| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
October 11, 2001 - 12,199 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ASPA
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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)
New Intensive Program Offers Education, Professional Certification in 401(k) Administration
Press release. Excerpt: "In response to the changing needs of the retirement plan industry, ASPA has unveiled its newest training program, specifically designed for retirement plan professionals who administer 401(k) and related defined contribution plans. The new program from ASPA features five comprehensive courses that address issues such as events processing, daily valuation, laws and regulations." (American Society of Pension Actuaries)
New Developments Affecting Public Retirement System
New outline available at Carol Calhoun's employee benefits site discusses the effect of EGTRRA on retirement plans of state and local governments; issues raised under USERRA by the recent call-up of forces; the effect of the Vermont Civil Unions Law and other provisions of state and local plans permitting domestic relations orders between same-sex partners; and the effect of the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in two recent fiduciary cases. (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)
IRS Properly Disqualified Firm's ESOP For Failure To Satisfy Participation Tests
The Internal Revenue Service properly disqualified a management company's employee stock ownership plan because the plan failed to satisfy the participation requirements of IRC Sec. 410. This was the decision of the U.S. Tax Court in Beals Bros. Management Corp. v. Commissioner (Docket No. 10871-99R. T.C. Memo. 2001-234). (Spencernet)
PBGC Takes Over Outboard Marine Corp. Pension Plan, Protects Benefits for 10,000 Workers
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has taken over the underfunded pension plan covering more than 10,000 people who worked for the bankrupt Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC). The Waukegan, Ill.-based manufacturer of recreational boats and engines is now in liquidation." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Implications of a Difficult Economy for Company-Sponsored Retirement Plans (PDF)
Working paper. Excerpt: "How have pensions responded to this negative economic news? In theory, pensions are long-term arrangements, so pension investing should reflect the long-term prognosis for the economy.... Nevertheless, in our view, recent economic developments will likely have a greater impact on pension plans than did earlier shifts in economic conditions. This is partly because of the growth of DC plans, which implies that more of the pension assets are employee-controlled." (Pension Research Council)
Designing Total Reward Programs for Tight Labor Markets (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "Some people believe that the recent economic slowdown, starting in 2000, may dampen employers' efforts to find creative new ways of recruiting staff. The reality is, that despite news of layoffs, unemployment rates in the US remain low by historical standards. Even with the collapse of many dot com firms, there are still technology jobs going unfilled." (Pension Research Council)
How Demographic Change Will Drive Benefit Design (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "This chapter examines how the aging of the labor force and its changing composition will influence the future demand for employer-sponsored benefits. We investigate the age, sex, racial, and ethnic patterns of demand for employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, health and disability insurance, and family-oriented benefits, and evaluate their implications for the desired mix of benefits in the future." (Pension Research Council)
Strategies for Managing Improper Payments: Learning from Public and Private Organizations
70 pages; GAO-02-69G, October 2001. Of possible interest to installment payors of pensions or other employee benefits. (U.S. General Accounting Office)
Benefits and Productivity (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "This chapter discusses how two of the most prominent employer-provided benefits – pensions and health insurance plans – influence productivity. In particular we investigate how pension plan design and the availability of employee or retiree health insurance influence workforce selection, retention, retirement behavior, and worker effort." (Pension Research Council)
The Benefits Implication of Recent Trends in Flexible Staffing Arrangements (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "The growth in various flexible staffing arrangements raises concerns about whether workers in temporary and contract arrangements are adequately covered by key benefits and regulations governing them. It also raises concerns that employers' desire to control benefits costs has stimulated some of the growth in these arrangements." (Pension Research Council)
De-linking Benefits from a Single Employer: Alternative Multiemployer Models (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "[T]here have been very few studies on alternative modes of benefit provision in the U.S., including voluntarily-provided employee benefit plans that span employers. In this chapter we explore multiemployer pension plans in the United States, examining what they do and how they function." (Pension Research Council)
Benefits for the Free Agent Workforce (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "The free agent workforce is estimated to comprise one-quarter to one-third of the American workforce. Typical definitions of the free agent workforce encompass a variety of workstyles including temporary employees, independent contractors, self-employed, small family businesses, and solo professionals.... Given the size and rapid growth in this segment of the workforce, government groups have started to focus on policy implications of the free agent workforce." (Pension Research Council)
A Look at Global Benefits Administration (PDF)
Working Paper. Excerpt: "The term 'benefits administration' covers a wide variety of benefit-related functions in the modern corporation. These include payroll processing, pension administration, health insurance administration, human resource information systems (HRIS), and many others. In this chapter we consider global developments in the benefits administration function." (Pension Research Council)
U.s. Eyes Stock Options In Airline Bailout
Excerpt: " The government has a fairly simple response to taxpayers who are skeptical about the federal bailout of the airline industry and wonder what's in it for them: the potential for stock options. A provision in the airline bailout bill says the federal government will give preference in awarding up to $10 billion in loan guarantees to airlines 'that will allow the federal government to participate in the gains of the company.'" (Chicago Tribune)
Is the Use of Options Spinning Out of Control?
Excerpt: "This all started innocently enough. In the 1990s, companies increasingly began using options as a cheap form of pay. As many as 10 million employees now hold stock options, up from one million in 1991, the National Center for Employee Ownership says." (CareerJournal.com)
Spencer Releases 2001 Benefits Managers' Survey
The average salary for benefits managers in 2001 was $80,240,a 3.8% increase over the last two years,according to the biennial employee benefits managers ' survey conducted by Charles D.Spencer & Associates, Inc. Most noticeable in the recent survey is the rapid increase in use of the Internet, with more than three of five companies using the Internet or an intranet for one or more benefits functions. (Spencernet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Sales Consultants | for Administaff in CA |
| VP Retirement Plans Product Manager | for The Howard Group Ltd in NY |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Rapid Response to World Trade Center Disaster Marks First Test of New Assist America Operations Center; Recent Events Highlight Need for Global Emergency Assistance (Assist America, Inc.) |
| RMD Software Now Available (ImagiSOFT, Inc.) |
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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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