| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |   |
December 6, 2001 - 12,718 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Glasser LegalWorks
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
You are invited to attend the nation's leading seminar on how recent cases affect claims, plan design and operations. Highlights of this year's program include: -Health Care Plan Litigation -Fiduciary Litigation -Preemption after Egelhoff -Aftermath of Pegram -Managed Care Litigation More details are available now in an online brochure: http://www.legalwks.com/conferences/erisa_lit/home.htm
(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)
Will Your 401(k) Go the Way of Enron's?
Excerpt: "As many as 23% of companies offer a match in company stock, according to a recent Hewitt Associates survey that included midsize to large companies. And of these programs, 85% have restrictions on sales of the stock, typically forcing employees to hold on to shares at least until age 50." (SmartMoney.com)
Pension Investment Manager Sues Enron Executives
Excerpt: "Amalgamated Bank, which manages worker retirement funds, on Wednesday sought to freeze the bank accounts of senior executives at Enron Corp., alleging they reaped huge profits by artificially inflating the stock price of the once-mighty energy trader." (Reuters Health via Yahoo! News)
Labor Department Investigating Enron
Excerpt: "The government wants to know whether thousands of laid-off Enron Corp. employees had their retirement benefit plans unfairly handled by the collapsed energy-trading company." (Associated Press via Yahoo! News)
U.S. Leaves Steel Pensions Issue Open in Merger Discussions
Excerpt: "A senior U.S. official Wednesday said proposals by some steel companies to have the federal government pick up some pension and retiree health care costs as part of a merger deal were 'a little rich' but he did not rule out the possibility." (Reuters Health via Excite News)
Sec. 401(k) Plan Participants' Asset Allocations Remained Steady In 2000, EBRI/ICI Finds
The average participant's Sec. 401(k) plan asset allocation at year-end 2000 was essentially unchanged from that at year-end 1999, despite the volatility of the stock market, according to the results of the 401(k) data base jointly maintained by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI). (Spencernet)
Senate Agrees on Rail Pension Funds
Excerpt: "The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to allow $15.3 billion in railroad pension funds to be invested on Wall Street, despite the strong opposition of a handful of lawmakers who said it was collusion at the taxpayers' expense." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Senate Approves Partial Privatization of Railroad Pensions
Excerpt: "The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to allow the $15.3 billion railroad retirement system to invest in the stock market for the first time, clearing the way for final approval of the legislation despite controversy over its potential cost to taxpayers." (Washington Post)
Defined Benefit Plans Dropping in Popularity in Great Britain
Excerpt: "The spectacular demise of final salary pension schemes, which guarantee workers pensions linked to their earnings, is revealed today in a Financial Mail survey. More than half of Britain's biggest companies have now shut down their final salary schemes, or never set up one in the first place, the study shows." (Knight Ridder/Tribune via IFEBP)
Managers, Brokers, and Consultants: Show Me the Money
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors remain in the dark about which managers are paying what to their consultants. What do consultants have to hide?" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Phased Retirement Benefits Employers, But Health and Pension Issues Can Be Obstacles
Excerpt: "[M]any employers would like to keep older workers on the payroll with a diminished workload, but they haven't found effective ways to help such employees stick around. One possible solution is so-called phased retirement, a work arrangement that allows employees near retirement age to make a gradual transition to full retirement." (HR Magazine)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Health & Welfare Consultant | for USI Consulting Group (USICG), a subsidiary of USI Insurance Services in CT |
| Retirement Sales District Manager | for ADP, Inc in CT |
| Manager of New Business (Conversion) | for DAC in AL |
| Financial Writer | for INVESCO Retirement, Inc. in GA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| LEADERS IN HRIS Panel & Networking Reception | in IL on February 7, 2002 presented by HRevents |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| MONETA Investment Consulting And Bruce Ruud & Associates Team Up To Provide Unique Fiduciary Services (Bruce Ruud & Associates) |
| American Cancer Society Employees to Receive CareCounsel's Healthcare Advocacy Benefit (CareCounsel) |
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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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