July 26, 2001 - 13,193 subscribers Today's sponsor: EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click) Fill your employee benefits job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink. What better place to find qualified candidates? Your help wanted ad will be listed in the BenefitsLink Newsletter (19,000 subscribers to the two editions), will be seen by thousands of candidates who view our listings online, and will be emailed to over 2,000 job-seekers. Click on the link above to see how easy it is to place an ad. EGTRRA and Qualified Plans: Highlights of the Key Plan Amendment Issues Excerpt: "In some cases, if plans are not amended to reflect the EGTRRA's provisions, the less favorable pre-EGTRRA rules will continue to apply. The following is a brief summary of some of the key provisions of the EGTRRA that require action or attention by employers before the end of 2001." (McDermott Will & Emery) Checklist of Qualification Rules for Governmental Plans Updated for EGTRRA The checklist of which Internal Revenue Code qualification rules do and do not apply to state and local retirement systems and other governmental plans has now been updated to reflect the changes made by HR 1836, Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ('EGTRRA'). (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.) Beleaguered Manufacturer Withdraws Option of 401(k) Investments in Company Stock Due to Long Slide Excerpt: "Auto parts maker Federal-Mogul Corp., one of the few industrial companies plagued by asbestos-related lawsuits that hasn't filed for bankruptcy, has told its employees they can no longer use their pension contributions to buy its beaten-down common shares." (Reuters via Excite News) DOL Sues Plan Trustees For Failing To Remit Employee Contributions To Plans The Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Dylan Mortgage Brokers of Wilmington, N.C., and the trustees of the company's Sec. 401(k) and health care plans for failing to remit $48,379 of employee contributions to the plans. (SpencerNet) Notice of Divorce Within 18 Months Before Participant's Death Made Post-Death QDRO Enforceable Hogan v. Raytheon Co. (N.D. Iowa 2001). Excerpt: "Under the facts of the case, a pension participant died nine months after becoming divorced but two days before a QDRO was entered on behalf of his former spouse. The pre-death divorce decree had awarded the former spouse 50% of the participant's 'present retirement funds' to be paid pursuant to a later-issued QDRO." (EBIA Weekly) Analysis: IRS Delays Effective Date of Nondiscrimination Rules For Governmental, Church Plans In Notice 2001-46, the Internal Revenue Service delays until the first day of the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2003, the effective date of the nondiscrimination regulations under IRC Secs. 401(a)(4), 401(a)(26), 401(k)(3), and 401(m) for governmental plans other than plans of state and local governments or political subdivisions thereof. (Spencernet) Lost Pensions, Lost Pensioners: Is a National Registry of Pension Plans the Answer? (PDF) Excerpt: "[M]any [U.S.] retirees face great difficulties in tracing their former employers in order to apply for a pension to which they are entitled. At the same time, pension plans have trouble tracking down pensioners with whom they have lost contact. The problem of lost pensions and lost pensioners was also prevalent in the United Kingdom, but in 1991 the British government established a national registry of pension plans financed by a levy on all registered pension plans." (David Blake of Birkbeck College and John Turner of the Public Policy Institute of the AARP) Treasury Issues Press Release Summarizing U.S.-U.K. Tax Treaty Excerpt: "[T]he new treaty will be the first to allow U.S. citizens resident in another country to deduct, for U.S. tax purposes, contributions made to a foreign pension plan. These provisions relating to pensions and options represent a recognition of the increasing frequency with which executives and other employees move between countries during their careers." (U.S. Department of the Treasury) Pension Coverage Under Steelworkers Plan Extended to Nurses at California Hospital Press release. Excerpt: "Registered Nurses at Alameda Hospital in Alameda, Calif. voted unanimously in favor of a new contract that extends to them retirement coverage under the Steelworker Pension Trust, widely regarded as one of the best pension plans in the nation." (Business Wire via Yahoo! News) Limiting Legal Liability through Prudent Investment Advisory Practices, Part 2 Excerpt: "In Part 2, we discuss how using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) can be an effective tool in educating clients about risk and uncertainty, thereby helping to diffuse potentially litigious situations." (Practitioners Publishing Company) Upcoming Hearing to Address Social Security and Pension Reform: Lessons From Other Countries Excerpt: "The hearing will take place on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 ... As the United States considers options to save Social Security, lessons can be learned from the experiences of countries that are implementing or have already implemented personal retirement accounts as part of their retirement programs." (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means) Social Security Panel's Findings Criticized Excerpt: "In an uncommonly vitriolic exchange for a presidential commission early in its work, panel members called their opponents 'know-nothings' and 'Luddites.' In turn, a key House Democrat called on President Bush to 'throw out this commission that has no credibility' and begin direct, bipartisan negotiations over Social Security's future." (Washington Post) Preparing for the Coming Social Security Debate Excerpt: "[W]e've got it easy. Most of Europe has birth rates so low population is expected to decline. As population declines, the number of workers to support the elderly will plummet. Already, there are only 1.3 workers per retiree in Italy. The number is expected to reach 0.7 by 2050. Yes, you read that right--- there will be more people retired than working." (Scott Burns of The Dallas Morning News) Democrats Venture Into Realm of Social Security Privatization Excerpt: "Democrats, who have denounced President Bush's plan to allow workers to invest some of their payroll taxes in stocks, signaled Tuesday that they too would turn to the stock market to bolster the financial future of the giant retirement system.... But, unlike Bush, they would leave it to the government to do the investing and take the inherent risks." (Los Angeles Times) Benefits Items Crowd IRS's 2001 Agenda Excerpt: "The guidance plan year now will run from July 1 to June 30, with the '2001 Priority Guidance Plan' year ending on June 30, 2002. Consequently, the IRS and Treasury should not be releasing the bulk of this guidance in late December and early January, as often has been the case in the past." (Deloitte & Touche) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
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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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