| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
August 1, 2001 - 13,016 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Glasser LegalWorks (click)
This timely "how to" program will address new DOL claims procedures, the avoidance of fiduciary liability after the Harris Trust decision, identifying conduct that might trigger a DOL investigation under its Strategic Enforcement Plan, and more.Designed for ERISA fiduciaries, investment advisors, and in-house, corporate, tax, labor, and insurance counsel. September 21 in Chicago; October 24 in New York. Click for full details!
Making the Sunset Go Away: Portman, Cardin Promise Pension Reform Follow-through
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors worried about that 'expiration date' on pension reform can perhaps breathe a little easier in the wake of comments yesterday from the architects of the legislation. 'I don't think there is any risk at all that pension provisions will be removed,' Representative Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) told a gathering of plan sponsors in Washington, DC yesterday." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
U.S. House OKs Railroad Retirement Overhaul
Excerpt: "A bill overhauling the railroad retirement system passed the House on Tuesday despite White House concern it could violate President Bush's principles for Social Security and criticism from some Republican about its $15 billion budget impact. The legislation ... would allow pension fund assets workers to be invested in private securities instead of lower-yielding government bonds. The idea is to increase earnings, thus reducing payroll taxes and boosting benefits." (Associated Press via Yahoo! News)
Union Pacific Praises House Vote On Railroad Retirement
Press release. Excerpt: "[Union Pacific CEO Dick Davidson said,] 'Today is a great day for railroad employees across the country. They are now one step closer to a more secure pension fund featuring full vesting after five years, retirement at age 60, and restoration of 100% benefits for the surviving spouse. This legislation has 72 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate, and we're looking forward to its successful passage in that Chamber as well.'" (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
U.S. House Passes Rail Pension Investment Bill
Excerpt: "Legislation allowing a portion of railroad pension funds to be invested in private securities was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday.... The U.S. Senate still has to vote on the legislation before it could go to the White House to become law." (Reuters via Yahoo! Finance)
Your Pension May Have Been Lost, But Perhaps PBGC Has Found It
Excerpt: "[A]ccording to the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which guarantees traditional pension plans, more than $30 million in pension money has gone unclaimed." (USA Today)
Witnesses Testify on Social Security Privatization
Transcript of testimony on July 31, 2001 by the Honorable E. Clay Shaw, Jr. of Florida; Paul S. Hewitt, Center for the Strategic and International Studies; Gary Burtless, Ph.D., Brookings Institute; Keith Bedell-Pearce, Prudential plc; Edward Palmer, Ph.D., Uppsala University in Sweden; Peter Orszag, Ph.D., Sebago Associates; L. Jacobo RodrÃguez, Cato Institute; David O. Harris, Watson Wyatt Worldwide. (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security)
Opinion: About That Social Security Trust Fund, by Professor Olivia S. Mitchell
Excerpt: "The President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, of which we are both members (from different political parties), has sparked a vigorous debate on the nature of the Social Security trust fund. We'd like to explain why having a trust fund doesn't avoid the difficult choices that stem from impending Social Security financing shortfalls." (Olivia S. Mitchell and Thomas R. Saving in the Washington Post)
G.O.P. Defends Social Security Investment Accounts, Points to Systems in Other Countries
Excerpt: "[At a Tuesday hearing of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security,] Republicans favoring private Social Security accounts say the United States should look to other countries, including Britain, Sweden, Australia and Chile that have successfully overhauled their retirement systems." (Associated Press via Yahoo! News)
Another Question is Answered in the Stock Options, Restricted Stock and Other Long-Term Employment Incentives Q&A Column
What is the common practice regarding stock options for rehires? Can/should options be re-issued? What are the pros, cons and tax implications of re-issuing stock options? (BenefitsLink.com)
Opinion: Broadcom CEO Nicholas Is No Billionaire Pay Hog
Excerpt: "It's weird, but chief executives who become billionaires either pay themselves too much or too little. They never get it just right -- or so it seems to me, though I'm not a billionaire. On the low side, you won't find a pay package easier to calculate than that of Henry Nicholas III, CEO of Broadcom Corp., the largest maker of semiconductors for cable modems." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Director of New Business Implementations | for Northern Trust Retirement Consulting, LLC in GA |
| Pension Administrator | for Mid Atlantic Pension Design & Administration, Inc. in NJ |
| 401(k) Administrator | for National Retirement Services, Inc. (NRS) in CA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Falcon Technologies and vSimplify Join Forces To Provide Industry's Only Fully Integrated Laptop and Web-Based Benefits Administration and Enrollment Platform (vSimplify) |
| ERIC Urges Senators to Oppose Mental Health Parity Measure (The ERISA Industry Committee) |
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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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