| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |   |
December 5, 2001 - 12,718 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 Losses May Inspire 401(k) Reforms
Excerpt: "One of the key questions is whether or not there should be a limit on the amount of company stocks that employees can hold." (ABCNews.com)
Massachusetts Secretary of State Targets Employer Stock in 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "The bill, which Galvin announced yesterday, would permit employees to sell company shares held in a 401(k) retirement plan at any time. Many companies place tough restrictions on such stock sales, sometimes forcing employees to hold the shares until age 50 or later." (The Boston Globe)
Massachusetts Regulators Propose Bill Governing Employer Stock in Plans
Excerpt: "Massachusetts regulators on Tuesday proposed a law to keep employers from forcing workers to hold company stock in their benefit plans, citing damage to the retirement nest eggs of employees of collapsed energy company Enron Corp.... 'There is no excuse for telling employees 'you can't sell the stock,'' said Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, author of the bill." (Reuters via iWon.com)
Does Massachusetts Bill on Stock in 401(k) Plans Have Any Chance of Avoiding ERISA Preemption?
What do you think? Weigh in on our message boards. (BenefitsLink Message Boards)
Amendment Removing COLA from Multiemployer Pension Plan Did Not Violate Anti- Cutback Provision
Blurb re Tax Court case: Board of Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund. Excerpt: "An amendment to a multiemployer pension plan that removed cost of living adjustments (COLAs) to pre-1991 retirees did not violate the anti-cutback provision of Code Sec. 411. The COLAs, which were added to the plan after the retirement of the participants, were not accrued while the retirees were employees. Consequently, the COLAs were not accrued benefits of the retirees ..." (CCH)
Judge Rules Against Suit by Thrift Savings Plan Against Contractor Hired to Provide Daily Val System
Excerpt: "In a Nov. 30 decision, Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia threw out the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board's $350 million lawsuit against American Management Systems of Fairfax, Va. The judge ruled that Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Executive Director Roger Mehle, who runs the TSP, is not permitted to file suit independent of the Justice Department." (GovExec.com)
Railway Retirement Bill Moves Toward Final Vote
Excerpt: "A bill to allow some railway pension funds to be invested on Wall Street moved forward without changes on Tuesday in the U.S. Senate, despite Republican attempts to rewrite parts of it. A final vote was expected on Wednesday on the measure ..." (Reuters via Yahoo! Finance)
Retired Public Employees In Minnesota To See Smaller Pension Raises
Excerpt: "Retired Minnesota public employees will receive a much smaller increase in their pension checks next year than in the recent past, and the state's investment chief said Tuesday that that may be just a hint of what is to come. The 95,000 beneficiaries of the state's $17.5 billion post-retirement fund will get a 4.5 percent increase beginning Jan. 1, the smallest raise since it was 4 percent in 1995." (StarTribune.com)
Why Social Security Reform Is Dead, For Now
Excerpt: "The Social Security commission that President Bush appointed in the spring still will release its final report later this month, a report that was supposed to propel the initiative forward. But the panel, even though it was handpicked to include only supporters of individual accounts, hasn't been able to agree on a particular plan. And the political and economic climate has changed so much that even advocates acknowledge that action will be years away." (USA Today)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Pension Administrator | for DR Pension Services, LLC, an affiliate of Dorfman-Robbie CPA's, PC in NY |
| Director of Welfare Benefits Consulting | for RSM McGladrey, Inc. in ALL STATES |
| Benefits Counselor | for UCLA in CA |
| (SR)Client Communications Specialist/Defined Contribution Plan Administrator | for Standard Insurance Company in OR |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| 2002 Los Angeles Benefits Conference | in CA on January 31, 2002 presented by IRS and ASPA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| NuView Systems, Inc. Provides Self-Help Support Online (NuView Systems, 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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