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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition
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August 13, 2001 - 12,875 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) (click)


   PSCA, the nationally recognized organization that was
   instrumental in bringing you the 401(k) plan, invites
   you to its 54th National Conference and Exhibition,
   September 12-14, 2001 in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona.
   You'll find in-depth analysis and practical application
   of pension reform regulations; over 30 presentations,
   workshops and discussion groups; and networking
   opportunities with plan sponsors who face the same
   issues.   Click on the banner above or visit www.psca.org for more
   information!


EBRI/ICI Study Shows Average 401(k) Account Balances Down Only Slightly, But Not for Some Age Groups
Press release. Excerpt: "[I]n the consistent group of 8.3 million participants in the EBRI/ICI database, the change in account balance varied considerably with age. For example, the average account balance of participants in their 20s rose 26.9 percent in 2000, while the average account balance of participants in their 60s fell about 5.8 percent. That's because, for younger participants, contributions are of greater importance in percentage terms than are other factors ..." (PR Newswire via Excite News)

9th Circuit Reverses District Court; No Abuse of Discretion by Pension Plan in Excluding Contractors
34 pages. Hensley v. Northwest Permanente P.C. Retirement Plan and Trust (9th Cir. Aug. 2, 2001). Excerpt: "According to the terms of both Plans, a person is eligible to participate only if he or she is a 'Qualified Employee' [which is defined] as 'any employee of Employer.' ... Neither Plan specifically defines 'employee,' an omission that gave rise to the plaintiffs' claim. The administrators applied a 'W-2' definition to the term ..." (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)

DOL Secures $1.1 Million Default Judgment Against Pension Plan Sponsor and Its Officers
Excerpt: "A $1,127,263.90 default judgment was entered recently in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Wiretex Manufacturing Company Inc. and Robert and Emil Garofalo as officers and sole shareholders of Wiretex." (Fairfield County Business Journal)

Bill Would Permanently Extend Changes Made By 2001 Tax Law
Rep. Ken Hulshof (Mo.) has introduced H.R. 2316, which would permanently extend the changes made by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16). The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. In addition to cutting the federal income tax rates, the 2001 tax law made numerous changes to pension law. (Spencernet)

Firms Were Entitled To Jury Trial Under LMRA Regarding Unpaid Contributions To Funds
The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that a group of family-owned companies was entitled to a jury trial under the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) on the issue of whether the companies were liable for more than $7.5 million in unpaid contributions to union benefit funds. The ruling came in Brown, et al. v. Sandimo Materials, et al. (No. 00-7219). (Spencernet)

Opinion: Social Security Trust Fund Is Misleading
Excerpt: "[T]he size of the trust fund, or even its existence, neither adds to nor detracts from the government's ability to pay Social Security benefits. Benefits do not rise when the trust fund gets bigger, nor do they fall when the trust fund gets smaller. All that really matters is whether the federal government has sufficient revenue from all sources to pay all its bills ... The central problem is that projected outlays for Social Security are rising sharply ..." (Bruce Bartlett on TownHall.com, a website of the Heritage Foundation)

New Edition of Leveraged ESOPs Book Incorporates New Tax Law
The NCEO's well-known book 'Leveraged ESOPs and Employee Buyouts,' which covers various aspects of leveraged employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), including contribution limits, financing, accounting, due diligence, etc., has now come out in a fourth edition revised to incorporate the changes enacted in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. The NCEO's page on the book includes several excerpts. (National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO))

(Following items also appear in Welfare Plans Edition)


Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
Excerpt: "This year we proudly celebrate 75 years as one of the top CPA firms serving mid-size businesses. Our team of certified public accountants offers experience and professionalism to clients across the country and around the world (RSM international). We provide high quality, efficient and timely audit, accounting and certain tax services to assist our clients in achieving their business objectives."

New Web Source for News and Information for Compensation and Stock Professionals
Especially good is the site's News Log, an ongoing listing of links to news and online articles about executive compensation and stock plan matters (including stock options and stock purchase plans). Excerpt: "Roberta is a paralegal of twenty years' experience who in the last few years has concentrated on restricted stock, stock offerings and stock option/purchase plans. She obtained her paralegal certificate in 1981 and her CEP certification in November 2000." (Edited by Roberta Jones Day, CEP; J. Mark Poerio, Esq. is an advisor and contributor)

Has Pay for Performance Gone Awry? Views from a Corporate Governance Forum (PDF)
16 pages; July 2001. Excerpt: "This issue of Research Dialogue summarizes the discussions at a recent TIAA-CREF Institute forum on compensation policies at public corporations. The article provides important background information on compensation issues, demonstrates the need for a judicious and informed approach in the design and implementation of compensation programs, and highlights the consensus on several issues that arose at the forum." (TIAA-CREF Institute)

Federal Agencies Told to Pay Full Pension and Health Benefits Costs In 2003
Excerpt: "Under current law, agencies and the Office of Personnel Management split the pension costs of employees in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which covers personnel hired before 1983 ... Agencies already pay the full cost of pension benefits for employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System, which covers employees hired after 1983 [but OPM] picks up the full tab for retirement health benefits earned by active employees in both retirement systems." (GovExec.com)

Labor Department Solicits Nominations for Employee Benefits Advisory Council
Excerpt: "The deadline for receipt of nominations is Oct. 1. The bipartisan advisory council, known as the ERISA Advisory Council, has 15 members appointed by the Secretary of Labor to represent a wide range of interests in the employee benefits area." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)




Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
Service Integration Manager - Marlborough , Massachusetts for Fidelity Investments
in MA
Client Director for CitiStreet
in FL
Senior Health & Welfare Consultant for USI Consulting Group (USICG)
in MA
Pension Analyst for USI Consulting Group (USICG)
in CT
Director of Service Operations for AEGON Insurance Group
in IA
Director of Technical Application Support for AEGON Insurance Group
in IA



Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
2001 Retirement Odyssey: A Journey in GA on September 8, 2001
presented by National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA)



Newly Posted Press Releases
Labor Department Solicits Nominations for Employee Benefits Advisory Council (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)

Subscribe to the Welfare Plans Edition, too (click)


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.