| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
September 17, 2001 - 12,361 subscribers
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(Help BenefitsLink to provide this 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)
7th Cir.: EEOC Claims for Retirement Benefits Dismissed Because Age Discrimination Claims Untimely
Excerpt: "An individual must have filed timely charges of discrimination with the EEOC in order to file a claim of discrimination himself. See 29 U.S.C. sec. 626(d). Despite this filing requirement, the EEOC asks us to hold that it may bring suit for monetary damages even when none of the individuals on whose behalf it sues have filed timely charges." (FindLaw.com)
PBGC Takes Over Underfunded Pension Plans of Steel Company
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has announced that it is assuming trusteeship of the underfunded pension plans maintained by bankrupt Northwestern Steel and Wire Company. Northwestern Steel, which is based in Sterling, Ill., was a producer of structural steel and related products. (Spencernet)
California Legislature Votes to Increase Retired Teachers' Pensions
Press release. Excerpt: "The California Retired Teachers Association today praised the overwhelming support the Legislature has shown by passing a measure to restore lost purchasing power to the pensions of thousands of California's oldest and poorest retired teachers. On a 33-3 vote Thursday, September 13, the Senate endorsed AB135, which would guarantee a retired teacher's pension would be worth at least 80 percent of its original value. The Assembly passed the measure on a 75-0 vote June 5." (Business Wire via Yahoo! News)
Opinion: the Duty To Investigate Pension Consultant Conflicts and Compensation
'Current Alert' for September 2001. Excerpt: "Why would a pension board not want to know about conflicts of interest of its pension consultant? Clearly it is a pension trustee's duty to investigate conflicts of interest wherever they arise. How could additional information about these conflicts be anything but helpful? What are we really concerned about when we speak of risks related to consultant conflicts of interest and do these conflicts result in actual harm to pensions?" (The Benchmark Companies)
U.S. Department of Labor Extends Deadline for Employee Benefit Plan Filings and Provides Other ERISA Compliance Guidance
Excerpt: "The extension applies to plan administrators, employers and other entities who file the Form 5500 and Form 5500-EZ that are located in the areas designated as federal disaster areas because of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The extension also applies to filers located outside the designated disaster areas who are unable to obtain the information necessary for filing from service providers, banks or insurance companies whose operations are directly affected by the disasters." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)
Notice 2001-63 Grants Extension of Most September 10 - 23 Deadlines Until September 24 (PDF)
Excerpt: "The [IRS] has determined that the due date for all federal tax obligations falling between September 10, 2001, and September 24, 2001, is postponed to September 24, 2001. This postponement of time covers [all taxpayers regardless of their location, for] the filing of returns and claims for refund, the payment of tax (including estimated tax payments), making elections, and filing any other federal tax documents. The postponement does not apply to deposits of federal taxes." (Internal Revenue Service)
In Notice 2001-61 IRS Grants Additional Relief and Extensions for Persons in Federal Disaster Areas (PDF)
Excerpt: "Individuals located in the affected counties and other individuals who are 'affected taxpayers' ... that have extended the time for filing their tax year 2000 federal individual income tax return beyond September 10, 2001, will have a postponement to February 12, 2002 ... In addition, affected calendar year ... entities that are currently on a six-month extension of time to file their federal tax return ... will have an additional 120 days to file their returns ..." (Internal Revenue Service)
Another Question is Answered in the Stock Options, Restricted Stock and Other Long-Term Employment Incentives Q&A Column
What are the tax implications of restricted stock at time of forfeiture? (BenefitsLink.com)
EEOC's New York Office Destroyed In Attack On World Trade Center
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced that its New York district office, which was located on the 18th floor of the World Trade Center, Building 7, was destroyed in the terrorist attack on September 11. All of the EEOC's employees in the office have been accounted for. (Spencernet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Plan Administrator/Consultant | for Simpkins & Associates in TX |
| Education Specialist II | for ADP in NJ |
| Qualified Plan Documents Manager | for MBM Advisors Inc. in TX |
| Client Service Position | for MBM Advisors Inc. in TX |
| Sales Consultant | for Associated Pension Consultants in NY |
| New Business Specialist | for Zurich Scudder Investments in NH |
| Pension Administrator | for PENSERVCO, Inc. in FL |
| 401(k)/DC Plan Administrator | for Employee Benefit Consultants, Inc. in MD |
| Defined Benefit Specialist | for Paragon Consulting Group in CA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| U.S. Department of Labor Extends Deadline for Employee Benefit Plan Filings and Provides Other ERISA Compliance Guidance (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) |
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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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