| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
June 19, 2001
Today's sponsor: DATAIR (click)
PC-based BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION SOFTWARE for Pensions, Profit-Sharing, 401(k), and Cafeteria plans used by TPAs and Plan Sponsors for proposals, enrollment, documents, administration, trust accounting, voice response, task management, government and participant reporting. Modules operate independently or fully integrated for data sharing, speed, accuracy, efficiency & savings. Visit www.datair.com or click on the link above!
On Wall St, O'Neill Pitches Private Social Security
Excerpt: "U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill took his pitch for private Social Security accounts to the heart of Wall Street on Monday, charging critics fail to grasp the solvency crisis facing America's retirement system." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Treasury Secretary Faults "No Assets" Social Security System
Excerpt: "Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill launched a broad attack on the current Social Security system today, saying it has 'no assets' and leaves Americans vulnerable to the whim of 'someone else's promise.'" (Washington Post)
Court Approves First Union Settlement
Excerpt: "The court approved the settlement on June 13, 2001. Under the settlement, First Union will pay approximately $26 million to almost 45,000 claimants." (EBIA Weekly)
Site Helps Companies Size Up 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "The main reason [that more small companies don't start 401(k) plans] is that financial advisers find them complicated and time-consuming to sell. For each proposal, there are about 640 pieces of information that must be assembled -- and generally, each client expects three proposals. So for the moderate fees generated by a plan for a small- or midsized company, most brokers feel it's just not worth the effort." (StarNews.com)
Long-retired Copperweld Workers' Pensions Are Hung Up In LTV Bankruptcy
Excerpt: "But the checks stopped coming in January, when the bankrupt Cleveland steelmaker sent the retirees a letter saying their pensions were being 'temporarily' suspended. Temporarily means until LTV emerges from its second stay in bankruptcy. If the steelmaker's first visit there, which lasted from 1986 to 1993, is any indication, Palastro and his aging band of brothers may go to their graves waiting for their checks." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Another Question is Answered in the Stop, Look & Listen: Railroad Retirement Q&A Column
Can a rail worker with more than 30 years leave a rail job before 60 and still get a pension at 62? (BenefitsLink.com)
Another Question is Answered in the Correcting Plan Defects Q&A Column
An employer sponsors a 401(k) plan. In 2000, it discovers an operational failure which occurred in the 1996 plan year. Thinking the failure is 'insignificant,' the employer self-corrects the failure using the Administrative Policy Regarding Self-Correction. In 2001, the IRS audits the plan and determines that the failure was significant and, therefore, not eligible for SCP. What options, if any, does the employer have in dealing with this situation? (BenefitsLink.com)
Wisconsin School Districts' Retirement Plans Are Age-Discriminatory, EEOC Says
Excerpt: "The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has offered Wisconsin schools a way to avoid penalties for early retirement policies the federal agency has deemed discriminatory, but many districts aren't taking it." (The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
July PBGC Rates For Valuing Terminating Plans Are Unchanged
For single-employer pension plans terminating in July 2001, and for multiemployer plans undergoing a mass withdrawal, the interest rate established by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for calculating immediate annuities is 6.60%. (SpencerNet)
Principal Financial Group and Frank Russell Company Announce Strategic Business Alliance
Press release. Excerpt: The 'business alliance ... includes offering Russell's multi-manager LifePoints(R) Funds to defined contribution clients of The Principal. In addition, Russell's U.S. distribution subsidiary, Frank Russell Investment Management Company, has selected The Principal as its primary provider of defined contribution products for Russell's independent financial intermediary community, including registered financial advisers, banks, and insurance agents and brokers." (Business Wire)
State-Supported Hot Line Helps Massachusetts Workers Offered Buyouts
Excerpt: "The partnership involves a $10,000 grant and a formal relationship with the pension assistance project, based at the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Jack Pizer, project coordinator, said that just yesterday, a couple of calls came into the project from workers about a deadline for deciding on a retirement offer." (Boston Globe)
The Market Loves a Crowd
Excerpt: "Led by a maturing generation of baby boomers, individual investors have flooded the market since 1980, attracted first by retirement plans and mutual funds, and in the late 1990s by the Internet, falling stock commissions and the promise of spectacular returns. Along the way, they've pumped trillions of dollars into the market, keeping a wide spectrum of stocks healthy and liquid, and providing an enthusiastic reception for initial public offerings." (TheStreet.com via Yahoo! Finance)
SEC Commissioner Saw the Future of Mutual Funds
Excerpt: "When SEC Commissioner Paul Carey passed away on Thursday at age 38, mutual fund shareholders lost a true unsung hero. Without much fanfare, Carey, a former legislative liaison for President Clinton and the son of former New York Gov. Hugh Carey, frequently tackled tough issues with insight and a knack for seeing what the future holds for mutual funds." (TheStreet.com via Yahoo!)
CEO Perks Good; Severance Packages Even Better
Excerpt: "Think salary, bonus, restricted stock awards, stock options and even long-term incentive plans are the only way executives are compensated? Think again. Companies can be quite creative in compensating their top people." (The Sacramento Bee)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Executive Compensation & Benefits Consultant | for Clark Bardes Consulting/Compensation Resource Group, Inc in CA, DC, GA, IL, NY, OH, TX |
| Pension Consultants/Administrators; F/T & P/T | for Northern NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm in NJ, NY |
| 401(k)/Pension Administrator | for Great Lakes Pension Administrators, Inc. in MI |
| Benefits Assistant | for Morrison & Foerster in CA |
| Senior Benefits Administrator | for Lyondell Chemical Company in TX |
| Non-Qualified Benefits Plan Administrator | for Winged Keel Group in NY |
| Health & Welfare Specialist | for Towers Perrin in NY |
| 401(k) / Retirement Plan Administrator | for Howard Simon & Associates, Inc. in IL |
| Pension Professional | for BMI in MO |
| Retirement Plan Services Operations Manager | for KeyCorp in OH |
| Manager, Benefits | for Dynegy in TX |
| ERISA Litigation Attorney | for Katz, Kutter, Haigler, Alderman, Bryant & Yon, P.A. in FL |
| Director of Benefits & Compensation - Bellevue, WA | for VoiceStream Wireless in WA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Employee Benefits Conference | in NY on August 23, 2001 presented by The Foundation for Accounting Education a division of the NYSSCPA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Emplanet, Inc. Joins with 401kExchange! (401kExchange.com) |
| Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. Joins with 401kExchange! (401kExchange.com) |
| LifeMap Communications and Human Resource MicroSystems Launch New Partnership Programs (LifeMap Communications, Inc.) |
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