| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
July 23, 2001 - 13,193 subscribers
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Testimony to House Committee by Investment Company Institute on Boehner Investment Advice Bill
Speaking: Rep. Sam Johnson; Rep. John Boehner; Ms. Betty Shepard, Mohawk Industries, Inc.; Mr. Richard A. Hiller, TIAA-CREF; Mr. Jon Breyfogle, Groom Law Group for the American Council of Life Insurers; Mr. Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO; Mr. Joseph Perkins, AARP. (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations)
A Chat With Ted Benna, Mr. 401(k)
Excerpt: "While he's astonished at the growth in 401(k) plans, which last year held $1.7 trillion, according to Chicago-based consultant Spectrem Group, Benna is still looking for ways to improve his baby. To that end, he recently has been circulating his blueprint for 401(k) reform among interested parties, including officials at the Treasury Dept. and on Capitol Hill." (Business Week)
Analysis: Benefit Plan Sponsors Have New Choices and Obligations Under New Tax Law
Excerpt: "Highlighted below are provisions of EGTRRA that will affect employee benefit plans offered by private sector employers and governmental and tax-exempt organizations, as well as individual retirement accounts (IRAs)." (Pillsbury Winthrop LLP)
When Not to Use Your 401(k) Plan
Excerpt: "When you have received the maximum matching contributions your employer will make to your salary reduction retirement plan -- e.g., 401(k) -- it's time to evaluate the benefit of making additional contributions to that plan." (The Motley Fool)
When Hidden Fees Erode 401(k)'s
Excerpt: "Administrative fees once borne almost universally by employers are chipping away at the returns of many investors in 401(k) retirement plans." (New York Times; free registration required)
Another Question is Answered in the Stop, Look & Listen: Railroad Retirement Q&A Column
Will the 5-year vesting proposal ever come about? It would certainly help me. I plan to retire at 62 with 36 years under Social Security and 6 years under Railroad Retirement by that time. Also, when I retire, will I get more from Social Security or Railroad Retirement? (BenefitsLink.com)
Another Question is Answered in the Stop, Look & Listen: Railroad Retirement Q&A Column
My grandfather was a railroad employee. He was killed in an work accident. My father was also a rail worker, and he is deceased too. How can I get death information about them online? Because they were railroad workers, neither of them is listed in the online death information provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA). (BenefitsLink.com)
Pension Consumer Organization to Sponsor Conference on Enhancing Pension Coverage
Excerpt: "The Pension Rights Center is convening a Conversation on Coverage [on July 24 and 25] to bring together representatives of business, labor, retiree, women's and consumer groups, and experts from diverse viewpoints to begin to search for common ground and to explore a range of solutions to help expand pension coverage.... [W]e see ourselves as facilitators to bring together a range of varied voices to begin the process of finding common ground." (Pension Rights Center)
Business Week Online Special Report: How to Retire
July 30, 2001 issue. Articles include: How to Get Back on Track; What Doesn't Belong in Your 401(k); Who Gives the Web's Best 401(k) Advice?; Commentary: Company Stock Could Sink Your Ship; Opening Your Nest Egg without Breaking It; Death, Taxes--and Health-Care Costs; Seniors, Beware of a Thief Called Inflation; Careful: Don't Blow Your Options; Now the Self-Employed Can Sock Away More; How Much 401(k) Choice Is Healthy? (Business Week)
Retired Teachers Lobby To Reverse Pension Boost That Excludes Them
Excerpt: "As the new pensions become available for school and state employees retiring after July 1, some retirees and their organizations are gearing up for a fall aimed at getting legislators to change the law." (The [Pittsburgh] Post-Gazette)
Ventura County CA Union Employees on Strike Over Lack of COLAs
Excerpt: "The SEIU Local 998's 4,200 members represent about half of county government's work force. Their strike has slowed or stopped numerous county services, including citrus inspections and child-support payments." (MSNBC.com)
Washington State Law Allows Teachers to Collect Full Pensions After Being Rehired
Excerpt: "Gov. Gary Locke signed legislation late last month that allows school districts to rehire educators after they retire for 30 days and still allows the educators to collect their full pensions." (South County Journal via MSNBC.com)
Fee For All
July 2001 issue. Excerpt: "Through a process known as fee-'scraping,' providers are making money from your DC accounts. What, if anything, is in it for plan sponsors-and how much is at stake? ... A new report from the McHenry Consulting Group in Berkeley, California, reveals a number of ways in which plan sponsors, and plan participants, are, perhaps, paying more than they know-and more than they need to." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Private Pensions: Coverage and Benefit Trends
56 pages. Excerpt: "This paper focuses specifically on pensions provided by private, rather than government, employers. It explores who is covered by a private pension plan and who is not, how much retirees receive in pension income, and how pension coverage and pension receipt have changed over time." (Alicia Munnell and Annika Sunden of the Center for Retirement Research)
Opinion: 2016 and All That
Excerpt: "I knew that the commission on Social Security reform appointed by George W. Bush would produce a slanted report, one designed to bully Congress into privatizing the system. But the draft report released last week is sheer, mean-spirited nonsense." (Paul Krugman in the New York Times; free registration required)
Social Security: Why Action Should Be Taken Soon (PDF)
39 pages; July 2001 revised edition. (Social Security Advisory Board)
Staff Draft: Bringing Social Security into the 21st Century (PDF)
Excerpt: "The relentless truth of ascending life expectancies and declining birth rates will put an intolerable squeeze on the system that now exists.... The system is broken. Unless we move boldly and quickly, the promise of Social Security to future retirees cannot be met without eventual resort to benefit cuts, tax increases, or massive borrowing. The time to act is now." (Washington Post)
IRS Wants To Tax Company Stock-purchase Plans
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service is considering applying the 7.65 percent wage tax to many stock-purchase plans. More than 15 million people participate in company stock-purchase plans that permit them to buy shares in their company at a discount --- usually 15 percent --- below market price. The IRS proposes to impose the wage tax on the difference between the stock's market price and the discount plan's purchase price." (The Macon [Ga.] Telegraph)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Pension Investigator | for U.S. DOL, Pension & Welfare Benefits Administration in IL |
| Service Consultant | for Transamerica in IL |
| SENIOR INVESTMENT CONSULTANT | for Alan D. Biller & Associates in CA |
| Actuarial Assistant | for Employee Benefit, Actuarial, and HR Consulting Firm in IL |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| 401(k) Plans | in OR on October 2, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| Cafeteria Plans | in OR on October 3, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans | in OR on October 4, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| HIPAA & Other Federal Mandates for Group Health Plans | in OR on October 4, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans | in OR on October 5, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| 401(k) Plans | in OH on October 9, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| Cafeteria Plans | in OH on October 10, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans | in OH on October 11, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| HIPAA & Other Federal Mandates for Group Health Plans | in OH on October 11, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans | in OH on October 12, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| 401(k) Plans | in MD on October 23, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| Cafeteria Plans | in MD on October 24, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans | in MD on October 25, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| HIPAA & Other Federal Mandates for Group Health Plans | in MD on October 25, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans | in MD on October 26, 2001 presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA) |
| Human Resource Contact Centers | in CA on September 24, 2001 presented by International Quality and Productivity Center |
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Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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