote of 407 to 24, would encourage greater retirement savings by raising the maximum annual contribution to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to $5,000 from $2,000." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
ACLI Praises House Passage of H.R. 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act
Excerpt: "The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), whose members manage $1.7 trillion in pension fund assets, today praised the U.S. House of Representatives for its 407-24 vote in favor of H.R. 10, The Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001, sponsored by Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Rep. Ben Cardin (D-Md)." (American Council of Life Insurers)
Ways and Means Committee Dissenters Explain Their Opposition to H.R. 10
Excerpt: "We strongly support the underlying goal of H.R. 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001, to provide a secured retirement for the working men and women of this country.... However, we remain concerned about the distributional effect of the benefits under the bill, as well as the lack of strong incentives for small employers ... In its current form, the legislation would fail to provided a secured and adequate retirement for ALL Americans." (Ten Representatives on House Ways and Means Committee)
Ways and Means Committee Approves Pension Reform Bill
By a vote of 35-6, the House Ways and Means Committee has approved H.R. 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act, which was introduced earlier this year by Reps. Rob Portman (Ohio) and Benjamin Cardin (Md.). H.R. 10 would make sweeping changes to pension law, including increasing the limits on allowable contributions to qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. (SpencerNet)
House Passes Portman-Cardin Pension Legislation
Press release gives a summary of the legislation as passed by the House on May 2, 2001. (Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH))
DOL Obtains Judgment Under Which Firm Owners Repay $500,000 To Profit-Sharing Plan
The Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment pursuant to which two companies based in Manchester, N.H., and four family members who jointly own them have repaid nearly $500,000 to the companies' profit-sharing/Sec. 401(k) plan. (SpencerNet)
Another Question is Answered in the ERISA Benefit Claims Q&A Column
Does ERISA require that a plan administrator provide a copy of the "formal plan document" to a plan participant? I am only able to get a copy of the SPD. (BenefitsLink.com)
Can Employers Be Liable for Retirement Fund Disasters?
Excerpt: "The simplest way to avoid this situation is to avoid doing favors with the placement of plan assets. As a fiduciary to participants who intend to rely on plan assets to retire, a trustee is obligated to look after those assets with even greater care than their own. If the best manager for the job turns out to be a relative, friend, or client, trustees should document their decision carefully, including all of the potential managers they considered ..." (Strategic Finance)
GUSTs of Retirement Plan Amendments Required by Year-End
Excerpt: "While retirement plan administrators battle the winds of change from new Congressional retirement laws almost every year, by the end of the 2001 plan year, these administrators will also have to conquer the GUST of amendments required to keep those plans in compliance with the many changes. The need for the amendments can offer great opportunity plan redesign and alignment with business goals and it can provide some hazards, too." (Martha Priddy Patterson on HRHub.com)
'The Unthinkable' Has Occurred - 401k Meltdown - Now What?
Excerpt: "Are company sponsored, self-directed retirement plans a financial fiasco in the making? What responsibility does a corporation have to its employees in providing them the basic education and building blocks to create a successful long-term investment portfolio? Do corporations take this responsibility seriously, or do they defer to mutual fund companies and stockbrokers who are professionals at capturing assets but not so keen on educating employees ... ?" (Eastside Journal)
When Tax Shelters Are a Bad Idea
Excerpt: "Despite all of the well-publicized advantages of tax-deferred accounts, they're not the best bet for every investment situation.... Contrary to what seems like common sense, sometimes your net profits are higher if you let the taxman take his piece of the pie up front." (Forbes via Yahoo! Finance)
Fiduciaries Consider Socially Responsible Investing
Excerpt: "Often fiduciaries of pension funds, foundations, unions and other organizations are concerned about abrogating the responsibilities of their position by considering any factors other than financial performance and risk. Institutional investors and social investing industry advocates gathered to discuss and debate the inclusion of social and environmental factors in investment decisions at ... conference held in San Francisco last week." (SocialFunds.com)
Study Shows Backing for Privatizing Social Security Investments
Excerpt: "Most U.S. workers would be willing to see their Social Security benefits fall if they could direct a portion of their payroll taxes into a private retirement plan such as a 401k or Individual Retirement Account, a national survey released on Wednesday found." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Bush Criticized for Naming Former AOL Time Warner Executive to Co-Chair Social Security Commission
Excerpt: "Aides say President Bush was not aware that Time Warner Inc. paid $5.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging pension abuses before he named a top company executive [of Time Warner to be a] co-chairman of his new Social Security commission." (Associated Press, via Yahoo! News)
Madison, Wisconsin-Area Experts Weigh In on Social Security Issues
Excerpt: "Allowing individuals more control over their Social Security accounts would follow a trend in industry where traditional pensions have been replaced by 401(k) accounts, a local Social Security official says. But Ron Konkol, state liaison for the Social Security Administration, said that the commission President Bush appointed Wednesday will have to answer many questions before any such proposal moves forward. Among them: ..." (Knight Ridder/Tribune)
GM Aims Buyout at Newer Workers
Excerpt: "General Motors Corp., in another move designed to trim its white-collar ranks, is offering to pay employees up to 15 months of salary in a lump sum to quit the automaker. The program represents a small step toward GM's goal of cutting 6,000 white-collar jobs in North America under a restructuring announced in December." (The Detroit News)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Employee Benefit Tax Manager | for Deloitte & Touche, a Professional Services Firm in OH |
| 401(k) Administrator | for Northeast Consulting Group in NJ, NY |
| Employee Benefits Trust Officer | for Regions Bank in AL |
| Sr. Benefit Administration Specialist-Multiple Locations | for Towers Perrin in PA, VA |
| Pension Consultant / Administrator | for Swerdlin & Company in GA |
| Administrative Manager | for An Employee Benefit Organization in OH |
| Senior Pension Consultant | for Fidelity Investments in MA |
| DIRECTOR OF BENEFITS | for CLARIAN HEALTH in IN |
| Trust Officer | for American Express Financial Advisors in MN |
| Retirement Plan Administrator | for SB&F in TX |
| Benefits Practitioner | for Borgess Health Alliance - Kalamazoo, MI in MI |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Retirement Services | in DC on September 23, 2001 presented by American Bankers Association |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| ACLI PRAISES HOUSE PASSAGE OF H.R. 10, THE COMPREHENSIVE RETIREMENT SECURITY AND PENSION REFORM ACT (American Council of Life Insurers) |
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