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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition
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October 22, 2001 - 12,271 subscribers
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In 401(k)s, Whose Advice Is Best?
Excerpt: "Federal law places restrictions and safeguards on how investment advice is given to 401(k) participants. As a result, most employers do not make specific investment advice available to employees. But if Representative John A. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, has his way, many of those restrictions may soon be gone." (New York Times; free registration required)

Contribution Behavior of 401(k) Plan Participants (PDF)
October 2001. Excerpt: "This issue of Perspective examines the 1999 contribution behavior of 1.7 million 401(k) plan participants. This sample of participants was drawn from data that the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) have collected as part of the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project.... On average, participants contributed 6.8 percent of their salaries on a before-tax basis." (Investment Company Institute)

Mad as Hell: the New Pension Activism
Excerpt: "At companies across the country, activist groups comprised of retirees and current workers are battling perceived benefit slights, from the termination of retiree health care benefits to the absence of cost-of-living increases in pension benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

2002 Social Security Limits Added to Chart of Inflation-Adjusted Limits
The chart of inflation-adjusted limits on the Calhoun Law Group site has now been updated to reflect the new limits on FICA contributions for the year 2002, as announced by the Social Security Administration today. (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)

Pensions in Peril
Excerpt: "'Two American institutions, Polaroid and Bethlehem Steel, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the past two weeks, leaving employees questioning their own future--including the safety of their pensions.... PBGC doesn't guarantee all benefits ... [E]mployees with large salaries, say $200,000 per year, usually have pensions that would pay substantially more than what they would get if the PBGC had to take over the plan." (Forbes via Yahoo Finance!)

New from EBRI: Phased Retirement: Leaving the Labor Force
The executive summary of the September 2001 EBRI Notes article: 'Phased Retirement: Leaving the Labor Force' is available. (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Frequently Asked Questions About Mutual Fund Fees
October 2001 edition. Excerpt: "The mutual fund industry believes that investors should have complete information so that they will understand all elements of investing, including information about fees. The Investment Company Institute, the investment company industry's national association, is pleased to provide the following information about mutual fund fees. We hope you find it helpful." (Investment Company Institute)

DOL Recovers $4.95 Million for Plan from Trustees
Excerpt: "On May 5, 1999, the department sued the trustees for imprudently loaning plan assets to Columbia Land and Development Corporation to acquire and develop land in Orlando, Fla., known as Country Run. The Department alleged that the trustees should have known that the loan could not be repaid in full with interest." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)

Personal Retirement Account Idea Is Debated
Excerpt: "Under the shadow cast by last month's terrorist attacks and their impact on the economy, a presidential commission charged with recommending changes in the Social Security system met for a fifth time [on Thursday, October 18] and heard conflicting advice on using a portion of the Social Security payroll tax revenue to create personal retirement accounts." (Washington Post)

(Following items are in both editions of the BenefitsLink Newsletter)


Opinion: Time to Look at Stock Options' Real Cost
Excerpt: "After a bruising battle in 1993, the accounting board caved in to corporate lobbyists' demands that stock options, undeniably an employee cost, should not be deducted from revenue as other costs are." (New York Times; free registration required)




Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
System Support Assistant for Benefit Plan Services, Inc. (BPSI)
in
GA
Senior Benefits Specialist for Bloomberg LP
in
NY



Newly Posted Press Releases
CME Announces State-Of-The-Art Employee Stock Option Planning Service (CME Stock Option Consulting Services, 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.