| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |  |
November 26, 2001 - 12,583 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)
Enron Employees Sue As Pension Savings Evaporate
Excerpt: "Encouraged by Enron's then-strong performance and the company's bullish view of its future prospects, [participant Roy] Rinard moved all of the money invested in his 401(k) retirement account into Enron stock earlier this year. But it proved to be a costly decision as the value of his account fell from $470,000 a year ago to around $40,000 today." (Reuters via Yahoo! Finance)
Overview: IRS Sample Language, Guidance for EGTRRA Amendments
IRS Notice 2001-56 provides specific guidance on provisions under EGTRRA that (1) amend the top heavy rules, (2) shorten the suspension of elective deferrals from 12 to 6 months following a hardship withdrawal, and (3) increase the annual compensation limit that may be taken into account to $200,000. IRS Notice 2001-57 provides sample plan amendments for many of the provisions under EGTRRA that are either required or optional. (Sanders, Schnabel & Brandenburg, P.C.)
Opinion: Defined Benefit Plans Have Distorted Corporate Profits
Excerpt: "As excess pension assets swelled the profits of many companies, their own stock prices rose. Thus, the bull market fed on itself as higher stock prices increased profits, which further increased stock prices." (Bruce Bartlett on TownHall.com)
Are the Pension Funding Holidays Over?
Excerpt: "A double whammy of lower equity values and lower interest rates has hammered down the value of assets in defined benefit plans for more than a year and pushed up the cost of their pension liabilities. The result: Many private-sector defined benefit plans that had been considered overfunded and on contribution holiday for many years are now underfunded." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
5th Cir.: DB Plan Properly Applied "Banded" Benefit Formula to Commissioned Employees
Gosselink v. American Telephone & Telegraph Inc., No. 00-20887, 11/7/01). Excerpt: "In answering the first question, i.e., whether the administrator's interpretation of the plan was legally correct, a court must consider: (1) whether the administrator has given the plan a uniform construction, (2) whether the interpretation is consistent with a fair reading of the plan, and (3) any unanticipated costs resulting from different interpretations of the plan." (FindLaw.com)
3d Circuit: Plan Had Discretion to Change Mind on Earlier Grant of Benefits to Plan Trustee
Foley v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 98 Pension Fund (3d Cir. 2001). After receiving a complaint from another participant alleging improprieties, the plan's trustees determined they had erred by having allowed the plaintiff to bridge his service credits using the plan's 'available to work' exception; district court would have required plan to abide by its earlier decision. (FindLaw.com)
Thinking of Cashing Out Your Retirement Plan?
Excerpt: "With layoffs, early retirements and buyouts again a feature on the U.S. employment scene, thousands of workers are suddenly confronted with a complicated but important question: What should I do with my 401(k) or other retirement savings plan when I leave my job? Essentially, there are three choices ..." (Washington Post)
Private Equity Primer
Excerpt: "At its simplest, private equity is investment in a firm that has not yet gone public with a stock issue. As an investment strategy, it succeeds by virtue of getting in on the ground floor-investing in a company with outstanding growth potential before the rest of the market wises up to the opportunity." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Edward Siedle: the Pension Detective
Excerpt: "Fraud investigator Edward Siedle looks at consultant and money manager abuses and what plan sponsors can do to prevent them." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Education Specialist II | for ADP in NJ |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Tenth Annual Employers Health Care Conference - "Providing Medical Benefits: Challenges, Opportunities & Solutions" | in FL on February 7, 2002 presented by Employers Health Care Conference |
| HIPAA Privacy Regulations: Panel Discussion | in MA on December 4, 2001 presented by Greater Boston Chapter, International Society of CEBS |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Rochester | in NY on March 5, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Wilmington | in DE on March 5, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Albuquerque | in NM on March 5, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Anaheim | in CA on March 5, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Kansas City | in MO on March 5, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Houston | in TX on March 12, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Phoenix | in AZ on March 12, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Syracuse | in NY on March 12, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Philadelphia | in PA on March 12, 2002 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| BenefitStreet adds Patrick Farzaroli to Executive Staff (BenefitStreet, 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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