| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
August 21, 2001 - 12,875 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation
(Please help us continue to provide this valuable newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
For the past 20 years ASC has provided complete automation for the pension office, including state of the art DC/401(k) and DB administration and valuation systems, as well as sophisticated compliance testing and DV Direct, a revolutionary solution for daily valuation functions. For a free demo disk and more information click on this web address: http://www.asc-net.com/contact.html
Former Spouse on Beneficiary Card Still Gets Benefits Despite Waiver Language in Divorce Decree
Heggy v. Am. Trading Employee Retirement Acc't Plan (Tex. Ct. App. 2001). Excerpt: "[EBIA Comment:] The Heggy decision reflects a fair reading of the broadly-worded holding in [Egelhoff, the U.S. Supreme Court case decided earlier this year]. If the beneficiary card is indeed a controlling plan document, then the operation of state law (such as through enforcement of a divorce decree) should not modify a contrary beneficiary designation that complies with the terms of the plan." (EBIA Weekly)
Financial Hardship Distributions from Federal Thrift Savings Plan No Longer Eligible for Rollover
Excerpt: "Federal employees who make hardship withdrawals from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts can no longer transfer the funds to an IRA or other retirement plan, according to a new rule from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board." (GovExec.com)
New Academic Research Journal Launched for Pensions
Excerpt: "The journal is associated with the new International Network of Pension Regulators and Supervisors which has member organizations in over 60 countries. The journal publishes original academic research papers on the economics and finance of pensions, retirement income and aging. Papers from actuarial science and other disciplines are welcome as long as there is a clear economics or finance context." (Journal of Pension Economics and Finance)
IRS Seeks Public Comments On Long-Term Future of Its Determination Letter Program
In Announcement 2001-83, the Internal Revenue Service invites the public 'to participate in a dialogue on the long-term future of the Employee Plans determination letter program.' In the announcement, the agency explains, 'The IRS has maintained an Employee Plans (EP) determination letter program for many years, essentially in its present form." (Spencernet)
Military Personnel Becoming Eligible for Federal Thrift Savings Plan
Excerpt: "There's only seven weeks left until military service members can begin participating in the Thrift Savings Plan. Beginning Oct. 9, military service members can choose to contribute a percentage of their pay to the military's thrift savings and investment program as part of building a nest egg for retirement." (GovExec.com)
Lifelong Union: You and Your IRA Custodian
Excerpt: "Considering that you could spend up to 40 years saving for retirement and another 15 years or more living in retirement, you may end up having a longer relationship with your IRA custodian than almost any friend or business partner." (mPower Cafe)
The Trouble With the Boehner Bill
Excerpt: "The latest advice bill needs some tweaking, if you ask the PSCA." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Seeing Through Brokerage Windows
Excerpt: "Are SDBA and window options the portals to plan sponsor paradise or just another pricey and confusing alternative your participants won't use?" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
A Second Look at Real Estate
Excerpt: "With equities losing their luster and the boomers getting ready to retire, real estate's steady income production is gaining new appeal." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Commissions and Full Disclosure
Excerpt: "Last year, the CFP Board of Standards proposed a change to the planners' Code of Ethics. The purpose: to tell you more about how -- and what -- individual planners are paid. Right now, CFPs are required (by their code) to disclose only whether they're compensated by sales commissions, customer fees or both." (Jane Bryant Quinn in the Washington Post)
With Pension System a Mess, China Calls Cato
Excerpt: "First Nixon went to China, and now the Cato Institute is heading to the Middle Kingdom to promote a pension plan that potentially could transform the world's largest communist state into the world's largest stockholding nation. Cato will co-sponsor with Peking University a conference Nov. 8 on China's collapsing pension system." (Washington Post)
An Update On the Continuing EITF Deliberations on Accounting for Stock Compensation (PDF)
Excerpt: "The project is referred to as EITF Issue No. 00-23 and it has become unprecedented in scope, with 47 specific issues and subissues deliberated as of this writing and at least 30 additional issues remaining to be discussed. Since our last mailing on the project, the EITF has met twice on April 19 and July 19, 2001 to discuss several issues which are briefly summarized below." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Participant Education Specialist/Consultant | for Illinois Hospital & HealthSystems Association in IL |
| Compliance Consultant | for American Century Investments in MO |
| Senior Benefits Associates | for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in NJ |
| Pension Plan Administrator | for The Angell Pension Group, Inc. in ALL STATES |
| Customer Service Representative | for Leggette Actuaries, Inc. in TX |
| Team Leader - Recordkeeping | for INVESCO Retirement, Inc. in GA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Employee Benefits Conference for Practitioners and Plan Sponsors | in TX on October 21, 2001 presented by Southwest Benefits Association and IRS-Employee Plans |
| Pacific Region Investment Conference 2001: Empowering Employees To Save For Retirement | in on September 4, 2001 presented by Guam Business and Salomon Smith Barney Consulting Group |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| MyBenefitSource "Chips Away" at Meadowbrook Golf's Payroll Administration Costs (MyBenefitSource) |
| Valmark Joins with 401kExchange! (401kExchange.com) |
| PBGC Publishes Updated Data Book (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) |
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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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